Explore fresh, expert perspectives on customer engagement and innovation

According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 27.7 million adults in the UK fall under their definition of a vulnerable customer. This includes having poor health, experiencing negative life events, low financial resilience, or having low decision-making capabilities. This number is predicted to rise even further as the cost-of-living crisis impacts peoples’ finances and mental health.

However, many companies are unprepared to deliver the specific customer service support vulnerable customers now need. MaxContact interviewed 1,000 vulnerable customers who had recently interacted with a contact centre and found:

• • 48% had struggled to find a phone number to contact a company in the past year
• • When they had managed to reach a company’s customer services, 51% felt they were treated unfairly, and their needs were not accommodated
• • The biggest problems revealed by vulnerable customers include:
  • ∙ Being passed between different staff and having to re-explain the problem several times (51%)
  • ∙ Having to navigate too many phone menus (IVR) to reach the right person e.g., press 1 for this, press 2 for this (45%)
  • ∙ Feeling like the person they were talking to was trying to get them off the phone quickly (30%)

As a result, 52% said they had to abandon solving a problem because it was just too difficult, with 57% saying this had a negative impact on their mental or financial wellbeing.  

The main support vulnerable customers say they want from companies is:

• • Having their problem solved by one person rather than being passed between multiple advisors (46%)
• • Being able to reach a real person quickly to explain their problem (39%)
• • Being given enough time to properly explain and address their situation (31%)

The research also shows that vulnerable customers would like customer support services to show more empathy (23%) and 20% want customer service advisors to communicate with less jargon.

Helen Lord, CEO of the Vulnerability Registration Service, says, “Our own recent research underlines MaxContact’s findings. The cost-of-living crisis will undoubtedly place many customers in incredibly difficult circumstances. So, it’s essential that companies identify vulnerable customers early to provide them with the support they need – not only to meet regulators’ expectations but from a corporate responsibility perspective too.

It’s imperative the organisations can adapt their customer journeys appropriately, taking into account not just financial difficulties, but also mental or physical health and life events such as a relationship breakdown or bereavement, coercion or addiction.”

Gareth Morgan, H&T Group’s Operations and Communications Manager, and MaxContact client, says, “Our customer service centre provides instant, direct contact to a waiting agent. Every team member at H&T is trained to identify, explore and support vulnerable and potentially vulnerable customers.”

“It is important to us that vulnerable or potentially vulnerable customers have their account handled in the best way possible at the first time of asking.

“We prioritise call quality and customer service and do not impose limits on call times, wrap times or account updates. Therefore, H&T agents have the ability to focus on providing the best service and outcome possible for the customer. By providing time to ensure detailed and accurate notes can be recorded, we eliminate the customer needing to repeat or re-explain their circumstances in the future.”  

To help customers better support the larger numbers of vulnerable customers who will be contacting them, MaxContact has created a practical checklist of measures for contact centres to consider implementing. Download your copy here to learn five practical ways to support vulnerable customers.

Ben Booth, MaxContact CEO, says, “It’s the perfect storm for customer service teams. Customer complaints are at their highest point ever and there are more complex situations and vulnerable customers to support than ever before. We know that to make a real difference with vulnerable customers, as well as staying compliant with the FCA’s new consumer duty guidance, leaders need practical, easy-to-follow advice which they can put into action at their own organisations right away.”

To see how MaxContact’s customer engagement platform can help you support vulnerable customers more effectively, get in touch.

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Debt resolution is an important part of the job for many contact centres, but there are multiple factors at play in today’s debt experience for individuals and businesses.

The cost of living crisis, on top of the multi-faceted impact of the post-pandemic era, has put a real squeeze on both consumers and businesses. In some cases, this has meant taking on additional borrowing, along with paying bills and invoices as late as possible and making difficult choices with finances. On average, adults in the UK now hold £4,279 of unsecured debt, which means that debt recovery activity is likely to continue to rise while economic uncertainty continues.

For those contact centres involved in debt collection, managing processes so that the money can be effectively recovered, but without piling significantly more pressure on those struggling with debt, can be a fine balance to walk.

