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I had the opportunity to represent Global Call Forwarding at the Seamless Middle East 2024 Expo in Riyadh.

Having worked in telephony and communications for so many years, I’m always curious about how brands interact with customers and how people in different countries interact, particularly in the context of phones and phone numbers.

Here are some key telecom takeaways and trends that I noticed during my business trip to Saudi Arabia:

9200 Numbers Can Be Noticed Throughout the Country

One striking observation was the prevalence of 9200 numbers. They’re published everywhere throughout the country, from roadside billboards to outdoor acrylic signs to hotel key cards!

These Unified Numbers can be dialed anywhere in Saudi Arabia and outside the country.

Formatting Nuances

9200 numbers were written in a lot of different ways. Some common formats include:

• 9200XXXXX
• 9200 XXXXX
• 9200 XX XXX

Sometimes, I even saw these unified numbers in the format 92 XXXX XXX. This variance in display could be because of memorable number sequences or design preferences.

Global Comparisons

9200 numbers do not have a direct equivalent in the United States. The closest comparison might be toll-free numbers.

Internationally, Saudi’s Unified Numbers are similar to 1300 numbers in Australia, 400 numbers in China, and 03 numbers in the United Kingdom. They’re essentially non-geographic numbers that aren’t tied to specific area codes in a country.

Larger Companies Still Desire Toll-Free Numbers

800 numbers remain prominent for larger corporations in Saudi Arabia.

From the moment I left the airport, I saw billboards for well-established companies, with toll-free numbers published on them, lining the highways. Many ATMs had toll-free numbers prominently featured, and so did brochures and flyers from the Expo.

This highlights the continued importance of toll-free numbers to major corporations and their customers in Saudi Arabia.

It makes sense – I met with another client in downtown Riyadh, whose company helps large and well-established multinational corporations from the US and the UK establish a regional presence in Saudi Arabia.

Our client shared that the corporations his company works with overwhelmingly prefer toll-free numbers over the other phone number types.

Customer Engagement and Automation: The Role of AI

Though I didn’t experience this as much in my day-to-day excursions in Riyadh and Jeddah, customer engagement automation was a fundamental digital transformation theme at Seamless.

Many vendors showcased innovative solutions for customer-facing activities, like agent workflows, marketing automation, campaign personalization, and customer segmentation.

I also saw several exhibitors advertising their AI voice agent solutions and chatbots built to automate customer interactions.

Given the current technology, agentic AI can automate internal business processes and perform routine customer service tasks. Still, I don’t see its effectiveness for direct sales just yet.

WhatsApp: The Communication Channel of Choice in the Middle East

Heading into the trip, I understood the importance of WhatsApp as a preferred communication channel in the region.

In the past, we’ve helped businesses that offer automated WhatsApp solutions in the Middle East. We’ve also fielded hundreds of requests from companies that wish to use WhatsApp Business in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, among other countries.

Just as in Latin America and Europe, WhatsApp was on full display.

Not only were Uber drivers engaged in full-on WhatsApp group conversations mid-drive, and drivers from food delivery services contacting me through WhatsApp, many businesses also advertised their WhatsApp Business numbers online and in person.

Snapchat and Social Media for Branding

Social media marketing and advertising were common themes in the breakout sessions at the CMO Summit. While social media is not generally for purely business communications, brands must be present on various channels.

Snapchat was a hot topic during breakout sessions, and I even saw one of our Saudi-based clients, a B2B service provider, running advertisements on Snapchat. X, Instagram, and TikTok are also hugely popular.

One of the speakers mentioned that in the case of TikTok, even though a younger audience mainly uses it, forward-thinking brands should still use the platform to promote themselves to their next generation of customers.

Telecom Players: STC, Mobily, and Zain

STC and Mobily dominated visible advertising and physical retail throughout my travels; Zain also had a solid presence.

However, it would be important to note that high visibility only sometimes equates to market share. According to industry insights, there are several major telecom providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Saudi Arabia regulates telecommunications and information technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its presence was also observed at Seamless.

Localization

While localization plays a crucial role in companies looking to market their products globally, people that I talked to and speakers in breakout sessions mentioned that Arabic localization is increasingly essential for resonating with Saudi consumers.

Consumers in other GCC countries tend to be more receptive to English content than Saudi consumers. Additionally, Saudi consumers will likely be more receptive to their native Arabic dialects and cultural nuances compared to generic Arabic translations.

Saudi Vision 2030 and RHQ

Saudi Vision 2030 and the Regional Headquarters Program (RHQ) came to my attention on the trip. Saudi Vision was incredibly evident throughout the expo and in my travels. RHQ came up during discussions with our local clientele.

Closing Thoughts

Seamless Expo emphasized the fact that customer communications in Saudi Arabia are rapidly modernizing.

From the use of long-standing mediums like toll-free numbers and 9200 numbers to the digitally-driven, giant-scale WhatsApp and social media usage and emerging trends like AI automation, there was a lot for me to take in.

