10 KPIs That Are Actually Useful for Enhancing Customer Service

Did you know that companies that deliver exceptional customer experiences drive revenues 4% to 8% higher than their competitors?

Delivering exceptional customer service is a prerequisite in today’s competitive environment. Your customers are the lifeline of your business. 

To put it simply, they choose you to serve them and so they expect the best of you. Nothing less than that would do.

That begs the question, how do you gauge the quality of your customer service?

Answer this. You have a contact centre as a part of your brand marketing. Would you ring the panic alarm only after receiving a huge number of customer complaints? Don't you think your image in the public eye would be damaged by then? 

The better option is to consistently monitor your contact centre performance by indexing KPIs.

 
What are KPIs and how do they matter? 

KPIs are Key Performance Indicators. 

As the term suggests, these are metrics fixed by the management to assess the performance of a team, individual or department. 

Businesses use this as a scoring mechanism to base whether a particular team is underperforming in its goals. 

Now that you know what KPIs are, what kind of KPIs should you be considering to measure the quality of your customer service?

This you don't have to answer. We have consolidated all those for you right here:  

1. Call volume

First things first. Begin with tracking the number of customer queries you receive. Monitor this number and check if there is a spike or decline. 

What you can do is improve your knowledge base and relate this number with your call volumes. Try offering self-service channels like a Hosted Phone System so that customers can search and obtain answers to their queries themselves. 

Check if this helps reduce the total number of customer queries.

2. Customer request backlog

Backlogs are a constant issue for contact centres. Though you strive to deliver the best to your customers, hitting the bullseye in one shot may not always be possible. 

Customer queries and requests that have been pending over some time are termed backlogs. 

To counter this, try having an appropriate follow-up mechanism. This should include a systematic schedule to check up on customers about the status of their issue. 

Regular updates through open channels of communication can facilitate quick resolutions. This approach will help to slash down the number of customer request backlogs. 

3. Average resolution time

Average resolution time is the duration taken to completely resolve and close a customer request. This number is high when your customer support representatives are not equipped enough to understand and resolve customer issues spontaneously.

However, there may be other reasons—personnel shortage, technical errors, etc. These reasons can hinder the resolution time for your call centre.

Therefore, find the reasons responsible for influencing this KPI. Ensure to train your agents on the products and services of the company. 

You can also provide your customers with additional information and links to refer to when they have any doubts. This may eliminate the chances of them coming back again with the same problem.

4. Customer satisfaction score

Ideally, a customer satisfaction score is obtained through a survey after the customer query has been resolved. Usually, the frustrated customers are the most vocal and willing to provide negative feedback. If we derive inputs from a larger set of customers, there is a good chance that this metric will be more balanced. 

5.Average handling time

The faster your resolutions, the happier your customers will be. This is what the average handling time is all about. 

It determines the amount of time spent on a customer request—from connecting to the end of the call.

As stakeholders, you should ensure that you lower this number gradually. Make sure that you equip your agents with all the information they may need to serve the customers. For example, provide them access to a CRM, knowledge repository, and options to connect to a supervisor if needed. 

However, if you find this number increasing, shadow your agents to know more about their approach. 

Change the ones that eat up time and stick to the ones that best suit your business.  

6.Net promoter score

NPS is all about earning loyal customers. This score reflects the number of customers who will promote your brand or recommend your products to their associates. 

This is done through an NPS survey. The survey data is split into the following:

Promoters- Customers who rated your brand from 9 to 10

Passives- Customers who rated your brand from 7 to 8

Detractors- Customers who rated from 0 to 6

Subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters to get the NPS score.

You should focus on the streamlined delivery of customer service and ensure to offer personalised support to boost this metric.

7.Average first response time

The average first response time is the timespan your agent takes to respond to the customer. In today's competitive business landscape, customers expect prompt responses. Therefore, you must facilitate a quick response system.

For example, consider hiring dedicated teams to take charge of queries from various channels. This will allow streamlining the complete process, thereby enabling you to score big on this KPI.

8.Average conversion rate

The average conversion rate refers to the number of customers who have completed the action you may have requested. This can be completing a form, calling back for a campaign, or making a purchase.

The higher this number, the better it is for your contact centre. 

Your agents should be competent enough to convince the customers to act. They should create a sense of urgency. Thus, the right type of engagement plays an important role in improving this metric. 

9.Abandoned call rates

Long waiting queues are a predominant reason for the increased rate of abandoned calls. Thus, it is important to track this metric. 

When it takes longer than expected to speak to your agent, the customer prefers to opt out. You should implement a well-knit system to direct calls to available agents through call redirection capabilities. You should also ensure that the agents do not spend more time on petty customer issues.

Find out the reasons behind what is holding your agents and find a workaround for the same. This helps in lowering the number for this KPI.

10.Average reply time

We have already mentioned the average response time. However, there is a tiny difference between the average response time and the average reply time. 

For example, if your agent is multi-tasking and addressing customer issues over chat, he/she is attending to two chats. The time taken by your agent to reply to the customer is the average reply time.

Also, if your customer has asked for more information and disconnects, the time your agent takes to follow up on the call and offer the required information is included in this metric.

You can reduce this number by upskilling your agents. Train them to multi-task and maintain all the information they will need at their reach. This will expedite processes.

Wrap Up

Key performance indicators not just define the performance of individual agents but of the organisation as a whole. You should strategize your policies in a way that these key performance indicators are measured. Closely tracking these metrics will enable you to identify and rectify process bottlenecks well before they impact your business operations.