Call routing is often overlooked when managing a customer service team. But, without call routing, your agents can’t handle high call volumes. And eventually, it would impact customer engagement. Call routing can help customers locate the proper support person for each call to avoid getting stuck or speaking to the wrong person.
Incoming Call Routing handles incoming calls according to your business requirements. Business call routing directs calls depending on various conditions, including the purpose of the call, the day of the week, agent abilities, and more.
What Does Call Routing Mean?
Business phone systems with call center call routing features can automatically route calls to certain agents depending on predetermined criteria.
Call routing ensures a seamless and reliable business communication. It enables customers to reach the appropriate individual or department without calling a separate number. Call routing, also called Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), works with auto attendants.
It can ensure that people can contact the appropriate people or department without dialing another number. Virtual call routing system for small businesses helps boost customer satisfaction and the likelihood of a successful resolution on the first call (FCR).
Intelligent call routing lets the system administrator connect callers to specific phone lines or extensions without putting them on hold.
How Call Routing Works in Real Life?
Suppose you wish to increase your business credit card’s spending limit. You have to dial the toll free number on the back of the card. The phone system provides several options, including account opening, account statements, charge disputes, travel notifications, and credit limit increases.
The company’s phone system recognizes you as an existing cardholder. Instead of going through the usual channels, it connects you directly to the department that can help you with increasing the credit limit.
GSM call routing detects you and smoothly connects you to a qualified problem-solver.
How Is Call Routing Managed To Perform?
Call routing uses data customers give your IVR system when contacting your business phone number.
Call routing has three steps.
1. Preliminary Phase:
In most cloud contact centers, the initial step in VoIP call routing is forwarding the call to an IVR or interactive voice response technology. Interactive voice response (IVR) systems use pre-recorded questions and responses to determine the caller’s intent.
2. Call Queuing Phase:
Automatic call distributors (ACDs) queue callers based on their responses to the IVR. The ACD can categorize incoming calls based on questions, skills, or wait for the duration.
3. Call Distribution Phase:
After the calls have been queued, the following step is to route them to your agents. Similarly, with the queuing process, your rules determine the call distribution technique. For instance, you can select the talk-time distribution approach, which delivers calls to the representative who has worked the least, reducing your personnel’s idle time.
Factors Influence Call Routing Process:
You can route calls according to several different rules (or criteria), including the following:
- Auto Attendant Selections: What option does the caller choose from the menu? Do they have issues with your product? Or do you simply look for information? Redirect the call as appropriate.
- Caller Identification: Use caller ID to recall previous interactions with customers. Verify the items they purchased from you and then transfer the call to the appropriate department.
- Agent Skill: Your system should route calls to the best person.
- The Time of Day: Caller and contact center call routing are in separate time zones.
- IVR: Interactive Voice Response: Your system can integrate ML and AI to determine how to best direct a call based on the caller’s stated requirements.
Several Types of Call Routing
There are numerous call routing options. In addition, there are several business call routing options to meet the requirements of different businesses. Depending on the intricacy and development of your business’s customer contact operation, each has a significant part to play throughout the process.
Here are the various call routing options you can consider:
1. Round-Robin:
Round-robin means that all incoming calls are divided evenly among the team members. Round-robin algorithms distribute an equal number of incoming leads to each sales representative. Automatic call distributors often use round-robin routing algorithms. This team’s call routing can be developed to create a more equitable and fair sales environment.
For example, if the call center has five agents, the first call will be routed to the first representative. After accepting that call, the following one is transferred to the next agent. The first agent gets a call after the fifth agent.
2. Skill-Based Routing:
Skill-based VoIP call routing uses automatic telephone distribution (ACD) and interactive voice response (IVR) to match the caller’s needs with the representative or department with the right skills to handle the call. After the customer has interacted with the IVR system to select the relevant alternatives from the menu, the ACD will rely on that data to determine how calls will be distributed.
3. A Routing Strategy Based On Values:
Customers are placed in call queues using value-based call routing, also called smart routing in some sectors. This method takes into account the perceived or actual value of the client.
To determine a customer’s value, brands evaluate several variables, such as past visits’ activities and demographic information, like age and income. These variables determine whether calls are routed proactively or interactively.
4. Campaign-Based Routing:
Campaign-based call routing gives users a unique phone number for marketing campaigns. For instance, when a person calls a contact number linked with a campaign promoting a new product, a representative will easily identify which campaign prompted the call.
5. Weighted Call Routing:
With this type of call routing, administrators can decide how many calls to send to each call center agent. That must equal 100 percent. This inbound call technique generates leads like a sales pipeline. This is fantastic for onboarding new hires or targeting high-performers.
6. Routing Based On Geography:
Geographic call routing in GSM enables customers to communicate with regional branches of businesses using a single phone number. Brands can do this in several ways, including using GPS or prompting callers to input their zip code via an IVR.
7. Routing Based On Time:
Time-based call routing, also called “time of day routing,” transmits calls to the appropriate person according to the date and time of the call. This helps call centers to handle calls better at all times of the day. This call center call routing approach is advantageous for firms with several contact centers that serve a large geographical area.