At the end of the day, the people of Saudi Arabia were wonderfully inviting and welcoming to me as an outsider. Exhibitors at the Seamless Expo also showed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is eager to diversify its economy by supporting modern businesses and digital transformation.

There is a bright future for people living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for companies doing business there.

Managing numerous sales and support calls daily can often lead to missed details and oversights due to multitasking or information overload. With AI Call Transcription, your team doesn’t have to rely on memory or notes—ensuring that every customer interaction is accurately captured.

By converting phone conversations into written records, both managers and agents can quickly access critical information to boost operational efficiency, reduce misunderstandings, and improve customer service quality.

So, how does call transcription work, and how can your teams use this VoIP AI feature? In this article, we’ll explore:

• How calls are transcribed
• Key benefits for businesses
• Common use cases of call transcription

What is Call Transcription?

Call transcription, powered by AI, converts speech from customer calls into written text. IT decision-makers, heads of sales, and global support leaders can use this scalable solution to improve visibility across high-volume call traffic, streamlining post-call follow-ups, and ensuring no critical information slips through the cracks.

So, how does it work? Once a call concludes, AI and large language models (LLMs) can process conversations from the recorded call and convert it into a readable transcript.

By eliminating the need for manual note-taking, this feature encourages agents to pay more attention to customer conversations. These text transcripts make it easier to keep an accurate record of conversations, especially in industries like customer service or healthcare, where details really matter.

Benefits of Transcribing Business Calls

Transcribing business calls can offer several advantages that really help improve how a business operates—from increasing visibility into team activity to boosting productivity. Here are some of the key benefits of the call transcription feature:

1. Save time: Instead of manually summarizing calls, employees can simply refer to transcriptions, freeing up time to focus on more value-driven tasks.
2. Document customer conversations: Accurate records of conversations also provide legal protection in case of disputes, allowing businesses to easily resolve disputes or misunderstandings.
3. Review past calls: Instead of listening to entire recordings, managers can quickly gather high-level insights of the call through transcripts and assess customer concerns, agent performance, and opportunities for process improvement.
4. Identify priority cases: Quick access to transcribed calls helps agents and managers identify pending calls, unresolved issues, or upset customers, prioritizing support for these cases.
5. Isolate recurring issues: Managers can also use transcriptions to identify common customer complaints and objections or agents’ knowledge gaps and can customize coaching accordingly.

How to Use Call Transcription: 8 Use Cases

Whether it’s for resolving customer issues, training teams, or maintaining compliance, transcription provides valuable insights. Here’s a look at some business use cases where call transcription can make a significant impact.

Quick summary:

• Document customer calls for future reference
• Increase focus on customer conversations
• Gain high-level visibility into team performance
• Pay attention to what customers are talking about and gather feedback
• Provide specialized coaching and quality assurance training
• Collaborate across different departments
• Access comprehensive call analytics

Let’s dig into these use cases in more depth:

1. Document Customer Calls for Future Reference

Transcriptions eliminate the need for guesswork when recalling important details from a conversation. With a written record, there is a lesser risk of missing key points or misremembering queries or instructions.

For instance, managers can filter across different phone lines and quickly access call summaries, transcripts, and sentiment for a particular call. They can review these calls to identify key topics discussed, recurring patterns, high-performing calls, etc. Managers can also use these transcriptions to tailor agent training and coaching.

Similarly, agents can refer to transcribed calls to recall important customer preferences or product requirements. This avoids the potential for errors in product orders or service offerings.

Additionally, certain regulatory bodies require documentation and compliance of customer interactions and information. For instance, healthcare organizations may need to retain recorded calls that contain to maintain compliance.

2. Increase Focus on Customer Conversations

With AI-powered transcripts and summaries generated after every call, your agents don’t need to spend time manually taking or entering notes for every conversation. This gives them more time to focus on the customer with undivided attention.

Additionally, since their calls are being recorded and transcribed, agents will actively work towards performing better on support and sales calls. They may identify quicker ways to resolve common issues or develop new tactics to navigate objections. This increased focus will lead to improved customer satisfaction.

3. Gain High-Level Visibility into Team Performance

Managers can access a wealth of information and call content data by using summaries, transcripts, and sentiment analysis.

Quickly review summaries for different phone lines, teams, or regions and generate a comprehensive yet concise overview of call content. Dive deeper with recordings and transcripts to know what your customers talk about, how agents handle unhappy customers, and what common patterns exist. Determine how teams and agents are performing and use top-performing calls as training for low-performing teams.

Whether it’s resolving recurring issues or refining sales strategies, this visibility into business calls will help you drive continuous improvement across your sales, support, and marketing departments.

