Using Caller ID in the Call Center

Call center software technology can be so complex that it is difficult to understand. At Talkdesk, we believe that all call center agents, managers and executives should have access to information about call center software technology that is easy to digest and actionable. We hope that this post will allow call center employees to better understand a common call center software feature, Caller ID, and provide better service to their customers based on this information.

Caller ID Overview

Caller ID is a telephony feature that provides the area code, phone number and location of the person calling a company. It is a technology that is often used in the call center industry to identify the caller or the geographic location from which the inbound call originated. Caller ID works by sending a unique code associated with the phone number, via digital tone multi-frequency tones, with the call.

How Caller ID is Used in the Call Center

Caller ID is extremely helpful during three key phases of the customer interaction in the call center:

1. Prior to agent interaction

Caller ID is involved in the identification and routing of the caller to the most appropriate agent within the call center. When a call center receives an inbound call, Caller ID technology is used to identify the caller by matching their phone number to information in the call center software database and integrated CRM. Once this caller has been identified and relevant information about the caller has been acquired, the call is routed to the most appropriate agent based on this information via IVR, skills-based routing and VIP routing. For example, when a new customer calls a company, they will be routed to a call center agent who specializes in meeting the needs of customers located within that geographic region (i.e., callers from France are routed to agents who speak French). When existing customers call, Caller ID technology will match their phone number with information in the call center software database and CRM and route the caller to the most appropriate agent based on their call history and tags (i.e., VIP customers will be allowed to skip the waiting queue and will be routed directly to a high-performing agent). Taken together, Caller ID technology plays a critical role in the identification and efficient routing of callers within the call center.

2. During agent interaction

Automatic screen pop and computer telephony integration (CTI) leverage Caller ID technology to identify callers and display helpful information about the caller to agents. Caller ID first works to identify the caller and then gathers relevant caller information from the call center software database and integrated CRM. CTI and automatic screen pop technology then display this information to the agent in the call center software interface. Thus, Caller ID technology allows agents to provide a more personalized and professional experience to callers by fueling automatic screen pop and CTI functionality.

3. Immediately following agent interaction

Finally, Caller ID technology helps to acquire new phone numbers associated with the caller as well as store these numbers in the call center software database and integrated CRM solution. Immediately following the interaction, the caller’s phone number (i.e., cell phone, office phone or home phone number) is stored in the caller’s profile in the call center software database and integrated CRM. These phone numbers, which are acquired using Caller ID technology, are used to enrich customer profiles so that when the customer contacts the company from the same number in the future, they will be immediately identified. Thus, Caller ID works to ensure that a company’s call center software database and integrated CRM solution are always up-to-date with comprehensive customer phone number information so that call centers can more accurately identify inbound callers.

How to Optimize Caller ID Effectiveness

In many ways, Caller ID technology is only as good as the information in the database or CRM that it relies upon. In order to optimize the effectiveness of your company’s Caller ID:

• Ensure that your company’s database of phone numbers is always up-to-date by deleting phone numbers that are no longer in use and updating customer profiles with current phone numbers
• Keep track of all phone numbers associated with the customer (i.e., home, work and cell phone numbers) to ensure that the customer is accurately identified no matter which phone they use to contact your company
• Utilize call center software that automatically updates caller phone numbers into all integrated databases and business tools

Caller ID is a call center software feature that is integral to the call center’s overall effectiveness. It is a key player in the identification of callers, routing of calls to the most appropriate agent and in providing relevant information about the caller to agents. It is therefore a must-have call center software feature that teams cannot afford to work without.