In recent times, outages have frequently captured headlines, prompting businesses to rethink their strategies for handling unexpected surges in customer inquiries. Ensuring seamless customer service during these critical moments is not only about maintaining communication but also about preserving trust and brand reputation. Here are two essential tips to manage these situations effectively using advanced contact center solutions like Genesys Cloud CX.
Tip 1: Emergency Routing
When disaster strikes, whether it be a natural calamity or a system failure, it’s crucial to have a robust emergency routing system in place. Genesys Cloud CX offers a seamless way to manage large volumes of customer inquiries by configuring emergency routing. This feature allows businesses to redirect inquiries from an affected contact center to another location, ensuring continuity of service.
By setting up emergency groups, you can easily divert calls and messages to unaffected contact centers, remote agents, or alternative communication channels like SMS or email. Moreover, these groups can deliver automated messages to inform customers about the ongoing situation and provide estimated resolution times. This approach not only keeps communication lines open but also maintains service levels, minimizes downtime, and ensures that customers receive consistent and clear information.
Tip 2: Fast & Easy IVR Changes
A swift response is critical during service disruptions. One of the significant advantages of using Genesys Cloud CX and utilizing a partner like us for thorough training is the ability to make immediate changes to your Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Instead of waiting for IT support, contact centers using Genesys Cloud CX have the advantage of instantly updating their IVR messages to inform callers about the issue, expected resolution times, and available alternatives.
Having a pre-recorded message ready to go can significantly reduce call handle times and alleviate customer frustration. Some businesses have webpages that track the progress of the outage which they may also want to include in the message to help lower incoming inquiries. Additionally, offering a callback option is possible and can enhance customer satisfaction by providing customers with the choice to receive updates without having to wait on hold. This capability within Genesys Cloud CX ensures that customers are well-informed and reassured, even during unexpected events.
Tip 3: Leverage Chat Channels
During a service outage, contact centers can effectively leverage chat channels such as web chat, SMS, and WhatsApp to manage the influx of customer inquiries. Agents can handle multiple chat interactions simultaneously, typically managing between 2-5 chats at a time, which significantly boosts their efficiency compared to handling voice calls one at a time. Promoting the use of chat channels can be achieved by informing customers about the average wait times for voice calls versus chat. Highlighting that chat wait times are generally shorter can naturally encourage customers to opt for chat. Additionally, prominently displaying the chat option on the website or service status page during an outage can further drive its adoption. This strategy not only reduces customer wait times and speeds up the dissemination of information regarding the service outage but also mitigates customer frustration. Overall, leveraging chat channels ensures a smoother customer experience during high-demand periods, maintaining service quality and customer satisfaction even amidst disruptions.
Conclusion
In an era where customer expectations are at an all-time high, being prepared for emergencies is not just an option—it’s a necessity. With solutions like Genesys Cloud CX, businesses can quickly adapt to unforeseen circumstances, ensuring that customer service remains uninterrupted and efficient. By leveraging features like emergency routing and fast IVR updates, you can maintain high service standards and keep customer trust intact, even during challenging times.
For more information on how to optimize your contact center’s resilience and efficiency, reach out to one of our experts. Consider exploring Genesys Cloud CX through a partner like us whose main focus is proactive training and the full utilization of the platform’s features which maximizes your investment, produces customer loyalty and boosts agent experiences.