4. Pay Attention to What Customers Say

Transcribed calls offer a treasure trove of feedback that businesses can use to improve their products and services. By reading and listening to what customers say during their interactions, companies can spot patterns in feedback and adjust their sales and marketing efforts accordingly. For instance, you can learn more about:

• How customers talk about your products and services
• What features or functionality they are looking for
• What problems they are trying to solve with your service
• Which competitors they have considered
• Common obstacles they’re facing with your product or service
• Whether your sales and support teams are properly equipped to handle customer queries, and so on.

Use this feedback to further improve your sales, support, and marketing efforts.

5. Provide Specialized Training and Quality Assurance Sessions

Transcribed calls offer an excellent resource for training and quality assurance materials. By reviewing real interactions, managers can pinpoint areas where agents excel or need improvement.

For example, if an agent handled a tricky customer situation well, that transcript and recording can be used as a training tool for new hires. On the flip side, if there’s a recurring issue with how certain queries are handled, teams can analyze those transcripts to refine their approach and identify more efficient ways to resolve such issues.

6. Collaborate Across Different Departments

With AI-powered call transcriptions, cross-departmental collaboration becomes seamless. Call transcriptions allow team members across departments to access the same information, making collaboration smoother.

Whether it’s sales following up on a support ticket or marketing crafting campaigns based on customer feedback, teams can access unified, real-time information. This shared knowledge ensures that everyone is aligned, reducing miscommunication and enabling quicker, more effective solutions.

7. Access Comprehensive Call Analytics

By turning conversations into data, businesses can generate deeper insights, measure customer sentiment, track common topics, and evaluate agent performance.

Our AI Call Insights feature unlocks actionable data with the help of AI. When paired with other call data tools such as translation, summaries, recordings, and sentiment analysis, your teams can get a 360-degree view of customer conversations. Furthermore, you can filter call records based on specific phone lines, duration, call direction, or phone tags to get a more narrow view of call activity.

How Can GCF Help?

By implementing AI Call Transcription, your organization can improve communication accuracy, ensure regulatory compliance, and enhance customer experiences at scale. This feature is a game-changer for global sales, support, and IT teams aiming to deliver data-backed insights and high-performance outcomes.

Global Call Forwarding offers Call Transcription as part of our larger AI Call Insights feature. Contact our experts today to learn how AI-powered transcription can transform your business operations.

Managing a myriad of inbound and outbound phone lines efficiently can often become chaotic and disorganized. This is especially true for businesses that may have different phone numbers for different locations or different functions.

This lack of structure not only slows down operations but also complicates call tracking and analysis. Proper organization of phone lines means easier sorting through multiple phone numbers and more streamlined reporting.

Phone number tags can help businesses better organize their call traffic, streamline operations, and analyze call types for insights. Let’s see how!

What are Phone Number Tags?

Phone number tags are tags or labels users can assign to different phone numbers within your phone number management system.

These tags allow you to categorize phone lines based on their purpose, location, team, or other relevant criterion. By tagging phone numbers, you create a more organized framework that can help filter and track call data more efficiently. Small businesses and large enterprises can easily adapt phone number tags to meet their specific needs.

Global Call Forwarding offers phone tags along with our virtual phone numbers for more enhanced and efficient call tracking.

How to Use Phone Tags?

Setting up phone number tags is generally straightforward. Most cloud telephony providers offer an interface or dashboard where users can easily assign and manage tags effectively. All you need to do is:

• Define your tags: Decide on the most relevant categories to your business needs.
• Assign tags to phone numbers: Attach one or more tags to the appropriate phone numbers within your system.
• Manage phone numbers: Organize and sort through business phone numbers efficinetly.
• Customize reports: Filter call reports with phone tags to see more focused and detailed call activity.

Global Call Forwarding customers can create and manage phone tags for inbound and outbound phone lines in our control panel.

6 Ways to Use Phone Number Tags

So, what are some ways your business can use our phone number tagging feature? Let’s go over some common use cases:

1. Organize Phone Lines by Department

Use tags to differentiate phone lines used by various departments within your business. For instance, tag specific phone numbers as “Sales,” “Customer Support,” or “Human Resources.” This helps you understand how your call traffic is distributed. Then, you can further filter to see how many outbound sales calls were answered or how many inbound support calls went unanswered.

2. Filter Calls by Type

Use phone number tags to filter calls associated with different phone lines — like your APAC support center or HQ — in your call reports. This allows managers to analyze the types of calls coming through and identify trends or areas needing extra attention or support.

3. Manage Distributed Teams

Businesses operating across multiple locations or regions — working with different call centers or service centers — can use tags to understand call distribution. Phone number tags like “APAC Office” or “US HQ” can help determine how call traffic is spread geographically and which locations are receiving more calls. Managers can use this data to reevaluate staffing or routing methods.

4. Improve Custom Reporting

When integrated into custom reporting tools, phone number tags can further narrow down the depth of insights available. For example, if you want to analyze the performance of your tech support team specifically in the APAC office, you can quickly generate reports for all phone numbers tagged under “Tech Support” and “APAC” tags.

