Utilising modern technology is one of the best ways call centres can improve customer experience, while also easing pressure on call agents. Speech analytics is one of the most important investments call centres can make nowadays. Speech analytics software monitors real-time speech from customers and can turn this into actionable insights to improve quality.
How Does Speech Analytics Work?
Speech analytics software uses speech recognition to detect certain, predetermined words and phrases from customer-agent conversations. This information is then analysed and indexed so that managers can get insights into customers’ needs and wants and how call agents are responding.
However, it isn’t just historical data that can be used for this analysis- speech analytics software can provide live analysis and guidance for call agents so that they may provide the best solution for their callers.
The Benefits of Call Centre Speech Analytics
Despite the abundance of technology nowadays that attempts to replace human call center agents (e.g. chatbots), there is no chance that they will be made completely obsolete. , Humans still seek the personal touch of a human on the other end of the phone. That said, customers’ expectations of service quality levels are higher than ever and this will only trend upwards. That’s why investing in the best customer service tech is essential for modern businesses.
Provide The Best Customer Experience
One of the main reasons any contact centre uses speech analytics is to enable the best customer experience. Speech analytics software will take audio data and both mine and analyse it to determine the reason for a call, the exact needs of the caller, specific products or services mentioned along with any other information a business is looking for.
By detecting words and phrases, it can even determine the mood of the customer to help the agent provide the best solutions and enable the most satisfaction from the customer.
Saves Costs
Speech analytics can save costs in the short-run, while also delivering a great ROI in the long run. Staff costs can be reduced by decreasing the number of staff required, by automating call monitoring and even compliance checking.
By helping agents remain compliant, speech analytics software can help to avoid fines and even loss of revenue from a bad reputation due to non-compliance.
Call volumes can be decreased with the addition of being able to really understand why customers call and creating better solutions elsewhere such as websites or apps, reducing staff numbers.
It can even aid in improving first-call resolution rates and remove those unnecessary callbacks and AHT (Average Handling Time) can also be dramatically reduced with fewer needs to transfer calls between departments.
Another huge cost contact centres often endure is if they need to train new staff due to high staff turnover rates. With the use of speech analytics, the right training can be provided during induction and throughout agents’ time within the business. This gives them the best tools to do the best in their role and have a higher job satisfaction rate.
Upselling Opportunities
With immediate, real-time feedback, speech analytics can provide agents with prompts for upselling opportunities they may have missed themselves. This allows agents to deliver the best product or service for the customer, resulting in higher revenue but also making the caller feel valued and listened to.
Any customer can become frustrated with sales pitches that don’t apply to them- it can lead to callers becoming irate for a very avoidable reason.
With the right sales pitch for the right caller, simple queries can be turned into a sales opportunity that is relevant to that caller.
Operation Improvements
Aside from reducing AHT and improving first-call resolution, speech analytics software can help to improve current, outdated operations within the business.
Evaluations of analytics can review calls against employee skill set and provide a completely unbiased report that allows managers to identify training needs and opportunities within the workforce.
Improve Customer Loyalty
Identifying at-risk customers is essential for ‘saving the sale’ however, this can be easier said than done without the use of speech analytics. This type of software can identify programmed keywords and phrases in real-time that an agent may not have picked up on,
This can then alert an agent that there is a risk in a customer taking their business elsewhere, even if they weren’t aware, and allow them to alter their approach to prevent customers from leaving.
Aid Compliance
Speech analytics can automatically score every call against the exact compliance criteria of any business. With immediate feedback to agents when requested, poor performance or non-compliance with regulations can easily be rectifying and further training can be provided.
Violations in compliance can be incredibly costly and damage the reputation of the business, so these calls must be quickly flagged to managers before further damage can be done.
Speech analytics is one of the fastest-growing areas within the contact centre industry and it is always adapting and improving to be in line with the demands of modern enterprises. Without it, manually monitoring phone calls is almost impossible, not to mention incredibly time-consuming and costly. Businesses that have implemented this technology are finding that speech analytics software is providing great returns.