Data is king.
When it speaks, it has lots to say.
From customer satisfaction to agent productivity, marketing cut-through to sales performance, contact center data, in particular, has the power to not only enlighten and inform but also to support constant improvement.
However, despite its high value, communication data is not always leveraged to its full potential. Ironically, in the era of smart, powerful unified communication and contact center platforms, deep oceans of data go unexplored. The information is automatically captured, but its owners often choose not to interrogate it.
To reverse that set of circumstances, data measurement is essential. Indeed, data-driven organizations are likely to score well against all of the critical Key Performance Indicators upon which increased growth and profitability depend.
Consequently, they would benefit from partnering with a solution vendor for whom the value of data cannot be over-played, and whose tools and technologies can convert it into tangible bottom-line benefits.
“Contact centers need to keep a keen eye on a wide range of metrics, to make sure teams are operating efficiently, customers are happy, and targets are being met,” says Matt Yates, Vice President of Engineering at leading contact center solutions provider MaxContact, whose recently-published 'Benchmarking Insights Report' shares the crucial importance of communication data measurement.
“You may have a general idea about customer satisfaction rates and agent productivity, based on anecdotal evidence and gut feeling.
But benchmarking gives you data, and data allows you to compare how you’re doing today with the same time last month, last year or the same time five years ago. It also allows you to compare yourself to industry averages. When you can do that, you have the evidence you need to drive improvements. The result is competitive edge.”
To be successful, contact centers have to focus on providing great experiences in the most cost-effective way. Speed, accuracy, and customer satisfaction are all essential, but one factor can’t be prioritized at the expense of others. Exceeding call rate targets but providing a poor experience is a recipe for failure. Giving great experiences but calling too few customers is a recipe for bankruptcy.
MaxContact’s research showed that the most-watched performance metric is average handle time (AHT). Next comes quality assurance (QA), customer satisfaction (CSAT), first contact resolution rate, and call outcomes.