5. Enhance AI Capabilities

Users can further expand their call reports when using phone number tags alongside AI call features. For example, Global Call Forwarding customers can turn on AI insights, filter to view specific tagged lines, and then see call activity, status, summaries, transcripts, and sentiment analysis for these specific lines.

6. Assist in Training and Quality Assurance

Phone number tags such as “Training” or “Quality Check” can help in separating phone lines that are being used for training purposes or quality assurance checks. Managers can then filter to see call insights and activity for those specific lines to better train new agents.

Experience Improved Call Handling and Deeper Insights

With tags, companies can ensure better management of call data, detailed call analytics, and a more organized communication structure.

Use phone number tagging alongside our other core features like Custom Reports and AI Insights to get a more detailed view of your business’ call activity.

Want to test it out? Give Global Call Forwarding a try! Book a demo today or speak with your account manager.

VoIP and cloud telephony have become staple tools for global business communication. Its ability to deliver voice calls over the internet has changed how we stay connected—both in businesses and personal lives. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is taking VoIP communication to unprecedented heights.

Some experts believe that by 2025, nearly 95% of customer interactions will be powered by generative AI. Imagine virtual assistants handling customer inquiries with unmatched efficiency or AI sales teams creating opportunities, freeing up human agents for more complex tasks. This underscores AI’s growing influence in shaping communication experiences.

With that in mind, let’s explore the latest AI in VoIP trends and see how AI is creating richer, more personal, and automated conversations. We’ll cover:

• What it means to integrate AI with VoIP
• Benefits and challenges of combining both technologies
• 5 new AI in VoIP trends

Integrating AI with VoIP

By leveraging AI subfields like machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), Large Language Model (LLM), AI empowers VoIP platforms to understand, respond, and predict user needs with unprecedented accuracy.

ML and NLP can enhance the core functions of cloud telephony solutions, making customer interactions more intuitive and personalized. On the other hand, LLMs process and generate human-like text based on vast amounts of language data. This is used to generate transcriptions, translations, tone analysis, and the like.

For instance, thanks to AI, IVR systems can become more than mere automated menus. With ML, one can develop intelligent conversational agents and systems that can analyze past interactions to anticipate customer needs and route calls to the appropriate department or even offer automated solutions based on similar inquiries.

Similarly, integrating AI into your call analytics and reporting can open up room for more insights and data. Imagine, you can easily tap into your previous calls and get insights like:

• What are the points you need to clarify in your manual, FAQ, webpages to reduce customer complaints by 20%
• What are the real reasons behind each churn and what is the best route to retain the customer
• Based on the previous successful sales calls, what is the best sales pitch for a specific service or product
• What features should I add to my existing product based on customers’ actual demand, etc.

Benefits of Combining AI and VoIP

From efficient call routing and detailed call insights, to sentiment analysis, AI enhances the capabilities of VoIP solutions, helping businesses better optimize their call traffic. Some of the core benefits of integrating AI and VoIP include:

• Data-driven call insights and prompt-driven analysis
• Personalized customer experiences and interactions
• Efficient call routing and handling
• Improved call quality and noise reduction
• Increased accessibility and understanding of call traffic (transcriptions, translations, etc)
• Automation of routine tasks
• Enhanced VoIP security and fraud detection, and more.

Potential Challenges

Adopting AI in VoIP solutions comes with a range of challenges and limitations. One of the most significant hurdles is regulatory compliance. Data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, establish specific requirements for collecting and processing personal data.

Organizations using AI in VoIP must comply with these regulations. Similar challenges arise in regions like the US with regulations such as the FCC’s robocalling compliance. Businesses must ensure that AI-driven calls adhere to all robocalling regulations, including obtaining explicit, written consent from customers before making AI-generated calls. Ensuring ongoing compliance can prove resource-intensive and may require continuous updates to the AI systems.

Technical limitations present another challenge. Integrating AI with existing VoIP infrastructure could be complex, requiring advanced technical expertise and significant modifications to the current VoIP system, including costly upgrades.

Finally, user resistance can slow down the adoption process. Employees and agents may resist adopting AI-driven VoIP solutions due to the lack of trust, fearing job displacement, or being intimidated by the complexity of the technology. Businesses may have to organize additional training and implement change management strategies.

AI in VoIP: 5 New Technologies (w/Expert Opinions)

Even with those challenges, there are many benefits of using AI in VoIP for any growing business. To help this cause, cloud telephony providers have researched, built, experimented, and tested different AI functionality to improve caller experience while maintaining essential compliance.

We reached out to experts in the field to get a better idea of how AI and VoIP are combining forces to improve business communication.

Here are 5 trends of AI in VoIP that we’re seeing:

1. Enhanced Call Handling
2. Voice Transcription and Translation
3. Advanced Call Insights and Analytics
4. AI Chatbots for Customer Interaction
5. Improved Call Quality, Security, and Fraud Detection

1. Enhanced Call Handling

VoIP service providers have long offered advanced call forwarding and routing options like IVR and ACD. These features enable businesses to automate their call handling processes based on predefined rules. And they efficiently manage high call volumes by directing callers to the appropriate department or agent.

