44 Call Center Statistics and Metrics You Should Know

Your business could offer the best products or services on the market, but if your customer service and communication is lacking, it could be detrimental to the success of your business.

Because of this, companies with call centers that can deliver organized and effortless customer service through call handling and live chat often end up beating out their competition.

In this article, we’ve listed out 44 call center statistics, metrics, and trends that will help you provide the best customer experience to achieve higher customer satisfaction.

Call center metrics and statistics

Your business must monitor its call center metrics and KPIs to understand how productive and effective it is. Check out this list of call center industry standard metrics and statistics.

1. The ideal occupancy rate (how much time agents are on live calls or finishing up work related to those calls) should be between 75% and 90%. (Smith.ai)

2. First response times (FRT) for phone calls should be less than three minutes, while live chat should be less than one and a half minutes. (Klipfolio)

3. The average speed of answer (ASA) standard in call centers is 28 seconds. (Sisense)

4. Average handling time (AHT) in call centers is typically six minutes. (Call Centre Helper)

5. The average call abandonment rate (AAR) for call centers is between 5% and 8%. (HubSpot)

6. The average time in queue for contact centers across all industries was 46 seconds. (Ozonetel)

7. The industry standard of a good first call resolution rate (FCR) is between 70% and 75%. (Scorebuddy)

8. The ideal customer satisfaction rate (CSAT) of call centers is between 75% and 84%. (LinkedIn)

9. A good net promoter score (NPS) is defined as a score of 50 or higher. (ROI Call Center Solutions)

10. Call centers typically have a goal to keep the percentage of calls blocked within 2% for inbound calls. (The KPI Institute)

11. The average after-call work (ACW) time across call centers is 45 seconds. (Ozonetel)

12. The average call center staff turnover rate ranges between 30% and 45%. (Replicant)

Customer call center statistics

A quality service must include excellent customer care, so businesses must pay particular attention to customer satisfaction in this area. The statistics that follow provide more information about customer preferences for call centers and their services.

13. Following up with leads within the first minute of their contact increases lead conversion rates by almost 400%. (Smith.ai)

14. 34% of Americans reported that automated IVR and the inability to connect with live agents for support were some of the most frustrating aspects of customer service. (Capterra) 

15. 78% of customers say that waiting on hold for too long is the most annoying aspect of calling a company. (RingCentral)

16. Phone calls account for 92% of all customer interactions, yet 85% of customers are dissatisfied with their phone experience. (Salesforce)

17. 78% of consumers said they prefer when agents don’t sound like they’re reading from a script. (Software Advice)

18. 65% of potential customers want to reach brands by phone. (Invoca)

19. 60% of customers prefer human interaction when contacting a business. (Oracle)

20. 90% of customers expect an “immediate” (10 minutes or less) response to their support questions. (HubSpot)

21. 86% of users say chatbots should always have the option to transfer to a live agent. (Chatbots Life)

22. 51% of customers want businesses to be available 24/7. (Techjury)

23. 70% of customers have a more positive opinion of businesses that contact them with proactive customer service notifications. (Statista)

24. Phone calls are preferred by 42% of American customers when dealing with customer service issues. (Statista)

25. 80% of consumers claim to have switched brands as a result of unsatisfactory customer service. (Qualtrics)

26. 66% of customers use at least three different communication channels for customer support. (Microsoft)

27. Omnichannel communication has 90% higher customer retention rates than single channel. (Omnisend)

28. 88% of U.S. customers expect brands to have an online self-service support portal. (Statista)

Business and technology call center statistics

To operate efficiently, businesses must be aware of the effects call centers and customer service can have on their operations, as well as different strategies and software that are most effective. 

29. Poor customer service costs businesses $75 billion annually. (Forbes)

30. 67% of businesses demonstrated high customer satisfaction and business growth by gathering feedback from customers. (HubSpot)

31. Although 86% of survey participants said they had non-native English speakers as customers, only 65.5% openly acknowledged providing customer support options in languages other than English. (ICMI)

32. 87% of agents in call centers say their jobs cause them a lot of stress. (Cornell University) Conversely, Smith.ai is highly rated on Glassdoor by our employees. 

33. 67% of B2C companies and 66% of B2B companies use live chat for customer support rather than sales. (Finance Online)

34. 79% of businesses say live chat has a positive effect on sales, revenue, and customer loyalty. (Kayako)

35. 45% of businesses that offer web self-service have reported an increase in site traffic and a decrease in phone calls. (Destination CRM)

36. Businesses that use live video and voice chat technology on their websites can reduce their support costs by as much as 50%. (REVE Chat)

37. Around 36% of call centers employ some sort of cloud technology. (Aberdeen)

38. Moving to the cloud can improve the average speed of answer (ASA) by as much as 50% while increasing call answer rates by 5%. (RingCentral)

Call center trends

With a rise in technology and need for digital customer support, the call center market is expected to grow and change in the future. Check out these interesting call center trends and projections. 

39. The size of the global call center market, which was estimated to be $404.3 billion in 2020, is expected to increase to $607.6 billion by 2027. (Research and Markets)

40. 91% of corporations intend to increase spending on AI and big data analytics to further help call centers improve their customer care. (NewVantage Partners)

41. In 2020, the market for contact center software had a value of approximately $21.496 million and is projected to grow to nearly $61.661 million by 2026. (Expert Market Research)

42.  Chatbots are increasing in popularity, with 35% of buyers opting to use them when available. (Time Doctor)

43.  By 2025, 80% of organizations will have abandoned native mobile apps in favor of messaging such as SMS or third-party messaging apps like Facebook Messenger to achieve a better customer experience. (Gartner)

44. By 2040, AI is predicted to boost call and contact center productivity by 35%. (Time Doctor)

Choose a better alternative to call centers with Smith.ai

Now that you’ve read these call center statistics, you know the importance of a good answering service and customer support.

If you want the best solution for your business, Smith.ai is a better alternative to call center services, using live, professional North America-based virtual receptionists to help manage your business communications and accelerate growth. 

Create a better customer experience, book appointments, welcome new clients, help devoted consumers, and free up time for what matters most: the great work you do for your clients and customers. All of this can happen without you ever picking up the phone (unless you agree to call transfers).

Book a free consultation right away to find out more about Smith.ai and what our services can achieve for you.

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