A screen pop is a feature of a CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) application, that automatically displays all the relevant information about a customer on the agent’s computer screen when they call the call center. It helps the call center agents to access and manage caller profiles and customer data. Screen pops include information like the order entry, fulfillment, billing, reservations, ticketing, and so on.
There is nothing more frustrating for a customer than having to identify himself/herself, and to provide other relevant account information, repeatedly, as their calls are transferred around in a call center. This also means increased call time for a call center, that affects the operational costs. A screen pop will help to eliminate these problems.
Following are the main benefits of a screen pop:
Reduced call length
Average call handling time or AHT is one of the common metrics that call centers use to measure efficiency. Most call centers prefer their average AHT to be less. If an agent is able to resolve the customer’s issue in less amount of time, it is beneficial for both the customer, as well as for the call center. One of the best ways to reduce the length of the call is if the agent has already the customer information on his/her computer screen. This will allow the agent to pull up the customer account quickly. So, instead of wasting those few precious seconds/minutes that typically takes to ask the customer to identify themselves, provide their account details, and then pull up the customer records, agents can directly ask for the purpose of the customer’s call. The cost savings of recovering those 15-20 seconds per call can be very significant.
For example, suppose your call center has 100 agents, and they each handle around 100 calls per day. That is a total of 10000 calls per day. If you are able to save 15 seconds per call, that means you can save 2500 minutes per day. This means a huge save in the overall operational cost for your call center, in a year.
Improved customer satisfaction
One of the most common complaints that the customers often air is having to repeat information. According to them, they have to identify themselves when they call in and provide their account details. They are okay with it the first time. If they have to provide it a second time because the agent was not able to get it the first time, they are still okay with it. However, most of them get frustrated if they have to give the information again, and this usually happens when they are transferred to a different department. When they reach a new department, they are most often asked to provide the same information again. When a customer gets frustrated at the very beginning of the call itself, the call will no longer go anywhere but down.
A screen pop will help to eliminate this problem. In fact, it will help to improve customer satisfaction. Imagine a customer calling into a call center, and the agent greeting the customer by name even before the customer identifying himself / herself. It will certainly put a smile on the customer’s face. When they hear that the agent already has their account in front of them, they will be impressed, and even the most frustrated customer who called in to report a service issue will have a positive look at the call proceedings. If a customer is impressed with an agent, they will cooperate with the agent throughout the call. Increased customer satisfaction will definitely help to increase the overall efficiency of the call center.
Improved agent performance
Thinking from an agent’s point of view, if they do not have a facility like screen pop available, they will have to ask the customers to identify themselves, and provide them with the necessary account details. It does not matter whether the customer has already provided those details to a lot of agents, if the present agent does not have the necessary details, he / she will not be able to go ahead with the call. If a customer refuses to provide the information again or if the agent has to deal with a customer who is frustrated from the very beginning of the call itself, it will impact the performance of the agent on the call. Experienced agents may be able to handle such a call somehow, but a new agent will definitely struggle. If an agent has to deal with calls like this throughout the day, it will eventually lead him / her to leave the company.
A screen pop will definitely help to increase the overall efficiency of your call center. Many customers nowadays do not like to call a call center because of increased wait time, frustrating call experiences, and so on. What you can do about it is to provide your customers with a pleasant call experience, so that they do not hesitate to call your call center when they have an issue. Implementing technologies like screen pop will help to reduce customer dissatisfaction.