According to Stefan Chekanov, co-founder and CEO of Brosix, “AI can identify patterns in call volume, keywords used by customers, and even the time of day calls are received. This way, it can match a caller with the most qualified agent. Employing ML, the VoIP system can assess the nature of the call, its urgency, and determine whether it needs to be immediately assigned to a specific agent or queued for later handling.”

Such AI-powered pattern identification can anticipate customer needs and route calls to the most suitable agents, streamlining workflows and boosting customer satisfaction.

AI’s predictive analytics can also help with improving staffing and call handling. According to Vikas Kaushik, CEO, TechAhead, “Predictive analytics can also foresee spikes in call volume and modify personnel levels appropriately. Businesses may improve their operational efficiency and provide a more individualized and responsive service by utilizing intelligent call routing.”

Further, AI can expand on VoIP and CRM capabilities by integrating and organizing customer data from various sources (support tickets, past conversations) into a unified profile, creating a comprehensive customer view. This enables CRM systems to handle customer inquiries more effectively and consistently.

2. Voice Transcription and Translation

AI has added more functionality to call management features like call recording and voicemail by enabling transcription and translation capabilities. With the integration of AI, these audio messages can now be transcribed into text and even translated into multiple languages.

For example, voicemail and call transcription and translation services from Global Call Forwarding utilizes AI and machine learning to ensure over 90% accuracy in detecting, transcribing, and translating more than 55 different languages and accents. These include French, German, Hindi, Arabic, Spanish, and more.

These features allow users to read, download, and share calls, recordings, and voicemails as text messages. They’re incredibly useful for businesses dealing with a global audience or those that need to keep accurate records of their communications. Think about customer support teams that need to keep track of every detail or legal and healthcare professionals who rely on precise documentation.

3. Advanced Call Insights and Analytics

VoIP providers are already offering a range of call analytics tools like call reports, recordings, transcriptions, etc. These tools have proven invaluable for businesses looking to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and call performance.

AI opens a whole new world of call insights with sub features like sentiment analysis, quick summaries, and prompt-driven analysis. For instance, sentiment analysis—real-time or post-call—analyzes speech and text data to understand the emotional tone of interactions.

Edward Tian, CEO, GPTZero, explains that “AI technology can assess the overall sentiment of the customer and the conversation (e.g. if the customer seems irritated, if the conversation seems to be going in circles with the customer not giving in, etc.). Then with those assessments, AI can then suggest ways for the representative to direct the conversation to get a better result, even going so far as to tell them exactly what to say.”

4. AI Chatbots for Customer Interaction

AI chatbots powered by conversational AI and generative AI technologies are becoming increasingly important for businesses looking to streamline communication and enhance customer service.

Think of them as virtual assistants that can chat with customers through various platforms like websites, social media, and messaging apps. They’re great at handling everyday tasks, like making appointments, sending feedback forms, and answering queries with specificity and accuracy.

For instance, a simple chatbot might be able to answer basic questions about a product or service. But a chatbot using conversational or generative AI can understand the context of a customer’s query, like why an order was canceled. It can then dig deeper to find the answer and provide a helpful explanation. And if things escalate, it can hand over the conversation to a human agent seamlessly. This is because AI chatbots too learn from each interaction, thanks to ML, NLP, and LLM, and provide increasingly specific, accurate, and helpful responses.

One of the best parts about combining these chatbots with VoIP systems is the ability to offer multichannel communication through a unified interface. Also, businesses can facilitate customer service automation.

5. Improved Call Quality, Security, and Fraud Detection

Leveraging a combination of sophisticated algorithms and machine learning techniques, AI can help significantly improve VoIP call quality. For instance, it can detect and remove background noises such as traffic sounds, ensuring clearer conversations even in busy environments.

As you know by now, AI algorithms are great at detecting patterns in data. In the context of VoIP calls, this means analyzing call data – frequency, duration, origin, and destination – to identify unusual activity. These algorithms are adept at spotting anomalies that might indicate telecom-related fraud. This could mean deviations from established patterns, such as sudden spikes in call volume or calls from unusual locations, can signal potential threats, etc. By identifying these anomalies, AI algorithms can flag suspicious activity for further investigation.

Bringing AI into Your Business Communications

With VoIP, businesses have a unique opportunity to improve the way they communicate and connect with customers. Global Call Forwarding offers advanced cloud telephony solutions that make it easier to direct and manage calls.

We also offer AI-powered call solutions like transcription and translation of voicemail and call recordings, sentiment analysis, short summary, and more. These features can help you capture the important and actionable insights from hundreds of hours of conversations, without missing a thing.