In this article, we look at the wider context of debt resolution strategies for contact centres and why they matter, how the right call centre software can improve processes and manage debtors more effectively, and how to help ensure more positive interactions for both contact centre staff and customers. Take a look at the webinar below for an expert-led discussion on how to create and execute the best contact strategies for easier debt resolution, and keep reading for more actionable tips for contact centre managers.

The Importance of Effective Debt Collection Strategies

Debt collection as a sector doesn’t always have the best reputation. If businesses and individuals that have fallen into debt feel harassed by those tasked with recovering money from them, it can add considerable stress to the situation and make for extremely fraught and negative interactions with contact centres, on all sides.

Contact centre staff can suffer if a high percentage of their customer interactions are negative and it doesn’t usually encourage customers to clear their debt any more quickly either.

A much more effective way to recover debt is to prioritise both customer and staff welfare, while implementing strategies and techniques that foster a sense of cooperation, trust, support and clarity.

Debt Collection Call Centre Techniques

Debt recovery calls to customers can often make for challenging conversations and difficult negotiations over payment plans. However, there are lots of different techniques that can be used by contact centres dealing with debt recovery to help make the process smoother and more positive for all parties. These may include:

Scripting and conversation starters

While every call and customer is unique and needs to be treated as an individual, it can sometimes help to set a positive tone for the rest of the call if the contact centre staff use a predetermined opening script to quickly and clearly explain why they are calling and the purpose of the conversation, before then tailoring the rest of the call around the customer’s responses.

Active listening

There are few things more frustrating to customers than feeling like they aren’t being listened to or heard properly. By using active listening techniques, call centre staff can help to put the customer at ease that they are being understood and taken seriously, which helps maintain full engagement in the conversation on all sides. Active listening builds trust and rapport, which increases the chances of smoother debt resolution.

Active listening methods for contact centre debt recovery teams include:

• Using affirmative responses to customer statements to illustrate they are being heard
• Repeating or paraphrasing what they are saying, to demonstrate understanding
• Asking questions when needed, to establish context in what the customer is saying and make sure that there is no ambiguity in the information being taken or given
• Using positive language to minimise stress and the chances of escalation.

Displaying empathy and validating customer feelings

Being able to put themself in a customer’s shoes is important in debt recovery calls, because customers need to know that their situation is understood and being taken into account. It can help ensure the call is constructive when call centre staff validate the customer’s opinions and emotions about the situation. This can make them more willing to find a resolution that everyone can agree on.

Transparency

Honesty and transparency are important factors on any debt recovery call, because it helps build trust and being clear about the debt is also a regulatory requirement. Some of the ways to ensure transparency include:

• Clear identification at the start of the call about the caller and what the purpose of the call is
• Accurate information about the debt owed, including any fees or interest also due
• Avoid giving any misleading or ambiguous information.

De-escalation

Some debt recovery conversations can be difficult, so being able to effectively use de-escalation techniques can be valuable skills for contact centre staff. Along with incorporating active listening, using positive language and displaying empathy for the customer’s situation, other de-escalation methods can include:

• Staying calm and composed
• Set clear boundaries for the conversation if the customer becomes aggressive or abusive
• Ask for support from a supervisor
• Offer to follow up in a separate interaction and provide a timeline for this.

Leveraging Call Centre Software for Debt Collection

Alongside the contact centre staff using a variety of techniques during their customer conversations, debt collection with call centre software that is the right match for your business can significantly increase your resolution rates.

A debt collection call centre using software that streamlines repetitive and resource-heavy processes can make all the difference to productivity and the amount of money recouped. Some of these features can include:

• Diallers – to automate the outbound call and connect with the customer without the need for manual number lookup or dialling.
• Call prioritisation – to make the most urgent and important calls first, which can help with customer satisfaction as well as being more efficient.
• Speech analytics – to identify problem areas in the customer journey so the contact centre can take steps to improve processes and performance.
• Scripting – to provide call centre staff with useful guidance to set a positive tone and achieve the best outcomes during calls.
• Secure IVR payments – to give customers a secure, encrypted way to make phone payments 24/7 without relying on contact centre staff to enter data manually.
• Quality Assurance (QA) – to evaluate contact centre call performance and enable the team to make improvements as needed.

