The customer experience is extremely important to consumers; approximately 64% of people value it more than price. Customer service call centers play a huge role in sculpting the customer experience; whether people are calling in for technical support, answers to questions, or to make a purchase, the interaction that occurs can go a long way in crafting customer loyalty.

However, it isn’t always possible to see clearly if your performance marketing call center is actually performing. Confusing metrics and jumbled data can make understanding the big picture quite complicated. In order to figure out how successful your customer call center actually is, pay attention to the following key performance indicators, or KPIs.

• Percentage of Calls Blocked: If an inbound caller dials into your call center and receives a busy tone, it is considered a blocked call. This usually occurs if there are no available agents and no call queues configured, revealing that the center cannot adequately handle its call volume; not only does this experience represent a missed opportunity to connect with a customer, but it also tells them that your business is not equipped to handle its demand.
• Average Time in Queue: Nobody likes waiting on hold. Generally speaking, the lower your wait times are, the higher your customer satisfaction will be; this metric is determined by taking the total time callers wait in call queues and dividing it by the total number of calls answered by agents.
• Average Handle Time: The average handle time is often scrutinized by customer service call centers; the idea is that the shorter they’re on the phone, the quicker you’ve assisted the customer’s problem, and therefore the more satisfied they will be. However, this can be a slippery slope; if you’re rushing customers off the phone, they’ll end up feeling abandoned and disrespected.

Once you’re able to get a grasp on these KPIs, you’ll understand exactly what needs to change or be upgraded in order to see positive outcomes. In performance marketing call centers, customer experience is supposed to be the focus; when you pay attention to KPIs, you’ll know — without a doubt — that it is.