Tiago Godoi, CTO at Global Call Forwarding, shares, “Using your existing phone connections and daily human interactions, we can provide profound transformational value to your business. From basic sentiment analysis that can tell whether a call was handled smoothly or had some friction, up to creating an entire training material to optimize sales conversion in a few seconds.”

Ready to upgrade your business communication system? Speak to our experts and let us help you level up!

A robust global support strategy is necessary to expand and grow in international markets. Catering to global customers comes with the challenge of providing seamless and consistent support across different time zones, languages, and cultures. This approach helps businesses build trust, strengthen customer loyalty, and stand out in a crowded market.

But how do you start with supporting global customers?

In this article, we look at:

• Why reliable customer support is important for global businesses
• Challenges of global e-commerce
• How to offer global e-commerce customer support

Importance of Providing Reliable E-Commerce Customer Service

As with e-commerce marketing, responsive customer service is a must in the e-commerce space, where competition is fierce and customer expectations are high. It is the key to keeping your shoppers happy from start to finish.

Whether it’s replying to routine questions or guiding users through returns, good support can make all the difference. For instance, a quick response via live chat might save a sale that’s on the verge of being abandoned, and handling returns smoothly through email can turn a frustrated customer into a loyal one.

Challenges of Global E-Commerce

Handling e-commerce customer support for a global business comes with some challenges that require more than just a one-size-fits-all approach.

One of the biggest hurdles is dealing with time zone differences. If you’ve got customers in different parts of the world, providing 24/7 support can be a real balancing act. For example, if your team is based in the U.S., it’s tough to ensure timely responses to customers in Asia or Europe without some serious pre-planning.

There’s also the challenge of managing international shipping and returns—due to customs, logistics, and varying return policies. Plus, e-commerce platforms require support for a wider range of inquiries, from website navigation and technical issues to product information, order tracking, and returns.

Cultural differences are another layer of complexity. Different regions have different expectations when it comes to communication. For instance, a customer in Japan might expect a very polite and detailed explanation, while someone in Australia might appreciate a more direct and casual approach. If your support team doesn’t understand these nuances, it’s easy to miss the mark and leave customers feeling misunderstood or even alienated.

Effectively addressing these challenges requires a strategic approach to ensure customer needs are met consistently across different markets. Let’s take a look at how global businesses can offer e-commerce customer support.

How to Offer Global E-Commerce Customer Support

1. Identify Locations and Regions that Need to be Covered
2. Build Multisite, Multilingual Support Teams
3. Understand Customer Expectations
4. Choose the Right Communication Solutions
5. Localize Support Materials
6. Automate Customer Support
7. Invest in Train and Upskilling Agents
8. Collect Customer Feedback and Improve

With the challenges outlined, how can you take e-commerce customer support to the next level for your business?

Identifying key markets based on sales and customer concentration, building a multilingual support team that understands local cultures, and aligning with customer expectations are some ways to offer high-quality customer service.

Let’s take a look at how businesses can set up customer support for your global e-commerce business.

1. Identify Locations and Regions that Need to be Covered

Analyze your target markets to identify key regions based on sales volume, customer concentration, and growth potential. It’s important to consider local factors—offering support in the local language, aligning with time zones for quick responses, protecting customer data, and staying compliant and with regulations like the EU’s GDPR.

Prioritizing regions where customers are already satisfied helps maintain strong relationships, while investing in areas with growth potential ensures your business is ready to seize new opportunities.

2. Build Multisite, Multilingual Support Teams

A support team that is both multilingual and culturally aware can help businesses successfully connect with customers worldwide. This means hiring people who can speak multiple languages and address inquiries with appropriate sensitivity and understanding. For instance, a company with customers in Europe and Asia might need staff fluent in German, French, Mandarin, and Hindi. Then, you can build a multilingual IVR to connect callers to the right agent.

Further, building such a team involves finding people with strong language skills and cultural awareness, teaching them how to communicate effectively across cultures. This also ensures a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.

3. Understand Customer Expectations

Start by understanding who your customers are, where they’re located, and what they prefer. Conducting thorough research on customer expectations can help identify key demographics and preferences.

For example, if your customers are in regions with high mobile usage, focusing on mobile-friendly options like SMS, live chat, or in-app chat can make a big difference. Utilizing customer feedback and surveys can further refine your approach. By aligning your support strategy with these insights, you can better meet your customers’ needs and enhance their overall experience.

4. Choose the Right Communication Solutions

Offer multichannel support—such as voice, video, email, live chat, and social media—to meet customers where they are. This customer experience strategy makes it easier for them to get the help they need.

Virtual phone systems provide the flexibility to manage calls and operations from anywhere, ensuring seamless communication across time zones. Consider cloud telephony solutions like local phone numbers for target regions. Local numbers use local area codes that encourage customers to call your business for support, even if your teams are not located in the region. Virtual numbers also offer cost-effective international calling through VoIP technology, reducing expenses compared to traditional phone lines.