Making the most of automation in call centre software

A great way to boost productivity in contact centres involved in debt recovery is to automate as many repetitive processes as possible. This not only frees up time for staff to focus on offering excellent personalised customer service, it can also improve morale and workplace satisfaction.

Some of the tasks and processes that can potentially include automation in debt collection call centres include:

• Communication – with tailored communications going out to individual customers automatically on a pre-planned schedule.
• Payment reminders – including emails, WhatsApp messages and texts, tailored to the payment plan put in place for each customer.
• Chatbots – to respond to common questions and send any complex requests through to staff to deal with.

Using call centre software data analytics to drive debt collection strategies forward

With built-in data collection and analysis in the best call centre software solutions, not only can the platform make the day-to-day operations run more smoothly and productively, it can also inform future debt collection strategy decisions.

By analysing data and outcomes, insights can be delivered on contact centre performance KPIs, as well as potentially predicting future behaviour and patterns of customers. This kind of information can help contact centres to future proof their debt collection strategies and maximise efficiencies.

Creating a Debt Resolution Plan

The key to maximising debt recovery is to develop an effective debt resolution plan, utilising all of the relevant functionality within your call centre software and the skills of your call centre staff, that can be easily tailored to individual customers and their circumstances and preferences.

• Step 1: Understand each customer’s individual debt and its context, including the barriers that are preventing them from clearing the debt straight away.
• Step 2: Establish the communication channels and preferences that work best for individual customers.
• Step 3: Offer flexible payment options, based on an honest discussion about the debt and circumstances.This might include out of hours payments as well as setting a schedule to pay off the debt.
• Step 4: Implement personalised communications and reminders to continue the debt recovery process after initial contact.
• Step 5: Use your data and the insights it provides to improve the service further.

With an effective debt collection call centre software solution monitoring your plan and integrating with other aspects of your business, such as your CMS, CRM, payment gateways, various communication channels and regulatory compliance, you can create a debt resolution plan that delivers better outcomes and an improved customer and staff experience, all while reducing costs.

Managing Staff Wellbeing in Debt Collection Call Centres

With an increase in the levels of debt and busier times ahead for debt collection contact centres, managing staff wellbeing is an important consideration for managers. A happy, well-supported and productive workforce means a more positive culture, lower staff turnover and lower recruitment, onboarding and training costs.

Find out the main employee stressors in your specific contact centre

You might think that you already know exactly why working in a debt collection call centre is stressful for staff, but you might be surprised by some of the things that your employees say.

Putting in place a supportive feedback process is important, to help you understand the real call centre agent experience.

Staff need to feel comfortable enough to be honest about what makes their job tough. While every contact centre is different, some common issues that cause stress may include:

• Management expectations are unclear to staff
• High customer expectations and challenging conversations are difficult to deal with repeatedly
• Striving to meet call targets
• Being measured and monitored every minute of the working day
• Feeling disconnected from the company and coworkers if working remotely

Take steps to mitigate the main causes of stress for staff

There are always going to be challenges when working with customers through a contact sector, but there are ways that call centre managers can reduce some of the stress for the workforce, such as:

• Regularly discussing work stress with teams to create an atmosphere where it’s accepted to talk about this topic
• Improving the quality of internal communications – making sure that it’s a two-way conversation.
• Ensure targets are reasonable and provide support for employees finding this a challenge
• Providing training and coaching when a need is identified
• Implementing wellbeing practices as part of the working day, such as breathing exercises, visualisation, exercise and taking breaks when needed.

Implement regular staff check-ins and wellbeing reminders

Giving contact centre staff a clear route to provide feedback about their role and wellbeing is important. Having regular check-ins can be a good way to do this, either individually or in a small group setting, depending on employee preference.

