Customer service and contact centers are continuously developing, and phone calls continue to be an important part of both. Approximately 75% of customers still choose phone communications over other forms of engagement.
If you operate a company that receives a large number of phone calls daily, you will require an inbound calling strategy. It may have a significant influence on your customer experience and, based on your incoming call volume, it can also affect your workforce engagement. Inbound calls, in most cases, are the first time customers or prospects start contact with your company
In this guide, we will discuss what is inbound calling, the type of inbound calls that arise day-to-day and effective tips on how to handle them.
Let’s get started.
What Are Inbound Calls?
Inbound calling is when a customer or prospect contacts your company by phone and your staff receives the call. Inbound calls could come in for a variety of reasons. Except if the phone call is directed to a specific phone number, such as the company help desk or technical advice, you typically have no clue what the purpose is. You only need to be prepared to pick up the phone to find out.
Inbound calls are often handled by a call center or help desk—though this may not always be the case with smaller businesses or regional offices, which may have only one or two persons handling all calls. The significance of a successful inbound calling approach should not be overlooked. It may impact anything from how soon your team answers the phone to how quickly they fix your customer's genuine concerns.
Types of Inbound Calls
1. Technical Support
Tech support, often known as technical support, is a contact center account in which a person assists with technicalities and troubleshooting issues a customer may have. It covers devices, software, and so on, and a TSR will frequently walk a client through the process by offering instructions and explanations over the phone.
2. Sales inquiry
Inbound calls are sometimes referred to as sales calls or 'warm calls.' These are often calls started by prospective consumers who have a query regarding a company's product or service. In these circumstances, it is the agent's responsibility to respond immediately to the queries and push a sale.
3. Complaints
Customer complaints are forms of feedback that highlight flaws in your company's products or services. You will encounter consumer complaints if you just starting an online business or when you have been in it for a long time and in any business. To boost customer retention, you must prepare your representatives for circumstances involving tough or frustrated consumers.
4. Contract Renewal
When a client's contract is nearing the end of its term, they begin to consider renewing. This is an opportunity for the client to extend their contract and maybe add some additional features to the new term. In addition, you can still use an online client portal to keep in touch with customers in case they have any questions. As this type of call differs from support and help desks, they tend to offer solutions to frequently asked questions.
5. Bill Processing
Call centers typically receive calls from customers when they are stuck on bill payments or face issues while doing it. Call center representatives make sure that the process is completed seamlessly and guide the clients towards payment completion.
Handle Inbound Calls with Community Phone
Community Phone connects your business phone to mobile phone towers in your region to provide unlimited local and long-distance calling. They are the top business phone service in the United States, delivering a robust service even in the most remote places. Community Phone has built-in antennas on the telephone base to improve signal strength in areas with poor coverage, as well as a backup battery to keep you engaged during power outages. Some of its features are:
- No internet required
- Easily Accessible Customer support
- Customers get a new local number
- Works during power outages
- 30-second setup
Community Phone is best suitable for businesses, especially for call centers that have to manage hundreds of calls daily. Some of its benefits include
- Unlimited nationwide calling
- Connects with any landline phone
- Voicemail, call forwarding, and call-waiting
- Ring a second line, if line 1 is busy
- Rollover & simultaneous ringing
- Live call transfer
- Custom dial menu
- Lifetime hardware warranty
- Get a new number or keep an existing one
Get in touch to find the best customer management solution for your business!
Inbound vs Outbound Calls
Inbound Calls
- Inbound calls are phone calls initiated by current or prospective consumers. In most cases, they are routed to an incoming contact center, where they are answered and handled by agents.
- Inbound call centers can generate income through cross-sells and upsells.
- When an existing client contacts with a query or issue, or adjusts their account, this is what happens.
- For example, When anything breaks on their end, customers call. When a product fails to perform properly, customers typically contact in to try to remedy the issue.
Outbound Calls
- Outbound calling, on the other hand, is when you initiate a conversation with a client or prospect, such as in response to a support request, to inform a customer about a new service, or collect survey data.
- Businesses generally utilize outbound calls to conduct market research and reach out to prospects.
- Cold calling is used to reach potential consumers who were not expecting to be contacted.
- For example, Outbound representatives arrange meetings or appointments between the client or lead and the allocated salesperson.
Effective Tips For Inbound Call Centers
1. Strategy Building
Whether you currently have an inbound call strategy or are building one to manage all of your calls and emails; the following suggestions can help. Improve it by making it faster and stronger. This is critical if you want to create a positive overall consumer experience.
- Focus on integrating call center software with customer relationship management solutions to provide the customer support staff with a quick view of the client's history.
- Implement a call routing system that connects the customer to the appropriate department right away.
- If you employ interactive voice response (IVR), make sure to test several options until you discover the one with the lowest call abandonment rate. In the event of a large call volume, IVR can also be used.
2. Decrease Waiting Time
Reduced wait time can be incredibly advantageous for various reasons. Not only does it keep consumers and clients satisfied, but it can also drive repeat business. Customers and clients are significantly more likely to use your product or service again if they don’t have to wait hours to speak with someone.
3. Analyze Metrics
The next step once your call center is operational is to review your call stats. The key performance indicators (KPI) for each contact center will differ based on their target demographic and the demands of their clients. In general, look at key performance indicators (KPIs) such as average conversation duration, abandon rate, and call volume to see if the call center is well equipped to provide long-term service and support.
4. Prompt Response
Customers want their calls returned swiftly and without wasting time. The agent taking the call in these circumstances must handle the client's issue as soon as feasible to sustain high customer satisfaction and promote brand loyalty.
Inbound Calling FAQs
How Many Calls Should an Inbound Agent Take?
It might be tough to predict how many calls your customer care representatives will make. This is because incoming calls are a reactive function that is quickly changed by a wide range of internal and external circumstances. While unanticipated hurdles like this make calculating the precise number of calls a rep should handle challenging, you may use several call center data to get a general approximation.
What is the Work for an Inbound Call Agent?
- Handle a large number of inbound calls from consumers and clients.
- Identify client requirements, address problems and offer solutions.
- Wherever feasible, upsell additional goods.
- To ensure consistency, adhere to the customer care script supplied by the organization.
- Also, familiarize yourself with corporate policies and the website for FAQs or policy-related replies.
- Maintain positive customer relationships.
- Meet personal goals while working toward team goals.
- Keep logs of your discussions with customers and evaluate the data.
- Write and submit reports on performance, goals, and customer inquiries on schedule.
What is Inbound Telemarketing?
Customers initiate the first point of contact with a firm in an inbound telemarketing approach. Unlike outbound, when salespeople immediately contact clients to make a sale, inbound allows customers to contact the firm when it is most convenient for them, which may result in better long-term profitability.
Conclusion - The Bottom Line
The response to a client or prospect who contacts a business can make or break their connection with the brand. Only by implementing a good inbound calling strategy can a company ensure that its clients and prospects are well-served. Furthermore, it allows them to focus their time and efforts on expanding the business and attracting new consumers.