Additionally, these numbers come packed with features like customer-friendly IVR systems, call forwarding, and advanced routing to streamline call management.

You can even integrate your cloud phone system with channels and applications like video, CRMs, email, chat, and more. Consolidating communication channels can help reduce manual tasks and double work while increasing efficiency and productivity.

Check out our integrations and features to see how you can expand communications with us!

5. Localize Support Materials

Provide assistance in customers’ preferred languages by adapting content to fit cultural nuances. This means translating website content, product descriptions, and FAQs, and crafting region-specific marketing materials and campaigns that resonate locally.

Multilingual customer service and self-service options too can make the support process smoother and more effective. With these measures, businesses can create a comfortable and familiar space for customers.

6. Automate Customer Support

AI-Powered Customer Support such as chatbots and virtual assistants can instantly assist customers no matter where they are or what time it is. They’re great for handling routine questions and freeing up your team for more complex issues.

AI in VoIP, especially, has been a game changer for modern business communication. VoIP systems can leverage AI subsets like machine learning, natural language processing, and sentiment analysis to analyze customer interactions, purchase history customer sentiment, and offer personalized recommendations and support.

Additionally, you can automate customer communications by using customer support integrations to connect your applications and tools. This will streamline your agent’s workflows while gaining access to other functionality and features to increase productivity.

7. Invest in Train and Upskilling Agents

Customers from different cultures have varying expectations, communication styles, and preferences. Agents trained in cross-cultural communication can effectively understand and respond to these differences. Emphasize active listening, empathy, and patience—as part of your quality assurance strategy—which are vital for understanding and resolving issues effectively.

Additionally, make sure agents are skilled in using the support tools and platforms, so they can address customer inquiries efficiently. This approach helps create a consistent and positive brand experience across all markets.

8. Collect Customer Feedback and Improve

By paying close attention to what customers are saying—whether it’s through surveys, reviews, or social media—businesses can get a clear picture of their experiences. Customer feedback helps spot trends and common pain points. With this information, businesses can tweak operations to better assist customers.

For example, after gathering feedback through surveys and reviews, a business might discover that customers frequently mention long wait times for assistance. By recognizing this trend, the company could decide to implement a live chat feature or expand support hours to address the issue.

How Can GCF Help?

Global e-commerce businesses need robust customer support to stay ahead of the curve. Business calling features like those offered by Global Call Forwarding, including virtual phone numbers, call routing, and other communication tools, can significantly help in establishing a good support system.

These features enable businesses to manage calls efficiently across different regions and time zones, ensure quick and seamless customer support, and maintain consistent service quality.

Ready to upgrade your business phone system? Talk to our experts or book a demo today!

For most businesses, their sales and support operations typically depend on reliable phone service and communication.

And toll-free numbers provide a cost-effective way for local and international customers to connect with a business.

Now as a business, you understand the importance of backing up your systems, processes, contacts, documents, and so on. The same should apply to your business phone system which includes your phone service, phone numbers, forward-to destinations, features, and so on.

Let’s look at the importance of having a backup toll-free number provider and why it should be a part of your disaster recovery plan.

Why Should You Have a Backup Toll-Free Number Provider?

System failures, network downtimes, or service disruptions can significantly impact operations. When your primary toll-free number provider experiences a service failure or your number gets disconnected, your business is instantly cut off from your customers.

Support phone lines go dead. Sales inquiries stall. Your teams are left scrambling to get your communications up and running again.

Having a backup toll-free number provider in place can help businesses when:

• The main provider goes down — this could be due to outages, denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, network failure, etc.
• One of the main provider’s upstream providers malfunctions, recalls phone numbers or has long and difficult lead times to activate numbers—especially true with hard-to-reach countries.
• The business experiences a network malfunction affecting on-premises systems.

Global Call Forwarding is a virtual phone number provider offering local and toll-free numbers in more than 160 countries. With us, you can have a cloud phone system ready to go if your primary system fails.

Switch to Your Backup Toll-Free Provider

In case of such unforeseen circumstances — and to avoid any communication downtime — you can easily flip a switch and move on to your backup provider.

Having a backup toll-free number provider can help businesses:

• Stay reachable and accessible in emergencies
• Seamlessly failover to alternatives in moments of crisis
• Reduce missed sales opportunities
• Protect mission-critical communications
• Diversify your communication infrastructure with more access to cloud telephony features and functionality
• Ensure voice redundancy and maintain business continuity
• Balance loads during peak times
• Protect against regional disruptions if your providers are spread geographically
• Safeguard against cyber threats when you have two different providers in place, and more

How Can Global Call Forwarding Help?

As an international toll-free number provider, Global Call Forwarding offers cloud toll-free solutions that give you access to over 160 countries and hard-to-reach areas. You can easily forward calls from our toll-free numbers to any device or location as needed.

We have a suite of failover features to ensure you receive calls wherever your teams are situated if your primary setup fails. Businesses have come to us when looking for backup solutions for their communication needs.