Setting up wellbeing reminders can be a great way to help staff working remotely to deal with the sense of isolation they may feel after coming off a particularly tricky call. Wellbeing reminders can regularly nudge contact centre workers to take screen breaks, have a drink, do some stretches or breathing exercises. These little things can have a significant positive impact and help employees to feel more valued and supported, as well as encouraging healthy habits that don’t cost anything.

Providing call centre workers with a straightforward way to engage in conversations with those who understand exactly what they are going through can also be a big help when working essentially alone.

Individual wellbeing solutions for your contact centre workers

It’s worth remembering that what one employee finds stressful, another might thrive on, and what reduces stress for one person might be the last thing that another worker wants. In the same way that debt collection customers need to be treated as individuals, with their own preferences, so do debt collection call centre workers.

Enabling employees to choose their preferred options for managing their own wellbeing at work is important, giving them a greater sense of ownership and providing them with what they personally need to feel supported.

For more insights into debt collection solutions, how to improve your processes and achieve easier debt resolution, tune into the full webinar session.

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In the era of The Great Resignation, staff wellbeing and engagement is certainly a hot topic right now.

Many employees are leaving due to feeling burnt out, unsupported, or undervalued in their roles. In fact, our research shows that 72% of workers said they were burnt out, and 52% said there had been an increase in workload since the beginning of the pandemic.

In the contact centre world, 64% of people reported that they were losing between three to four hours of work each month due to poor work-related mental wellbeing.

And this could have a huge effect on the wider business!

To talk about how leaders can improve wellbeing and company culture, we invited Natalie Calvert, CX+EX Coach & Expert, and Sean McIver, Product Owner at MaxContact, to a recent webinar.

You can watch the webinar in full below or keep reading for the key takeaways.

Why leaders should prioritise employee wellness

On a human level, prioritising wellness and checking in with employees is always a sign of good leadership. But the benefits go beyond that.

Research shows that good company culture increases customer experience by upwards of 75%. So it’s no wonder that 70% of executives say it’s their number one priority.

There’s a clear key link between company culture and employee wellbeing, customer satisfaction, and business performance.

But improving culture and wellbeing is not a quick and easy fix.

The customer contact industry has always had a high staff turnover, but this has increased significantly during the pandemic and The Great Resignation.

Studies show that employees are feeling burnt out and stressed which is causing them to leave en-mass.

Increased employee turnover can hurt businesses in many ways, including the bottom line. On average, it costs between £3,000 to £5,000 to recruit new staff and around 20,000 hours of training to get them up to speed.

It’s no surprise that leaders want to avoid a revolving door of staff, so they can spend that time and money on growing the business. But for this to happen, the company needs to prioritise employee wellbeing and culture.

How to reduce stress for contact centre workers

Any job surrounding customer care, queries, or complaints can come with some stress attached.

Angry customers are feeling the strain of a cost-of-living crisis, life post-pandemic, and the challenges of an increasingly remote world thrown into the mix.

But what can leaders do to protect their contact centre workers? As Natalie explained, we’re creating some of our own stress in a way.

A few years back, workers needed an entirely different skill set than they need today. The world has changed so much, so fast, and contact centre workers have to deal with increasingly complex issues, more demanding customers, and a whole range of other issues that many workplaces aren’t prepared for.

She believes that we really need to reskill our people, leaders especially, to match the needs and expectations of the modern world. If we don’t ensure our frontline staff have the right skills, we can expect high burnout and low staff retention rates.

Another thing that Sean suggested was having a system where customer complaints are recognised and analysed for trends. If frontline staff know there’s a common issue that’s being addressed at a higher level, this provides a bit more backup and support for team members dealing with angry customers.

Ultimately, leaders need to really understand the value of their people and do whatever they can to manage, coach, and support them through stressful times.

Balancing business growth with staff needs

Of course, all businesses want to grow, and growth can sometimes be uncomfortable.

But rather than focusing entirely on hitting quotas, business objectives, and handling increased pressure from customers, leaders should try to address company culture across the board.

This is not just something that affects frontline staff either. There needs to be a culture across all areas and roles, such as QA managers, finance, suppliers, and leadership.

