)
Despite the instant access to information and increasing usage of social media platforms, human dialogue remains a powerful enabler of customer engagement. Consider this scenario. Even after extensive online research, Amy is not sure if she wants to go with Insurer A or Insurer B. Both insurers offer similar products that are competitively priced. However, when she calls the insurers, Insurer A pushes products she is not interested in and appears to be in a hurry to get her off the phone. Insurer B, on the other hand, takes the time to answer all her questions. This experience prompts Amy to choose Insurer B. While this is a hypothetical scenario, it’s clear that contact center agents play an incredibly important role in offering customized services and strengthening the customer relationship.
This is why, according to a survey by Opus Research, customer-centric industries such as Telecom, Healthcare, Retail, Pharma and Financial Services are leveraging Speech Analytics.
An overwhelming 72% companies believe that Speech Analytics can lead to improved customer experience and 68% regard it as a cost saving mechanism. 52% of the respondents trust that Speech Analytics deployment can lead to revenue enhancement through identification of cross-selling and upsell opportunities.
While there are several reasons to deploy Speech Analytics, here are the top 5 that motivated the survey respondents:
#1 Rapid detection of customer frustrations (55%): Analyzing specific phrases or words, as well as the tone of voice and silence patterns, helps identify a frustrated customer. The agent can then be prompted with proactive response alternatives to prevent further escalation.
#2 Quick identification of customer intent and resolution (52%): Speech Analytics can help identify the primary intent behind the call and automatically provide the necessary insights, recommendations, or best practice to the agent for a first-time resolution.
#3 Workforce optimization (50%): Insights from monitoring agent performance can be used as inputs for training. Contact center managers can also set up specific business processes for different call categories to optimize the time spent on calls.
#4 Control over operating costs (48%): Speech Analytics is the key to reducing operating costs by ensuring first call resolution, reducing repeat calls, and lowering the average handle time (AHT). Even monitoring silence on calls can help improve call handling efficiency, and consequently, lead to cost savings.
#5 Identification of the root cause of customer experience failures (48%): Analyzing conversations can reveal process bottlenecks and products or services that are causing customer dissatisfaction. Agents can be offered recommendations to handle key issues at specific points along the customer journey.
Investment in speech analytics likely to rise
Implementing Speech Analytics can transform the call center from a cost center to a rich source of business and customer insights. According to the Opus Research, a high percentage of companies expect to spend more on Speech Analytics over the next 1-3 years, especially in North America. The flexibility offered by cloud-based services is also driving the adoption of Speech Analytics by making it more affordable. With the voice of the customer becoming increasingly louder, Speech Analytics will be the key to accelerated, data-driven decision making, and in turn, better outcomes.
Click here to download the Opus Research Speech Analytics survey report commissioned by Uniphore.