How support teams use call deflection to handle growth

“Always let the phone ring three times. We don’t want people to think we’ve got nothing to do.” That was my former manager’s rule a decade ago, even when we experienced high call volume. But customers won’t wait around like they used to.

According to Salesforce, 82% of service professionals say customer expectations are higher than they used to be. They want answers, and they want them quick. Otherwise, they move on to your competitors. You need a way to stay responsive without burning out your team.

The solution? Call deflection. It’s a strategy that helps customers get answers with less involvement from your team.  Here’s what call deflection means and how you can implement it in your growing business.

What is call deflection? 

Call deflection is a customer service strategy. It proactively routes customer inquiries away from phone calls to other channels. Deflecting calls lets you keep call volume manageable and resolve issues without your team having to pick up the phone.

To deflect calls and keep your customer-facing team sane, you can use tools and digital channels like:

• Self-service portals
• IVR systems, also called phone menus
• AI voice agents
• Chatbots
• FAQs
• Email
• Community forums
• SMS
• Messaging channels like WhatsApp

8 effective strategies for implementing call deflection

Some deflection tools help solve customer problems before they call you. Others use automation or AI to assist callers when your team is busy.  Let’s look at some call deflection strategies and how they improve customer interactions.

1. Use AI voice agents to handle routine calls 24/7

Inbound calls about appointment scheduling, business hours, and services can eat up hours of your team’s day. AI voice agents can help by answering these routine inquiries 24/7. This frees up your team for more important interactions.

One example of an intelligent virtual agent is Sona by Quo. You can set up Sona to handle overflow and after-hours calls. It takes detailed messages and answers questions about your business so you don’t lose out on potential business. For example: 

• “What services do you offer?”
• “How soon can I book an appointment?”
• “What’s your pricing?”

Sona can even text callers useful links to your booking page or FAQ while they’re still on the phone. 

When your office is open, Sona can transfer calls to a human when a customer needs more help. It also automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes every call. This way, you have oversight and can improve Sona over time.

Want to stay in the loop without checking the app? Quo can send you an email after every Sona-handled call, with a complete summary of what was discussed.  Here’s how Sona works in action:

2. Set up chatbots for instant answers 

Want another way to boost customer satisfaction and manage more inquiries without human help? Chatbots. Like AI voice agents, they’re available 24/7 — but they cover more touchpoints. Chatbots can provide instant written responses to common questions on your website, apps, and on social media. 

They save your customers and team members time by:

• Answering FAQs about your services
• Sharing business hours and location
• Checking appointment availability
• Directing clients to booking pages or contact forms

Here’s an example of a travel company’s AI-powered chatbot. It uses conversational AI to  answer customers’ questions and help reduce voice calls.

If you’re thinking about adding a chatbot to your site, consider options like Tidio, Intercom, and ManyChat. These platforms offer cost-effective, no-code solutions ideal for small and growing businesses. They also integrate with websites and social media to improve the customer experience.

3. Build an FAQ page

Answering the same questions repeatedly is a recipe for customer service burnout. Self-service resources like FAQs pages let customers find answers on their own. 

Here’s how to build an FAQ page that works:

• Use customer data to build a comprehensive knowledge base. Look through support tickets and customer call recordings to see which issues come up most often. Then create a collection of resources that answer your most common questions. For example, how to book an appointment, pay for services, or find your location and hours. 
• Make answers easy to find. Organize articles into clear categories like “Services Offered,” “Booking and Scheduling,” and “Cancellation Policy.” A search bar can make it even easier for customers to find solutions. You can also set up a chatbot on your FAQ page to help people who need answers instantly.

Here’s an example of our resource center at Quo:

4. Allow online appointment scheduling 

Instead of calling to schedule an appointment, customers can book online. This deflects one of the most common reasons people pick up the phone in the first place.

To get started, set up appointment scheduling software like Calendly or Acuity. Then connect it to your business calendar and list your available appointment times. 

Add your scheduling link to your:

• Homepage
• Contact page
• Service pages
• FAQ page
• Email signature
• Social media bios

5. Set up smart auto-replies for common text inquiries

When your team misses a call, auto-replies instantly redirect customers to self-service options via text. For example, it can send them to your booking page, FAQ, or pricing info. This can help resolve their issue on the spot without needing a callback.