Every subsection of the business should feel valued and supported. And sometimes, all it takes is a quick check-in with staff and some open and honest conversations.

As a business prepares to grow, so with it must the plan to support staff. Increasing or decreasing team sizes, revamping company structure, and training must all be done with employee wellbeing in mind.

How to manage staff wellbeing in a remote setting

Natalie has two tips for this:

• > Keep cameras on
• > Run team huddles

Keeping cameras on during meetings is critical because you can actually check in with people and see how they’re doing. If your team has cameras off, there’s little engagement, and it’s harder to pick up on things that could affect staff wellbeing.

Natalie is also a fan of team huddles, which are short and sweet meetings where everyone can gather for a chat. While they take time to run, Natalie says they are well worth the investment because of the impact on employee engagement and wellbeing.

Why businesses should care about employee engagement

One of the top reasons is that it affects recruitment and retention. Engaged employees are simply less likely to quit.

When you have a group of engaged employees, you’re ensuring that they feel valued and listened to. You are also demonstrating that you are prepared to adapt and adjust as necessary.

On a wider scale, having engaged staff means better performance when it comes to business aims and objectives. Highly engaged employees are much more likely to deliver great customer experience, which impacts customer satisfaction and, ultimately, revenue. So, it’s a win-win.

But Natalie has a word of advice. Good employee engagement won’t happen spontaneously. You have to design it and to do that, you need great leaders who are committed.

Maximising employee engagement in a remote world

Just like with wellbeing, managing engagement can be extra tough when everyone’s working remotely.

But Natalie suggests focusing on a few key areas that impact employee engagement:

1. Customers – Be customer-focused in all areas of the business – not just in customer interactions, but also in internal communications in the team.
2. Purpose – The purpose of the contact centre has to align with the purpose of the overall organisation.
3. Culture and community – Build a great culture focused on your community.
4. Improvement – Make constant improvement a primary goal across each area of the business.
5. Structured development – Focus on staff development and skills.
6. Rewards and recognition – Celebrate successes and reward staff so they know they’re valued.

Five ways to improve employee engagement and wellbeing

Ready to rethink employee engagement and wellbeing but don’t know where to start? Natalie and Sean have you covered. Here are their top five methods for improving wellbeing and engagement:

• Have a strategy and a plan

If you don’t have a plan to improve things, you can’t expect them to improve by themselves. Go in with a plan of action.

• Talk openly and honestly

Sean’s tip is to be proactive, not passive, when it comes to open communication. It’s hard to know if there are any issues with staff wellbeing if no one’s talking about them. Encourage leaders to be proactive about communicating with their teams.

• Make sure leaders have the right skills

It all starts with leadership, as Natalie says. They need the right skills to coach and support the rest of the business. When good leadership is in place, this trickles down to employees and customers as well.

• Culture

Customer service and customer experience teams shouldn’t work in silos. Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to company culture, feeling valued, and knowing the core purpose of their roles.

• Employee engagement goes hand in hand with customer experience

These are not two separate things. They are intrinsically linked. If employees feel valued and engaged, this will result in better customer service and happier customers. So, if you want to improve the customer experience, one step is to tackle any employee wellness issues you have in your team. For more insights and actionable advice on how to revamp the employee experience, catch the full webinar here.

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Like many areas of our economy, contact centres are suffering from something of a recruitment crisis.

A recent report from The Open University and Institute of Directors found that 63% of decision makers agree their organisation has found recruiting difficult.

In addition, one study of 20,000 global employers found that nearly 70% of companies were experiencing difficulties in hiring staff, a 15-year high.

Against this background, contact centres need to optimise their recruitment strategies. They also need to be doing everything they can to keep the staff they have.

More and more organisations are realising that a successful retention strategy starts at the point of recruitment. The effectiveness of your onboarding process goes a long way to determining whether staff leave in weeks or stay for years.

Onboarding matters

Onboarding really does matter when it comes to reducing staff churn.

According to studies, effective onboarding programmes can significantly increase the number of recruits who are still with a business several years later, in one case by 82%.

