Speech Analytics Will Cure Your Call DNA
No doubt that we live in an age of the connected consumer. With the adoption of smartphones and e-commerce sales that continue to rise, online interactions are a critical step in the customer’s path to purchase. In fact, a Facebook study found that 73% of people always have their mobile devices with them, and companies are taking note. Marketers will spend nearly half of their budget in 2021 on digital channels, targeting consumers online with site, search, social, and mobile apps to connect with existing customers and acquire new ones.
Yet, despite all this online intelligence, many companies are still struggling to engage with customers. According to a recent Forrester report, more than 60% of marketers are facing significant challenges when it comes to acquiring new customers and increasing engagement. In the rush to fill this gap while keeping pace with digital transformation, companies have deprioritized their most valuable tool for engagement: the telephone.
In fact, the same Forrester study shows that customers who call a business convert 30% faster, spend 28% more and have a 28% higher retention rate. So, without visibility into what’s happening on the phone, business leaders are missing out on key insights from an offline channel that leads customers to convert faster.
Uncover Your Call DNA
To shift the paradigm, it’s time for businesses to examine what’s happening with their inbound phone calls. Or as we say, “time to analyze your call DNA.” What is call DNA exactly? It’s a visual representation of a call's "genetic makeup," or all of the fundamental details about what happens during conversations between customers and the business. Insights from these interactions can surface potential areas to improve sales, customer experience and overall business performance.
For example, the DNA of a call identifies hidden trends in customer conversations, making it easy for businesses to understand important indicators within every interaction. Through a sophisticated set of machine learning-based models, call tracking technology analyzes metadata like call start and stop times, as well as duration, to automatically predict the outcome of calls and customer intent.
Boost Call Performance with Speech Analytics
Viewing calls at the individual level is merely step one of tapping into the larger potential of “fixing the phones” within your organization. What if there was a way to unlock the actionable insights marketing and sales teams need to improve everything from audience targeting to first-call resolution? Companies that are seeing substantial improvements in these areas of operation have fully invested in an AI-enabled speech analytics solution.
AI-enabled speech analytics automatically provides visibility to trends and insights at an enterprise level, shedding light on what transpires on every phone call. From detecting tone and emotion to transcribing conversations with high accuracy, speech analytics empowers teams across the business with information to help establish best practices and drive quality customer interactions – ultimately, increasing sales. For example, the automotive industry, including dealers and service shops, relies heavily on phone calls with customers. From calling to book a service appointment, to checking for available parts, or setting up time for a test drive – customers are clicking to call from their mobile device and expect to hear an agent on the other line. Yet, a recent study found that nearly 20% of all calls to car brands fail to actually connect a customer to an agent, leaving revenue opportunities on the line. For example, calls may simply be going unanswered, or customers are hanging up after being put on hold or growing tired of endless IVR menu options.
If a business has real-time insight into why these calls failed, they can make simple improvements that could have a significant impact on their bottom line. As an example, if a car dealership could use these actionable insights to pinpoint areas of improvement on calls and increase the rate of sales appointment requests by only 5%, this would create an average of 16 more sales opportunities per dealer, per month. If half of those appointments show, and half of those resulted in a sale – dealers would be increasing their monthly margin by millions of dollars each month. All from just improving call performance.
Human Connection, the Dominant Strand in Your Call DNA
Although we live in a digital era, human connection will always be a meaningful means of communication, and a vital component to understanding the full customer journey. Harnessing the power of speech technology is a way for businesses to gain predictive insights that add intelligence to customer interactions, increase brand loyalty and boost revenue. So, while consumers remain head deep in their mobile devices, when they’re ready to pick up the phone and call, you’ll know how to engage them in ways that keep them coming back.
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