Advanced call routing: How does it work?

Let's say your potential customers call your business and are transferred multiple times before reaching the correct department. Wouldn't that frustrate them? The chances of gaining their business could drastically reduce.  Therefore, how could you avoid this type of situation? 

Here, advanced call routing in a cloud phone system can enhance your business. Generally, call routing is a call handling process that automatically distributes and queues the incoming calls based on pre-set rules and criteria. Advanced call routing direct calls to the most appropriate agent or department by utilizing advanced algorithms and automation.

Advanced cloud call routing directs business calls to ring at different locations, times of day, and specific numbers. Once a customer calls a business, the rules are set for when and which phone rings. This helps handle calls efficiently even outside of business hours while reducing unnecessary delays and confusion. 

How does Advanced Call Routing Work?

Qualifying Phase

When a customer dials your business phone number, the cloud phone system recognizes the person calling with their caller ID. The automatic system sends the call to an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) tool. 

IRV tool welcomes the caller and survey’s the caller's purpose through a series of automated questions. Then, the IVR provides the caller with options from the menu. For instance, the IVR responds that the caller should press 1 to learn about business hours, 2 to get product or service information, or 3 to talk to a live agent. 

Call Queueing Phase

After a customer-desired selection from the IVR menu, the Automatic Call Distributors (ACD) monitor’s and places in a queue call. The ACD queue call is mainly based on query, agent skill, time zone, and location. The routing rules you set for business calls work here.  

Call Distribution Phase

Once the calls are queued, an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) distributes and routes them to the most appropriate agent.  ACD handles the call routing process, from answering calls to passing and distributing them to the live agent. ACD works according to the criteria you choose when routing your business calls. 

What Benefits can your business get from Advanced Call Routing?

With advanced call routing, every customer call is answered by an appropriate agent within minutes, regardless of time or location. Let's explore the top benefits of implementing advanced call routing. 

1 - Reduce Wait Times and Call Abandonment Rates

One main advantage is that it reduces callers' wait time and the abandonment rate (the percentage of callers disconnecting before even speaking to an agent). As with advanced call routing, you can simultaneously ring and route incoming calls on multiple lines or extensions. You can even ring phone calls one after the other when one agent is busy, and the call drives to the next in line. 

It reduces the wait time as the caller instantly connects to the agent. In the meantime, the chances of abandoning a call are less as the waiting time of the call queue reduces. This brings on greater customer satisfaction as their inquiries are answered instantly.

2 - Reduce missed calls

Once you route business calls to multiple phone lines, you can forward them to remote employees in other locations and time zones. This way, you can answer calls outside of your business hours while reducing the number of unanswered or missed calls. When your potential customers' calls are responded to, they will likely trust you and conduct business with you.

3 - Route calls to the right agent

An intelligent call routing system routes calls after understanding the caller's needs from automated questions. When the system determines the purpose, it transfers the call to the right agent or department. This personalized routing lets you connect customers to your employees in their location and time zone. 

Additionally, you can connect the caller with an agent who has spoken to the same customer. This smart routing lets your business improve customer experience by showing them that their needs are understood and valued.

4 - Global Customer Support

Advanced call routing supports customers worldwide. You can forward calls from one area to another without paying hefty international calling fees. Additionally, you can route calls to multiple locations per your call-handling needs. 

5 - Use Custom Greetings and Messages

Before an automated system routes a call, an IVR navigates the customer and welcomes them with greetings. Add a human touch to your business and record custom greetings by actual humans, not robots. You can use these custom greetings for holidays based on location. You can also record messages and inform customers regarding service updates, new features, and other important information. 

6 - Set up voicemail and self-service tools.

If you route calls and all your agents are busy, offering your caller a voicemail option is ideal rather than making them wait long. Setting up a voicemail option in your advanced call routing allows the caller to leave a message and get a response later. 

Another option a caller can choose is to submit a ticket or go to an online support guide without the need to talk on the phone. An IVR can also answer common questions. The advanced routing system directs the caller to pre-recorded messages based on the general inquiry. 

7 - Equally, distribute workloads.

An intelligent call routing solution balances out the workload between employees. An automated call distributor system efficiently routes calls among all agents so no one is overburdened. This improves the employees' efficiency, and they can manage calls without being overwhelmed.

8 - Boost customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is the foundation of every thriving business. The various ways we've discussed, all made possible by advanced call routing, can significantly enhance customer satisfaction. By promptly responding to callers, you attract and retain customers and increase business efficiency.

Handle your incoming calls smoothly with Transparent. 

Manage your potential customer calls with an efficient cloud phone system like Transparent. Our cloud routing systems can integrate with your favorite communication apps and customer relationship management (CRM) systems to provide seamless customer interactions. Our responsive customer support ensures that you stay in line with your customers. Experience the efficient and advanced features of our routing system!