Onboarding is a recruit’s first in-depth introduction to your business. One study found that almost a quarter of staff who resign do so within 45 days of their start date, so first impressions really do count.

Failing to welcome staff effectively and prepare them for their first weeks on the job is hugely costly, even at the best of times.

Pre-pandemic, the average UK employer was spending £3000 – and considerable time and energy – on every new hire. That figure is probably significantly higher today.

Making contact centre onboarding better

Given that onboarding plays such a large part in effective retention strategies, how do you make yours better? Here are eight simple ways to improve your contact centre onboarding experience:

Have a plan

An employee’s first few days should be filled with interesting or fun activities. Make sure you have an onboarding plan that makes full use of their time. Leaving new starters twiddling their thumbs or unsure of what they should be doing next is not a good first impression. It smacks of a lack of organisation.

Give them basic information first

Before you get to the specifics of their role, welcome them to the business with a tour (physical or virtual). Show them where bathrooms are, where to get a cup of coffee, and where to turn for help when they’re locked out of the company intranet. Let them know of any perks the company offers, like free Friday drinks or a discount at the local gym, and how to claim them.

Introduce them to useful contacts

Depending on the size of your organisation you might not be able to introduce new starters to everyone, but you should introduce them to people who will be important to their ability to work and thrive in the first few weeks of their employment. A HR contact would be useful. If appropriate, designate an experienced employee in a similar role as a mentor or ‘work buddy’.

Give them the equipment they need

Stock a new starter’s work space with the things they might need, like pens and a notepad. Don’t make them spend time squirrelling out essentials. Small gifts – like a coffee mug or chocolate – are a nice touch.

Get the team involved

One of the most important parts of onboarding is giving new starters the opportunity to get to know the people they’ll be working with. Do this with an informal introduction session and icebreaker games. If everyone is in the office, think about organising a team lunch.

Plan adequate training time

The core of any onboarding programme is preparing new recruits for the role they are taking on. This preparation must be thorough, with plenty of time for questions and feedback. It’s particularly important for new contact centre staff to feel confident about handling live interactions with customers. Mock calls and role plays covering a number of common scenarios are a good idea. But however you choose to prepare new starters for their first days and weeks on the job, make sure the programme is comprehensive and interactive.

Talk about company culture

Onboarding is a great time to start promoting company culture. Don’t forget to talk about the company’s values and vision. If you’re doing anything notable in the ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) space, make sure you mention it. If you support a charity, tell new starters about the form that charitable support takes and how they can get involved.

Give them the IT they need

The best contact centre software is easy and intuitive to use. Even so, thorough training is a must, and this should continue well beyond the initial onboarding period. Start with basic functions and progress through more advanced features. As new features are introduced, have sessions dedicated to them. MaxContact is your friend here. We offer a comprehensive contact centre solution that is easy to get to grips with. We also offer full training for you and your teams, for free, forever.

Don’t leave onboarding to chance

The key to all this is to put some thought into your onboarding programme, and have a well considered plan.

Onboarding is an important part of your retention strategy. It’s a time for both comprehensive training and a warm welcome. It’s an opportunity to inspire new starters with your values and enthuse them with your vision.

MaxContact can help with your onboarding strategy, by offering a fully equipped software solution and the training to help new recruits make the most of it. For more information on our smarter contact centre software, please get in touch.

Like them or loathe them, voicemails are an important part of outbound contact strategies. Over 97% of all business calls now go to voicemail, so when we’re not leaving one, we’re missing an opportunity. The age-old, ‘don’t leave a voicemail, they won’t answer next time’ has gone. Over 79% of the UK population ignore numbers that they don’t know, or unknown numbers – period.  

In fact, a study found that 85% of Gen Z don’t view phone calls as being an important function of their phone, and 75% of millennials avoid phone calls if they can.

One recent article featured a journalist stating, ‘I have a confession to make: I love voicemails…I hate it when people call me and don’t leave one. How do I know what the caller wants otherwise?! They can text, but this gives no indication of tone. Or they can voice note on WhatsApp, but then they can see when I’ve listened, which – to me – can feel like an invasion of privacy, depending on who it is.’  

