FCR, or First Call Resolutions if you prefer, is the process of resolving a caller’s problem on their first call to customer service. In general, this means that the inbound call center agent who receives your call will make sure to find the right answer to your problem. This is like a benchmark when it comes to customer support. Call centers thrive to achieve a higher FCR percentage for a number of reasons. In this article, we will look at the advantages of having a high FCR conversion rate.
First Call Resolutions reduce operating costs. You have to pay the call center agents as well as the phone lines if you want to keep it free. When you’re resolving issues in a single call, you’re reducing your workload. You are making sure that a caller does not call back with the same problem. Your BPO agents are free to move caller issues to another day. You do not need to pay for calls that are made to the answering service because the agents were unable to address them in the first instance. It picks up call volume and frees your answering agents from working against a backlog.
The best part of a higher FCR rate is that you have a larger network of callers who are satisfied with your customer service. You will feel the difference when your customers are praying to your company’s customer service department on online forums and discussion boards, as well as on social media. It will be a viral advertisement that your BPO company will greatly benefit from. When your call center does a good job in the customer service department, it is sure to attract attention. You will have customers coming to you because it is very rare to find a telemarketing unit that has a great inbound call center team.
The third advantage derives from the second. When callers are satisfied with the customer service you provide, they won’t be tempted to switch to rival brands. That is a very definite possibility because customers are not loyal to business networks that do not value their importance. They want to be treated special and call center agents have to do that. Building the subscriber list may be the duty of the lead generation team, but when it comes to retaining them, the inbound call center team has an important role to play.
A higher FCR will surely boost sales. Cold call agents who handle calls can boost sales when they find out that the caller is happy with the call center services they have provided. It becomes easier for agents to convince callers with their marketing pitch at these times. Callers are more receptive to what BPO agents have to say. And since they are already convinced that the customer service department works well, buying from such a brand will not be unreasonable.
