Is Your Web Site Driving the Wrong Calls?
Your web strategy may be to drive calls into the call center so that you can serve the customer or ultimately upsell the customer. Your web strategy may also be driving call volume that you do not want. In a recent experience, we encountered an organization where the web was driving unwanted call volume into the call center. How did we know? The moment the call center representative understood the reason for the call, she directed us back to the web site and walked us through the self-serve process we could not find which was the reason for the call. The reason we called the toll free number in the first place, was that the web transaction type we were looking for could not be found anywhere on the site. In fact, the transaction function was there but buried three clicks deep in a sub-menu that bore no resemblance to our need.
Key Message 1: Assess what call volume is being created from your web site that is contrary to your web strategy? Key action - gather 6 reps and do a session with them that assesses if this is happening.
Key Message 2: Review your web site from the perspective of the customer not the organization. We are sure that there was logic in listing the transaction type as it was. Good logic for the organization. Lousy logic if you are the customer.
If the company we had called talked to the rep the way we did, the company would learn:
- How to reduce costs (i.e. reduce call volume)
- Satisfy the customer because the web would have provided a once-and-done transaction capability
- Improve the rep’s job satisfaction because reps would not have to repeat these instructions umpteen times a day with customers
Posted: January 31st, 2008 under Customers.
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