What are the benefits of using voicemails when outbound dialling?

• Remove any chance of silent calls

Leaving voicemails when outbound dialling prospects or customers ensures that your organisation is covered and protected from any potential risk of leaving silent calls.  

Many outbound diallers use Answer Machine Detection (AMD) which may not be accurate all of the time, equating to silent calls. A simple fail-safe would be to set up voicemails for every non-answered outbound call, which is crucial to remaining 100% compliant with zero silent calls. This is increasingly important to both provide a great customer experience and to ensure you’re operating within Ofcom guidelines, avoiding any chance of hefty fines of up to £2 million.

• Make better use of your sales teams’ time by leaving voicemails

Cold calls or outbound prospecting remain effective growth tactics, with studies showing that 82% of buyers will still accept meetings with sellers who proactively reach out. So if you are placing sales calls it offers a great way to give prospects an indication of why you’re calling. If they’re keen, you may even get a callback; if they’re willing to hear you out they might well pick up the phone next time.  

It’s the quickest way to get potential prospects that are interested, versus the ones that are never going to buy from you. Saving you time, effort and according to Outreach you can expect around 5% of your prospects to respond to your voicemail.

• Frame the conversation ready for the next interaction

If you’re using an outbound dialler for other purposes, perhaps to follow up on a customer service incident, your calls may go unanswered. Voicemails are great for teeing up the next conversation, providing context and details where appropriate. You can bet the next conversation that you have with your contacts will start warmer and your average handling time (AHT) might also reduce.  

• Ensure you get brand exposure

Putting your brand at the forefront of customers’ minds is important. For example, if you are collecting debt, your customers likely owe multiple businesses, so ensuring that your contact strategy puts your brand front and centre of your customer’s minds means you increase the likelihood of a successful outcome. The same goes for if you’re trying to make a sale. Leaving a message is a simple way to reinforce your messaging and brand name within your contacts’ minds.

What is the best approach to leaving great voicemails?

1. Achieve team efficiencies with voicemail automation

If you’re using an outbound dialler, there’s no doubt you’ll have various options as to how to set up voicemails for your operations. With MaxContact’s outbound dialler you have the option to set up preconfigured voicemails relating to your campaigns or business functions, saving an agent on average two and half hours each week, all whilst ensuring the quality and consistency of your messaging.  

And, when the MaxContact platform detects an answering machine, a voicemail can be automatically placed, whilst your user is moving on to the next call. You can also give your users the ability to leave more personalised messages if you feel a more tailored approach is needed.  

2. Keep it informative and to the point

Leave messages that give your clients the reason for the call and when you’re going to call back, including any contact details they need to reach you. Provide just enough information to encourage them to call you back or set up your conversations ready for them to be recontacted. Ensure the messages are to the point and ideally 20 to 30 seconds long — max.

3. Measure, coach and improve how you use voicemails

It’s one thing not leaving voicemails at all, it’s another simply setting it and leaving it. Voicemails should be tested, reviewed, and improved over time. Measuring metrics like inbound contacts after an outbound call is a great indicator that your voicemails are effective. As are a reduced average handling time of call when people are re-contacted after a voicemail is left.  

4. Personalise voicemails with key information  

Fraud and spam are an increasing concern for many astute consumers, with the average consumer receiving 144 spam calls last year – 58% of which were fraudulent. Including relevant information to personalise your messages will help the customer feel at ease with information shared that only their current provider will have, making them more likely to answer your call, rather than just ignore you.

Setting up the voicemail function in MaxContact is easy. You can record your version by uploading a WAV file or simply use text-to-speech to get started with leaving voicemails and learning what works for you and your customers.

Voicemails are one of many features that you need to make your outbound strategy successful. Learn about more of the must-have features you should be using in your outbound contact centre in this blog. For more information about our outbound dialling solution contact us on 0330 156 6550 or simply send an email to info@maxcontact.com

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At the same time, consumers have never been so prepared to switch provider or supplier, because switching has never been so simple. They’re also happy to detail poor experiences with brands and businesses on social media.

