Servpac Blog

Call support is the backbone of customer service for businesses. We've all needed to call into a support center to ask questions or resolve issues, and a great call experience leaves a very positive impact on customers, improves company reputation, and increases brand loyalty. Businesses need to use the best solutions to meet their growing support needs, and Automatic Call Distributors (ACDs) are the perfect tool to keep customers and employees happy. They are a business’s best friend that offers faster responses, better answers, and improved customer satisfaction, so what exactly does it do?

What is ACD?

ACD, or Automatic Call Distributor is a telephony system that recognizes, answers and routes incoming calls to an agent in order to handle a caller’s needs. ACD distributes calls using a specific method that is configured by the office. The call strategy is based on agent availability and offers the following routing options:

• Ring All: Call rings to every agent simultaneously
• Ring Longest Idle: Rings the agent who is idle the longest, taking into account tier level
• Round Robin: Rings the agent in position but remembers the last tried agent
• Top Down: Rings the agent in order position starting from 1 for every member.
• Least Talk Time: Rings the agent with least talk time
• Fewest Calls: Rings with the agent with fewest calls
• Sequentially: Rings agents sequentially by tier and order (similar to top-down)
• Random: Rings agents in random order

This new technology offers loads of features to help businesses and agents answer customer calls better and faster than ever before.

ACD Key Features

Automatic Call Back

Keeping callers on hold for a long period of time? Give callers the option to reserve their place in line and have an agent call them back when it's their turn.

Voicemail Routing

ACD can automatically direct callers to voicemail if all agents and call lines are occupied. Businesses with large call volumes can use this feature to handle more calls but not hire more call center staff.

Multiple Call Lines

ACDs provide businesses with high call volumes the option to create multiple waiting call lines based on different departments, teams, numbers, and other presets. 

Compatible with IVR

ACDs can incorporate IVR (Interactive Voice Response) to offer callers options and direct their calls to the right agent.

Connect Multiple Locations

ACDs can easily route to call agents based in multiple locations around the world. Businesses with satellite offices or remote employees can work seamlessly as one team, all without sacrificing customer service. 

Now that we know what's possible with ACDs, how does it helps businesses? Let's take a look at the benefits below.

Benefits of ACD

1. Valuable Call Analytics

ACDs provide instant access to real-time data for managers to evaluate their operations including call volume, call lengths, average handle times, and abandon rates for teams and individual call agents. This valuable data is trackable on a daily or even hourly basis to redistribute staffing and resources during busier periods. Businesses can learn to communicate with customers better and streamline their call agent operations.

2. Better Agent Productivity

ACDs help customer service agents handle calls they are actually trained for. Instead of dealing with pointless calls, they can use their expertise and handle customer issues in less time with increased productivity. In addition, ACDs can provide access to caller information that fosters faster problem-solving and better customer relationships.

3. Faster Call Response Times

ACDs provide faster response times for incoming customer calls by directing them to the right person with very little wait times. Calls that need immediate attention can be routed to a designated agent and addressed quickly for better customer satisfaction.

4. Happier Customers

Routing calls to the right places with less wait time is what the customer wants, and ACD delivers. It helps deliver an improved customer care experience, and happier customers equals better business. In addition, positive word of mouth attracts more customers in the future.

5. Reduced Costs

Transferring calls to the right people offers higher chances of resolving issues on the first call. The less time it takes to address customers means reduced operation and call costs.

Conclusion

Automated Caller Distributor (ACDs) are a valuable tool for any business that takes calls from customers. It eliminates the heavy lifting out of the call routing process and offers a better experience and streamlined process for staff members and customers. While there are tons of ACDs on the market today, Servpac already offers this technology for Hawaii businesses in its VoIP phone system. Call 808-237-5000 or request a free consultation for more information.

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