How can you use contact center metrics to drive business growth?

1 Align metrics with goals

The first step to use contact center metrics to drive business growth is to align them with your strategic goals. For example, if your goal is to increase customer retention, you should focus on metrics that reflect customer loyalty, such as customer satisfaction (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), and customer effort score (CES). These metrics will help you identify and address the factors that affect customer retention, such as service quality, product value, and problem resolution.

2 Optimize customer journey

The second step to use contact center metrics to drive business growth is to optimize your customer journey. This means mapping out the touchpoints and interactions that your customers have with your brand, from awareness to advocacy, and measuring how well you are delivering value and satisfaction at each stage. For example, you can use metrics such as first contact resolution (FCR), average handle time (AHT), and abandonment rate to evaluate and improve your customer service efficiency and effectiveness. You can also use metrics such as conversion rate, upsell rate, and cross-sell rate to assess and enhance your sales performance and revenue generation.

3 Improve team skills and motivation

The third step to use contact center metrics to drive business growth is to improve your team's skills and motivation. This means providing your agents with the training, coaching, and feedback they need to perform well and meet your customers' expectations. For example, you can use metrics such as quality score, agent satisfaction, and turnover rate to monitor and improve your agent quality and engagement. You can also use metrics such as service level, occupancy rate, and schedule adherence to manage and optimize your workforce productivity and efficiency.

4 Analyze and act on insights

The fourth step to use contact center metrics to drive business growth is to analyze and act on the insights you gain from them. This means using data visualization, reporting, and analytics tools to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for improvement. For example, you can use dashboards, charts, and graphs to display and compare your metrics across different channels, segments, and time periods. You can also use predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to forecast demand, optimize resources, and personalize experiences.

5 Benchmark and improve continuously

The fifth step to use contact center metrics to drive business growth is to benchmark and improve continuously. This means comparing your metrics with industry standards, best practices, and competitors to evaluate your performance and identify gaps and areas for improvement. For example, you can use benchmarking reports, surveys, and research to understand how you rank against your peers and what customers expect from you. You can also use customer feedback, reviews, and testimonials to measure your reputation and perception in the market.

6 Experiment and innovate

The sixth step to use contact center metrics to drive business growth is to experiment and innovate. This means testing new ideas, strategies, and technologies to enhance your customer experience and differentiate your brand. For example, you can use metrics such as customer lifetime value (CLV), return on investment (ROI), and customer acquisition cost (CAC) to measure the impact and value of your innovations. You can also use metrics such as test results, success rates, and learnings to evaluate and refine your experiments.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?