5 Tips for Handling A Large Volume of Phone Calls as a Startup

As your startup grows, the phone may ring more frequently. However, handling a high volume of calls can be challenging for startups with fewer employees and resources.

It can create difficult situations for both customers and employees. Customers may have to wait longer times for their calls to be picked up by agents. Also, some of their calls may also go answered. Likewise, employees become unable to provide quality service to each customer. This ultimately leads to negative brand perceptions.

Fortunately, with the right strategies, you can effectively manage these challenges and provide a smooth call experience for both your customers and your support team.

 So, what are those tips? That’s what we are exactly going to discuss in this article.

What causes high call volume?

There are various reasons which might cause a high call volume. Some of them are explained below:

1. Seasonality

You can experience a high call volume when you hold marketing promotions based on holidays and special events. Suppose you initiate the campaigns to provide 15% off on all your goods and services as a Christmas offer. During this time, you will experience higher call volume as more targeted audiences call you to ask about promotions and sales.

2. An issue with your product or service

When customers run into problems or have questions about a product or service, they usually get in touch with customer support for help. This often means making a private phone call to the helpline or reaching out through emails or online chats.

When many custome­rs have issues with a product or service at the same time, you can imagine the number of phone calls a customer support representative might have to handle in a day.

For instance, software­ updates may introduce glitches or ne­w features may malfunction from time to time. And when customers face this issue,  they try to seek help through custome­r support.

3. Staffing gaps or attrition

Another factor that contributes to high call volume is staffing gap or attrition. When staffing gaps or attrition arise­ within a customer support team, the company’s ability to handle­ calls suffers.

For instance, if you have two staff members in a customer representative team, then ten phone calls seem to be a very high volume. This leads to an overload of work and stress within an employee and causes attrition.

4. Successful marketing campaigns

When a company runs a really good ad or promotion, it can get a lot of people interested in what they’re selling. Interested customers will immediately try to get in touch with businesses via phone calls to learn more about the offers and deals. This results in high call volume in an organization.

Similarly, it’s not a bad sign for an organization to receive high calls from successful campaigns. Rather it demonstrates that the particular campaigns have been successful in reaching large audiences and getting their attention. It helps to drive more sales.

5 Tips for managing high call volume as a startup

As a startup business, managing a high call volume needs some strategies, which are given below:

1. Create a personalized onboarding plan

A new customer who isn’t familiar with your product or service is more likely to call your customer service department. Hence, you should consider developing a personalized onboarding plan for new customers to reduce the need for repetitive inquiries.

For this, you can add documentation, tutorials, and FAQs on your websites or social media platforms. This enables customers to find answers to their queries without talking with the live agents. Also, you can implement chatbots that cover some questions about products or services.

With chatbots and documentation, you can teach your customers how to efficiently use a new product or service.

Overall, creating a dedicated support channel via a personalized onboarding plan for new callers is a great strategy for handling high-volume callers without support requests.

2. Alert your customer support team

Communication is a crucial factor in any organization to keep operations running smoothly. Also, with it, the sudden influx of calls can be handled effectively with pre-informed details.

By proactively communicating with your team, you can prevent bottlenecks, reduce wait times, and ensure that every customer receives timely assistance.

So, make sure your customer support team is aware of any anticipated spikes in call volume. This allows them to allocate resources appropriately and adjust the team’s workflow based on the increased demand.

You should consider implementing the best phone call management software for your support team that provides real-time updates on call volume and queue status.

3. Prioritize phone etiquette

During a high-pressure scenario, you won’t be able to manage everything as smoothly as you anticipated. So, practicing empathy and maintaining professionalism is crucial, and it can have a positive impact on your customers, even if they’re experiencing difficulties.

So, train your team members to prioritize phone etiquette so they can provide magnificent services. This service includes

• Emphasizing active listening
• Having clear communications
• Maintaining a positive attitude and so on.

Also, remind them to speak clearly while choosing the appropriate words and remain patient while dealing with complex issues.

4. Use advocacy language

The language you use can have a significant impact on the outcome of a call. Encourage your team members to use advocacy language that demonstrates their commitment to helping the customer.

By expressing empathy and a willingness to assist, your team can reassure callers that their concerns are being taken seriously. This can ease tensions between customers and, on the other hand, build strong relationships.

For instance, this might include phrases like “I understand your frustration,” “Let me see what I can do to help you.” or “I’m here to help and so on.

5. Use a screen share tool when troubleshooting

Consider using a screen share tool that allows you to guide them through the troubleshooting process visually in real-time. It is more efficient to resolve issues faster than verbal instructions alone.

Through these tools in your support strategy, you can ensure that your customers receive accurate assistance, leading to quicker resolutions and higher satisfaction levels.

Conclusion

In conclusion, handling a large volume of phone calls as a startup requires efficient strategies and effective communication among team members. With dedication and strategic planning, handling phone calls can become a manageable task rather than an exhausting task.

Many elements lead to an increase in call volume in an organization. This includes seasonality, a problem with your product or services, staffing gaps, and so on.

Likewise, a possible solution for handling a high volume of phone calls can be an effective onboarding plan using advocacy language and screen-sharing tools.