Own the Call: A Key to Customer Loyalty
What service attributes from your agents drive customer loyalty?
To answer this question, Kinesis conducted surveys of people who had recently called a contact center. Impressions of the customer experience with particular attention to the performance of the agent were collected across a variety of attributes. In order to determine the relationship of these attributes to customer loyalty, we identified each customer as a promoter or detractor as a result of the call, according to the Net Promoter methodology. Net Promoter is generally accepted as a strong proxy measurement for loyalty, and serves as the basis for evaluating the relationship of these attributes to customer loyalty.
It’s the People
Not surprisingly, the performance of the individual agent weighs heavily on customer loyalty. The average overall impression rating (on a 5-point scale) of the agent is 1.4 times higher in calls where the customer was identified as a promoter (4.9) compared to those identified as detractors (3.5).
Further evidence of the importance of the agent can be found in a comparison of the specific attributes ratings for promoters compared to detractors.
|
Promoter As Result of Call |
Detractor As Result of Call |
|
| Took Ownership of Call | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| Confidence in Agent | 4.9 | 3.3 |
| Value as a Customer | 4.8 | 3.6 |
| Interest in Helping | 4.9 | 3.8 |
| Use of Understandable Terms | 5.0 | 3.7 |
| Job Knowledge | 5.0 | 3.8 |
| Professionalism | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Friendliness/Courtesy | 5.0 | 4.3 |
The agent taking ownership of the call and the confidence the customer had in the agent are both 1.5 times stronger in calls where the customer is a promoter as a result of the call, compared to calls where they are a detractor.
Own the Call
What does ownership of the call mean?
Ownership of the call was defined in this survey as the extent to which the agent appeared to be the voice of the company, took responsibility for the customer’s concerns, showed a desire to be of assistance, and advised of possible solutions and assured resolution.
Every time a company and a customer interact, the customer learns something about the company, and adjusts their behavior based on what they learn. When customers encounter a contact center agent who owns the call, they learn that the company, through the agent, cares about their needs, wants to help resolve the need, and will stay engaged until the need is met. Customers respond to this information with an increased desire to positively spread word of mouth, a behavior strongly correlated to customer loyalty.
What are some of the ways you take ownership of the call?
Kinesis CEM 