In this highly competitive environment, customer service becomes a key point of difference. Your products or services need to be spot on. Your after sales support needs to be equally excellent.

Proactive customer service is a new standard of excellence

More businesses are now impressing customers with proactive customer service.

Proactive customer service means that, instead of waiting for customers to come to you, you proactively contact customers who may be dissatisfied or having problems with a product.

Why’s that important? Customers know that products are sometimes faulty, and services are not always perfect. They won’t necessarily punish your business for an occasional glitch. According to Salesforce research, if a company’s customer service is excellent, 78% of consumers will do business with them again after a mistake.

Being proactive is an increasingly important ingredient in excellent customer service. By proactively contacting customers about a problem, you stop them having to take time out of their day to contact you.

By receiving a call or email unexpectedly sharing the solution to their problem (and any associated timeline), you reassure customers that something is being done and you care.

It’s all about being honest and upfront. When your train doesn’t turn up, you want to be kept informed of its progress, not kept in the dark. When your broadband goes down, a text message admitting to the fault and giving an expected fix time is the next best thing to a solution.

Proactive customer service isn’t just about problems. If something is genuinely beneficial, customers will usually be happy to be contacted about it, even out of the blue.

But it does work especially well when customers need help. That’s when they really appreciate informed, empathetic communication. It’s all part of a personal, customer-focused service.

How do you deliver proactive customer service?

So if proactive customer service is good for business, how do you do it?

Most importantly, you have to get to know your customers well. That means measuring customer sentiment and tracking it over time, so you can act quickly when satisfaction starts to wane.

Ask for feedback, monitor social media and dig into customer complaints. Do the same issues keep coming up? Is there a pattern to a recent rise in calls to your support centre?

Make sure agents know to note instances of customer dissatisfaction, even if they’re only mentioned in passing. Monitor use of online FAQs and how-to articles.

When you know the issues customers face, you can prepare proactive communications. For example, a problem that is starting to prompt calls to your support line might be relatively trivial, and easily fixed with a self-service article. Proactive messaging can direct customers to the right web page, so they don’t have to waste time on the phone.

Alternatively, a significant fault may require a lengthy fix, risking a wave of complaints. But proactively informing customers of the problem and keeping them updated on progress towards a fix is the best way to clear up confusion and diffuse anger.

And positive proactivity works too. An unsolicited call or email to help customers make full use of a great new feature or product release will create goodwill towards your business.

How MaxContact can help

Proactive customer service works. According to research, it can reduce customer churn by 3%-5%. Over time, that’s a lot of customers that stay with your business.

Proactive customer service relies on targeted, relevant and timely communication. With MaxContact, you can easily create and implement a proactive contact strategy, starting with the following features:

Omnichannel customer engagement

Sometimes a text is all it takes. At other times, a call is more personal. An omnichannel platform lets you proactively contact customers in a way that suits them.

CSAT and NPS

MaxContact lets you monitor important customer satisfaction scores, so you can act decisively if they start to slip.

Automated dialling

Segment customers and create automatic contact lists based on relevant data points, like “X days since support ticket closed” (ask them how the solution is working), or “X% reduction in usage” (get to the root of the problem before they abandon the service altogether). And if there’s a wider problem, automated dialling allows you to quickly contact customers before they contact you.

Bulk SMS

Target groups with bulk support texts, offering advice, a quick fix, or a simple “how’s it going?”

Analytics

Monitor data on things like wait times or first call resolution. If a customer has experienced sub-standard service based on metrics like these, send them an apology or even an email gift.

Speech analytics

MaxContact’s speech analytics platform can monitor customer sentiment even if a caller is not obviously complaining. Dig deeper to find the cause of dissatisfaction and proactively put it right.

Proactive customer service can improve satisfaction and reduce churn, but it’s difficult to do consistently without a smart and efficient communication platform in place. MaxContact helps in two ways. It offers the tools and analytics to monitor customer sentiment. It then gives you the contact options that make a proactive strategy possible.

Get in touch to hear how MaxContact can make a difference to your business.

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