You can use Quo to set up different auto-replies based on specific scenarios. For instance, you can set up automatic texts for after-hours messages, missed calls, and voicemails. Each response can include a link to book an appointment, request a quote, or find more information on your website.

Here’s an example of an auto-reply text message:

“We appreciate your call and will get back to you ASAP. In the meantime, here’s a link to our [booking page/FAQs/price list]. You can also reply here with questions. Talk to you soon!”

6. Optimize your phone menu to deflect calls 

A well-designed phone menu can answer questions and route callers to the right resources before they ever reach your team. This helps lower wait times and call volume. 

But how do you know if your phone menu is well-designed? Here are three things to look out for:

• You answer common questions in your menu options. You offer dedicated menu options for your business hours, locations, and updates. This way, you’ll address some of the top call drivers before callers need to speak with someone.
• You’ve added menu options to direct callers to alternative channels. For example, you can let callers connect to an AI voice agent like Sona for quick answers. You can also route them to an audio recording with additional information. Be sure to include instructions on how to text your team, book online, or access your FAQ page.
• You’ve created a custom menu for surge periods. Let callers know you’re experiencing a spike in calls and set expectations for wait times. You can also direct them to self-service options and offer the option to leave a voicemail with their phone number for a callback. Quo lets you use analytics to identify times of day or days of the week when call volume typically spikes. Then, instead of manually reconfiguring settings, you can switch to your high-volume call flow with a single click.

7. Offer a community forum for peer-to-peer support

Community forums deflect calls by letting customers get answers from each other instead of contacting your team. They can use this space to share tips, troubleshoot common issues, and ask for recommendations. 

Make sure you have one or two members monitor the conversations, flag urgent issues, and clear up inaccuracies. As long as you know where your customers spend their time, it can be as simple as starting a:

• Facebook group
• Discord server
• Slack community 
• Subreddit

Here’s an example of Quo’s subreddit where users can ask questions, share feedback, and connect with others:

8. Track call patterns to troubleshoot the root cause of high call volume

Knowing why call volume is so high lets you fix the issue at the source and prevent those calls from happening in the first place. A business phone system like Quo gives you tools like AI call tags, so you can quickly identify these reasons.

This feature automatically labels calls by topics such as pricing, rescheduling, or business hours. That way, you see what customers discuss the most without listening to every recording or voicemail. 

If your top call driver is appointment scheduling, you should set up an online booking page. If pricing questions dominate, add clear pricing to your website and FAQ page.

Why deflecting calls is a must for growing businesses

If you still need buy-in from your team, here are some more benefits of call deflection: 

• Improved customer experience. Customers get answers on their terms with 24/7 access and multiple channel options. That way, they can choose the method that’s most convenient for them. In fact, at least half of customers prefer self-service for basic questions.
• Reduce rep workload. According to Salesforce, service reps spend less than half their time working directly with customers due to admin tasks. With 65% of service leaders expecting case volumes to increase, piling on more routine calls is a recipe for burnout. Call deflection removes repetitive customer queries from their plate. 
• Scale support more easily. As inquiry volume grows, deflection channels handle the overflow without you having to hire more reps.
• Faster resolution times. Self-service channels provide instant answers without hold times or callbacks. Customers get what they need in seconds instead of waiting for a team member. Eighty-one percent of consumers want more self-service options, and 34% say it’s because it’s faster.
• Lower operational costs. McKinsey found that using AI in digital customer service can cut costs by 20% to 30%. It costs less per interaction when customers use self-service channels instead of talking to a rep.

Create a smoother customer journey with Quo

Call deflection isn’t just for contact centers. It can especially benefit growing businesses. It helps you handle growing call volume without burning out your support team or losing customers to long wait times.  And you don’t need complicated call center software to make it work.

Quo helps small and growing businesses deflect calls with tools like Sona, an AI virtual assistant that handles routine calls 24/7. You can also set up phone menus and auto-replies to redirect callers to self-service options. Plus, track call patterns with AI call tags to identify what’s driving volume. Everything works together to keep customers happy while your team focuses on what matters most.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s Andrew Asher, the founder and CEO of Lucid Bots. He explains how Quo has helped his company automate more of its customer support tasks, while maintaining the human touch.

Ready to see how Quo can work for you? Try Quo for free with a seven-day trial.

FAQs