What are inbound calls, and how could your business hone its inbound call strategy?

An inbound call is something that we have all probably done, but never known the term for. In technical terms, inbound calling is when the customer initiates contact with a business. In other words, they call you rather than the other way around.

A help desk team or a customer support call centre usually handles inbound calls to bigger companies. For smaller businesses it might be one person who answers the phone and deals with queries. If you have ever called a business to ask them a question about something, this is what they call an inbound call.

Because the caller is coming to you for help, this requires the business to have a strategy in place to be able to react. For example, if the question is about money, you might direct the call to the finance department. However, if it is a simple query about opening hours, the receivers might be able to answer the question themselves.

Whether you have an inbound call strategy, or are in the process of developing one, it is important to make sure it is efficient so that you can provide the best customer experience. Here are a few ways you can hone your inbound call strategy.

Customer service training

Customer service roles can be the least paid roles within a company, and most people will pass them off as easy because of this. However, customer facing roles can be incredibly draining and involve way more information than you might expect. Make sure that your staff are being trained regularly so that you can offer the best customer service to your consumers, as well as making sure your staff can execute the job properly.

Invest in inbound call technology

Specifically, look into software that can provide inbound call routing. You know when you call up a business and you are placed in a queue? Maybe an automated service asks you a few questions and then you are patched through to the appropriate department? This is what we call inbound call routing. Call routing can make your service more efficient as it makes sure the customer is put through to the appropriate department with little to no interaction from your employees.

Look into live chat and FAQs

One way to take the pressure away from inbound calls, is to implement services such as a live chat or an FAQ page on your website. This way, the customer can look up the answers themselves, and if they can’t find the answer, then they can get in touch. Yes, you will need to have someone to answer the chat, but this can allow your employees more time to search for answers to queries rather than them needing an immediate response.

Being put on hold is officially one of the biggest pet hates of the British public. So, instead of putting your callers on hold for prolonged periods of time, make sure that your inbound call strategy is up to the job by following these top tips.