8. Least Occupied Routing:
Least occupied incoming call routing, also known as most idle inbound call routing, transfers the incoming call to the agent who has handled the fewest calls or experienced the least talk time for the day.
These teams’ call routing is especially useful for customer care and support teams because it reduces the workload on individual agents.
9. Predictive Behavioral Routing:
Predictive behavioral or intelligent routing uses real-time and historical data from a call center to route incoming calls to the agent most likely to have the desired data.
The AI-powered routing approach considers the caller’s preferred communication method, purchase and service history, and personality and behavioral profile.
10. Sequential Routing:
Sequential inbound call routing is a list-based order type, sometimes called fixed order routing. This type of order maintains a certain agent at the head of the line to take customer service calls throughout a predetermined amount of time.
For instance, if representatives A, B, and C are all receiving calls, representative A will not only answer the first call, but he or she will also serve as the first person to respond for the second call, the third call, and so on. Calls will be transferred to agents B and C only if Agent A cannot take them or if Agent A transfers a call.
What Are The Benefits Of Call Routing For Your Business?
Providers of phone systems for businesses offer more than just a simple addition: a virtual call routing system for small businesses. It helps businesses of all sizes in many ways. Incoming call routing can give several advantages to the corporate phone system in addition to the call center of an organization. It can reduce wait times and help customers resolve their issues quickly. It can also enhance your workflow operations, hence enhancing the productivity and efficiency of your agents.
Call routing offers your business several benefits.
1. Make Certain You Do Not Miss Crucial Calls
You can use business call routing to forward vital calls to your home, business, and mobile phones. You’ll always catch a business call with these phone routing guidelines, whether at home or away.
2. Prioritize Business Calls
You can set specific hours of availability for certain callers while letting others through at different times of the day from your online chat center. Also, you can choose which calls will always go to voicemail. VoIP Call Routing lets you choose your calls.
3. Consumer Satisfaction
Customer service resolution is the core objective of contact centers. An effective incoming call routing system can boost customer satisfaction by directing calls to the correct corporate employee with the expertise to help them fast. This improves agent-customer connections and brand reputation.
4. Human Resource Management
Call routing helps your team avoid overloading incoming calls by distributing the burden evenly among agents. This allows your team to concentrate on production and customer service. Automatic VoIP call routing enables your agents to concentrate on supporting consumers, resulting in increased productivity.
Tips On Implementing a Call-Routing System
- Carry out market research – Do customer research to determine the most typical customer complaints and caller demographics. This will help you anticipate potential issues and customize your call-routing strategy accordingly.
- Choose your method of distribution – Choose the most suitable method from the options. Your team size and call volume determine which strategies work best.
- Create skills – If you choose the skill-based distribution, you must build skills within your ACD.
Best Call Routing Practices
- Here are some guidelines for developing an efficient call-routing strategy:
- Maintain simplicity in pre-recorded IVR prompts
- Integrate your routing system with CRM software.
- Provide callers queue position and expected wait periods while on hold.
- Provide callers with the choice of an automatic callback.
- Make it simple to contact a live representative when needed.
- To improve first-contact agent availability, create call groups.
- Offer options for language-based routing
- Use automated customer questionnaires
- Consider adding more VoIP call routing choices and IVR menu options during busy times.
Conclusion:
Both customer happiness and contact center productivity depend on efficient teams call routing. A cloud-based VoIP call routing solution lets you handle outgoing and incoming calls online. Customers are protected because malicious actors are prohibited from using the service. You can increase first-call resolution and customer satisfaction through call routing. It’s time to upgrade your phone service provider if it doesn’t support call routing.
Call routing enhances prompt customer satisfaction and revenue generation. Instead of reaching voicemail, calls are addressed by the relevant staff at the appropriate time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Does Custom Call Routing Work?
A phone system’s call routing follows custom rules. Depending on your pre-set rules and criteria, it automatically queues incoming calls and routes them to a sales or support agent or group.
What Forms Of Call Routing Systems Are Available?
There are the following call routing systems:
- Round-robin Routing
- Least Occupancy Routing
- Skills-based Routing
- Intelligent Call Routing
- Business Rules Routing
- Time-based Routing
- Predictive Behavioral Routing
- Sequential Routing
- Outbound Routing
What Are Call Flow And Call Routing?
Call routing is a customer support tool for a business telephone system that queues incoming calls and routes them depending on pre-set rules. Calls are routed before the recipient of the call responds.
A call flow is a plan for handling calls from when they come into the phone system until the end. Call flows can manage complex call situations and improve customer service.
What Does IVR Call Routing Mean?
Direct routing uses the phone keypad or speech recognition to navigate the menu. The IVR lets customers access pre-recorded information.
What Distinguishes IVR From Call Routing?
Call routing lets customers get phone system information without an operator. IVR intelligently guides callers through alternatives while it routes calls to the agents based on the organizational criteria.
How Does The Call Routing Process Work?
Call routing effectively receives and routes business calls to extensions or groups depending on your requirements. Call centers route calls independently, but the process is similar.
- Qualifying Phase
- Call Queueing Phase
- Call Distribution Phase
