You're busy, your customers are busy, and your team is busy. Effective call routing ensures that no one's time is wasted – it's a win-win for everyone involved.
Without call routing, a person answers the phone and manually forwards the caller to where they need to go. With small volumes, this can work fine. But for a larger company or even a period of time with a sudden increase in incoming calls, call routing can ease the burden on employees and reduce wait time for callers.
Traditional Call Routing vs. VoIP
If you've tapped a number on your keypad, used voice commands to tell the system what you need, entered your account number, or done anything similar, you've interacted with a call routing system.
Simply put, a call routing system directs the flow of incoming calls. When done right, it greets each caller, places them in a queue, and quickly routes them to the right person.
Historically, businesses with landlines used the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) to route calls. This type of traditional call routing takes callers through a series of handsets and physical locations until they are placed in a queue and can finally speak to the right person.
Private branch exchange (PBX) is a more modern alternative. Each company has its own operations center and each user receives a separate terminal and extension. While they perform better than other traditional systems, private branch exchanges are still outdated, difficult to scale, and require physical infrastructure.
On the other hand, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) leverages the Internet instead of physical wires. VoIP uses software to connect, making it easier for businesses to manage their call routing flows, schedule complex queuing systems, add or remove users, and perform upgrades anytime they need to.
All of this happens through a user-friendly platform that can be easily accessed from a web browser, mobile phone or desktop computer.
Call routing for a small business
You may think your business is too small to benefit from call routing, but smaller businesses may actually have more to gain.
For starters, it gives the appearance that you are bigger than you currently are.
This immediately builds trust with anyone who calls your business line. Plus, it can help fill in the gaps when your team is busy with other tasks. If an employee isn’t in front of their phone, your call routing system can send the caller to someone else to ensure no call goes unanswered.
Call routing also works well outside of business hours and on holidays. Instead of going straight to voicemail, you can decide what happens to the call based on custom conditions you program.
Ultimately, it gives you more control over the customer experience and can benefit your team too. Instead of wasting time transferring calls, they'll only receive calls they can actually handle themselves.
Advanced Call Routing with IVR
Interactive voice response is one of the most common advanced call routing tools. It works especially well for large businesses and call centers with a high call volume.
With an interactive voice response (IVR) system, callers use their keypad or voice to choose from a menu of options. There are usually several levels that work together to gather information about the caller, direct them to the right department, or even help them answer their own questions.
Overall, IVR gives callers control and makes it easier for agents to understand what they need before picking up the phone.
Callers often have a much better experience since they have multiple options. Plus, interactive voice response (IVR) can be faster than waiting for the next available agent, especially for making payments, managing your bank account, finding out business hours, getting your address, or answering frequently asked questions.
For example, a caller might:
- Select a specific department.
- Verbally explain the purpose of your call.
- Work through a menu of frequently asked questions.
- Opt for a callback if your question is not answered.
Modern VoIP systems make it incredibly easy to create and manage IVR systems. They also make it easy to manage call queues in real-time or through automation. Common queue distribution tactics include: skill-based, preferred agent, round-robin, geographic, and last agent spoken to.
Integration with customer relationship management (CRM) software makes this even more appealing. When done right, your interactive voice response (IVR) system can pull information about the caller directly from your CRM and use it to direct the call where it needs to go.
For example, a high-value repeat customer could be referred to your sales retention team if their contract is up for renewal.
These same call routing techniques can even be applied to text messages, emails, social media messages, and messaging apps. Combined, you have a well-oiled machine that directs every inquiry to the right place the first time.
Faster call routing is not always better
Many customers just want to speak to a person as quickly as possible, but having them speak directly to an agent isn't always the best option.
Well-designed call routing can give agents additional context that helps them serve the caller better, faster. While it may take an extra 30 seconds for the caller to reach an agent, by routing through an automated system, they may already be working to resolve the situation before they answer the phone.
It can also ensure that they speak to the right person the first time. No one likes waiting on hold or having to explain what's happening multiple times to different people. So those few extra seconds can save the customer a frustrating experience.
You may even be able to avoid human interaction altogether. Automated menus can help in a wide variety of situations, such as resetting a PIN number, making payments, checking an account balance, or getting the dates and times of upcoming events.
Wondering which interactive voice response (IVR) system is best for your business? Check out my latest roundup of the best interactive voice response (IVR) systems on the market.
