Call Center Scripting: How to Get More Use than Damage?

It is impossible to train and orchestrate a Call center without scripts for the agents. Business is dynamic: new products and services are rotating, and customer care strategies are developing and changing in reaction to consumer behavior transformation. Besides, the Customer Support Department has always been an area of higher than average staff turnover. New agents should jump on quickly. They use a set of scenarios and scripts written for any case.

But now, we often hear that consumers hate when agents provide service on the script. It even became one of the common reasons for churn and dissatisfaction!

In 2020 National Customer Rage Study showed that scripted answers of the agents became one of the leading causes of their anger and rage.

So, in the face of this issue, managers are thinking: how to find a precarious balance between cold scenario workpiece and warm human relationships?

First, investment in the staff's excellence and the exceeding expectations approach will create a space for building a strong Customer Support team. The call center isn't a theatre, and agents are not the actors, so customers should feel the emotions of the natural human conversation. 

A wise decision is to develop or implement customer support instruments like a voice bot, virtual assistant, or any helpful AI/ML technology. And with that, agents can concentrate on more complex inquiries, where sincere emotions and imperfections of any conversation make more advantages.

Experienced CX executives say that the era of speech bots has already come, but they will become more and more "humanized." Overwhelmed with the economy of consumption and the feeling of being used, people demand human behavior and empathy in everyday interactions.

Give all the routine to robots but leave complicated or valuable types of engagement to well-trained agents.

Any scenario in customer-faced operations should be used not as unbreakable rules but as a guide or set of recommendations. An agent that seems robotic can ruin all the marketing, product, and sales efforts. But empathy is a key to loyalty. It is essential to give instructions on how it is better to say hello, which case leads to escalation, how to present the company, etc. 

Scripts should be based on flexibility and compliance. The best way to use a script is to train the agent.

Some experts, on the contrary, say that too much flexibility is evil. Scripting should always keep a human face.

Many say that it is better to use the methodology of positive scripting. It means that when designing a script, a person should add more positive words to decrease frustration, strengthen confidence, and give the customer a feeling of support and respect. Those words could be: certainly, absolutely, gladly, yes, assure, appreciate.

It is also important to avoid phrases that can cause annoyance and not leave unpleasant information at the end of the conversation. If possible, a good practice is to end with some suggestion or a call to action.

Even a standard script requires multiple scenarios. It could be pretty challenging to design such a complicated, let's say, book of situations, but in the end, it will pay off. Try to think of every cause and reason why the customer can call. It is often unclear why they turn to support, or sometimes the reason is not the same as at the beginning of the conversation. So make sure that scripts consider such situations.

And again, it should be used as a wise guide, not as an unalterable covenant.

The best conversations are a great basis for market-winning scripts. We recommend implementing AI tools for the call and chat review to get more value from using the scripts. For example, Ender Turing's AI solution can help find the conversation's common shortcomings and improve the scripts accordingly. With speech recognition technology in the core, the solution allows checking whether the agent stuck to the scenario and identifying top performers.

Some of the companies implement regular roleplaying for the agents and managers. Practicing what is on paper can give a significant boost for anyone involved in the engagement with the customers. You can build coaching programs based on roleplaying. And for brainstorming to find plenty of fresh ideas for improving the performance of the Contact center staff.

All scripts should be stored in quick access for the agent, so they can open it and find a needed section at any moment of the conversation. It would be wise to develop easy-to-use navigation logic and digital tools.

Every business fights for the customer in this challenging world by using any possible advantage. Scripts should adopt trends and changes in the industry and consider the competition. And excellent customer support with empathy and patient support can become a powerful weapon.

More tips for call centers here.