CTI Screen Pop for Improved Agent-Caller Interaction

Have you ever asked your customers to wait on hold until you pull their details from the database? Or ever thrown in the “system is slow” excuse to save time while looking for details?

Such inadequate responses prolong customer wait times and add to customer frustration.
Why? Because customers just don’t like to wait!

What if agents could effortlessly access all the customer details on their screens as soon as the customer calls in?

A Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) solution can make this possible via the Screen Pop feature and allow agents to drive efficient, personalized, and contextually-relevant conversations.

What is a Screen Pop?

It is a CTI functionality that fetches customer information from an internal database, CRM, or helpdesk software and displays these details on the agent’s unified screen as soon as a call comes in.

The screen pop feature typically displays information such as the call or chat history, including who they spoke to last, ticket number, payment history, and account balance, etc.
Such a holistic view of customer details cuts down agents’ efforts in manually looking for customer information across loosely integrated applications and simplifies the call-handling process.

Screen Pop in Action

Screen pop is an automated workflow that enables data exchange between different systems (telephony and computer systems) in the contact center.

The workflow starts with the IVR that links with the CTI server. As soon as the call comes in, the server detects it and makes an entry. The IVR then updates the call records with information entered by the customer and the data fetched from the associated caller ID. The caller then transfers to the queues as the server sends the information recorded to the agent’s desktop.

It is also possible to extend CTI to multiple third-party applications like CRM, marketing databases, etc., enabling agents seamless access to customer information.

The Need for Screen Pops

Equipping agents with relevant information at the ideal time boosts agent productivity and enhances efficiency in call handling. Let’s explore some of the reasons why your contact center needs a screen pop functionality:

Drive Faster Call Resolutions & Boost Sales

In most call centers, agents take 15-20 seconds to greet the caller, ask for the caller’s account number, key it into their workstation, and receive a screen with the caller’s information.

CTI screen pop-ups can save this time by providing customer representatives with detailed customer insights and reducing their efforts in re-validating the customer each time a call comes in.

Agents do not have to go about toggling between multiple screens to know the caller and their interaction history, thus reducing customer wait times and improving call resolutions with contextually-relevant responses. This elimination of screen switching allows agents to take notes and view customer information while simultaneously handling calls.

Further, immediate access to relevant information also allows agents to tailor their conversations to suit customer preferences and make pitches effective, which are more likely to convert. Agents can leverage the information to focus their calls and drive personalized interactions. Effortless access to relevant customer details, from call histories and customer profiles, also makes it easier to manage leads and campaigns.

Simplify Omni-channel Interactions

Today’s customers are not restricted to a single channel such as chat and phone alone to get in touch with our agents. They have a number of options to get in touch, from email, call, social media, text, web chat, and so on. Now, to be able to address customer queries in a prompt fashion, agents ought to be able to switch between channels seamlessly.

With the CTI screen pop feature, information from previous interactions across multiple platforms, thereby allowing agents to deliver consistent and streamlined experiences.

For example, if a customer had previously contacted the company via email and is now reaching out through a phone call, the screen pop feature will display information from the email interaction on the agent’s screen.

Thus, by providing agents with a consolidated view of customers’ interaction history, screen pop enables them to deliver consistent, personalized, and prompt experiences.

Elevate Customer Satisfaction Scores

Few things frustrate customers more than having to repeatedly identify themselves as their calls are transferred from one agent to another. Most customers complain about having to repeat the same information upon call transfers they had earlier fed into an automated system.

Screen Pops effectively eliminate the common customer frustration and make them feel valued by the organization. How?

The unified display of customer information allows agents to know their customers, anticipate needs in advance and provide faster resolutions. Such a holistic view of customer information allows agents to greet their customers on a first-name basis and help customers feel at ease right from the start of the call. Even after the call, screen pop functionality allows agents to take notes about the conversation, which can assist future agents in addressing the customers needs better.

Wrap up

Manually accessing information is a challenge for organizations with high call volumes. Pre-identification of customers with a screen pop allows agents to identify and understand customers and help them determine the best course of action – whether to accept/reject calls, route them to other agents, etc. This helps with minimizing agents’ efforts and empowers them to deliver a personalized experience.