Dead air hurts customer satisfaction and damages a brand's reputation, so call centers work hard to keep it under control. A few dead air gaps are no big deal for customer service. However, the cumulative impact on the business can be very detrimental. Generally, it leads to inefficient operations and processes, negatively affecting other relevant KPIs of call centers. This article is a complete guide on dead air script and some proven tips to reduce it.
There is a common belief that the number of calls is decreasing because of growth in using Internet technologies, like social media apps and live chat solutions.
However, some customers wait much time because many companies struggle to keep up with the increase in electronic requests.
Customers demand answers immediately, but text messaging, live chat, and social network interactions do not always provide them.
So many customers still prefer to use the traditional contact method like a phone call. According to the studies, almost 70 percent of customer engagements come by phone.
Therefore, businesses should train their customer service agents with great care to achieve their goals.
Customers can speak to a live agent over the phone and have their issues resolved right away.
What happens if a customer calls a support center expecting to hear back, but all they get is silence?
Long pauses or periods of quiet can damage the brands' credibility and customer relationships.
Although thirty seconds may not seem like much, the buyer still finds it too long. The customer's faith in the company at that period quickly evaporates, leaving them dissatisfied.
Call center agents are focused on their displays and attempting to find a solution, so they usually do not notice when there is silence.
The customer and the agent are different in that one is aware of what is happening while the other is not.
Every year, more and more calls are being placed to businesses via mobile devices. As a result, mobile applications and social media platforms are becoming increasingly popular.
The B2C (business-to-consumer) interactions still take place on the phone. Growing customer irritability with ineffective services is the cause of this rise in phone encounters.
Customers want first contact response from companies. Customers who call customer service want their problems resolved as soon as possible.
They could email or post on social media if their issue were not urgent. However, they call under two assumptions:
Customers lose interest in making calls when they wait for a long time. They wonder what is going on with the support agent.
While ten or twenty seconds may not seem like much time to a contact center agent who is occupied with resolving customers' concerns, it seems like an eternity to the customer.
If the waiting time increases, customer satisfaction decreases. Both customer satisfaction and customer confidence are affected negatively by dead air.
Supervisors must ensure that their employees receive traditional phone call training to meet customers' changing needs.
No customer service agent intentionally creates dead air on calls, but many situations may cause it.
It may be due to a lack of understanding, sluggish software, challenging questions of customers, or the agent being overworked to come up with a workable answer.
The customer and the call center agent find dead air uncomfortable in their conversation.
It is always essential to look for some practical solutions to help reduce dead air, including the below ones.
Keep customers informed about the latest advancements on the issue. Tell them about the actions taken and the progress made in settling their queries.
For instance, it is preferable to advise them that you are searching the system for a specific piece of information than to put them on hold without explanation.
This attitude assures the customer that the agent addressed their issue and is trying to resolve it.
There may be instances where it is imperative to place the consumer on hold. For example, it could entail verifying the status of the order's delivery, double-checking data on the products, etc.
The contact center agent must always ask the customer's permission before putting them on hold in such circumstances.
Not only will it make them feel good to be asked, but it will also motivate them to provide the assistance needed to answer your question.
Initiating a conversation is one of the best strategies to keep consumers interested and provide the best answer to their inquiries.
It is advisable to start an interesting conversation with them in these circumstances.
It would provide the agent ample time to identify the best solution while focusing on the consumer throughout the conversation.
Sharing information on promotional offers and programs is preferable to keep customers on hold and amused.
It is crucial to exercise caution when adopting this tactic because disclosing this information if the caller is dissatisfied with services is not a good idea.
If that is the case, it is better first to address the customer's concern and request their consent before disclosing any information.
Sharing this knowledge will benefit the company's promotion and brand reputation-building efforts in addition to helping to increase sales.
Keeping call center agents informed and updated is one of the most straightforward yet most efficient strategies to reduce dead air.
They ought to have comprehensive knowledge of the company's goods and services. In addition, they must be aware of strategies to help them rapidly resolve customer issues.
You may help them learn how to make a dissatisfied customer happy by providing them with regular training sessions.
There are some situations where call center agents have to put customers on hold while looking for their data or handling their requests.
Here are some tips on using a dead air script to put customers on hold in everyday situations.
Explaining why a customer should wait decreases customer confusion, and they may better understand brand policies if involved in the resolution process.
Give the customer a ballpark figure within which you follow up with a resolution and check in with the customer to make sure their inquiry has not been lost in the system.
If the waiting time is prolonged, the customer may hang up, so make sure to set the expectations and fulfill them.
For example, if the agent tells the customer they will be back in two minutes, it is suggested to show up on time no matter what.
Simple ways to show empathy for a customer who has been waiting for some time go a long way in call centers.
For example, thank them for their patience and offer them an apology for keeping them waiting.
The attention spans in today's world are the shortest ever. If there is quiet for more than three seconds during a customer service or sales contact, the customer may get disinterested or even impatient.
The good news is that asking some questions such as below during a call helps call center agents avoid dead air:
Then you may follow up with more questions and chat about their answers to the above question.
Ask the consumer what they enjoy doing when it is snowy. For instance, if you see it is snowing, ask them where they are.
Do they go outside to ski, snowshoe, or sit inside and read? Are they family members, or are they acting alone? What age are their children?
Additionally, you can enquire about their age, place of residence, nearby restaurants, how frequently they travel, and more.
You may also inform the customer about the issue's progress. Inform them if you need to check their account, seek an answer, or wait for something to load.
It reassures the customers that while you are having a good time, you are also attempting to solve their query or problem as soon as possible.
By establishing a genuine human connection, you also give yourself the chance to improve their day. For example, you might be shocked at how quickly this tiny talk goes.
While being silent can be necessary for certain circumstances, it is not always the best course of action. Disrespecting the customer's time and effort is demonstrated by being silent during a phone call. When customers call customer service, they do not do so to remain silent but resolve their issues quickly. Instead, use the dead air script on this guide to engage with your customers.
By implementing the best practices we’ve outlined above and creating a detailed contact center QA process that includes customizable Scorebuddy Scorecards, you can reduce repeat calls, increase customer satisfaction, and improve agent efficiency. Learn how Scorebuddy can help today.