Want to see if we are a good fit for your business? Our team is here to help you find the right toll-free number solution. Contact us today or book a personalized demo!

As businesses scale and their needs evolve, they often need more advanced features, global coverage, or better cost efficiency. Some reasons why users switch from Grasshopper include lack of global coverage, call quality, and less responsive customer service.

We can help you port a toll-free number or local number, based on your requirements, without any service interruptions.

In this guide, we’ll go over:

• What to keep in mind when porting numbers
• How long does it take to port
• How to port phone numbers from Grasshopper

Porting Phone Numbers from Grasshopper

You may want to port your number to a new service for a variety of reasons:

• Low voice or audio quality
• Lack of reliable coverage for target regions across the globe
• High monthly bills, especially for international calling
• Need for more responsive customer support, and so on.

When you port to a new service, you get to choose a provider that better meets your needs such as better voice quality, more global coverage, responsive support (even outside the US), and advanced features.

What to Keep in Mind When Porting Numbers from Grasshopper

To port your number from Grasshopper to a new provider, like Global Call Forwarding, you will need to submit a number porting request and provide the necessary information (see requirements below).

Your new provider will communicate with your old provider to start the porting process. Wait till your new service is active before canceling your old service provider to ensure zero downtime or service interruptions.

Related: Number Porting Myths Debunked

How Long Does it Take to Port Numbers from Grasshopper?

Typically, porting a number can take up to 2-4 weeks. But this process is faster for certain number types and countries.

Want to know exactly how long it would take to port your Grasshopper number? Chat with our team online to find out.

How to Port Phone Numbers from Grasshopper to Global Call Forwarding

Porting from Grasshopper to Global Call Forwarding is a pretty straightforward process. You will need to:

• Ensure your number can be ported
• Prepare to port with the required documents
• Submit your request
• Wait for activation
• Start using your new service

1. Ensure Your Number Can Be Ported

Before you start the process, you will need to ensure you can port your virtual phone number from Grasshopper to Global Call Forwarding. Some factors that can inhibit this process:

• The number is no longer in service — If current service is terminated, the new provider cannot port.
• The old provider does not allow porting due to contract restrictions.
• The new provider doesn’t offer the specific country or phone number type you requested — In this situation, we can offer a different alternative from our inventory of 160+ international phone numbers.
• Country-specific porting issues — Ease of porting numbers depends on the country as there may be some geographical limitations.
• Your business cannot provide the necessary documentation required for porting.

Check country coverage or browse our inventory to see if we cover your target regions. You can also easily chat with our team to see if your Grasshopper number is portable to our service.

2. Prepare to Port

Once you’ve determined that you can transfer your number to our service, start preparing with the following documents:

• List of all phone numbers you would like to port from Grasshopper to the new service.
• Letter of Authorization (LOA) which states that your business gives your new phone number provider permission to act on your behalf when communicating with your old provider.
• Old provider information and account number so the two providers can communicate to complete the process.
• Copy of current phone bill which includes business name and address registered with the current provider. This works as proof of ownership of the number.

You will need to submit this along with your porting request.

3. Submit Your Porting Request

Submit your request through our number porting form. Wait for us to reach out to you for further processing and documentation.

4. Wait for Activation

Once we’ve received all your documents, let us take care of the rest.

The service transfer can take a few days to a few weeks, based on your number’s country and type. Remember to maintain your old service during this transition period; cancel only after the new service is activated.

We’ll be in touch with you along the way.

5. Start Using Your New Service

We’ll notify you once the transfer is done and you are ready to use your new service with us. You will now receive call traffic automatically on the new service and you are free to cancel your old service.

Log in to your new Global Call Forwarding control panel to set up any features you’d like and start making calls!

Switch to Global Call Forwarding

Global Call Forwarding is a suitable Grasshopper alternative if you want to expand your global coverage, reduce international communication costs, and receive 24/7 customer support. We’ve been in the business since 1996, providing communication solutions to businesses across different industries around the world.

Read what our customers have to say about our service.

Ready to port phone numbers from Grasshopper over to Global Call Forwarding? We’re here to ensure a smooth transition with little-to-no downtime. Call us at +1 (561) 908-6171 or chat with our experts!

A well-functioning customer support center has agents available to quickly connect when customers call. But what happens if agents aren’t available when customers need them most? The result: frustrated callers and a potential decline in customer satisfaction.

The key to ensuring agent availability and keeping customers happy lies in schedule adherence.
In this guide, we’ll look into:

• What is schedule adherence?
• Why is it an important call center metric?
• Actionable strategies to improve adherence.

What is Schedule Adherence?

Schedule adherence is an important call center metric that measures how well agents adhere to their schedules. This metric encompasses factors like punctuality, agent availability, call time, post-call handling time, and break time among others.

Goes without saying that effective schedule adherence is crucial for call center success. A high adherence rate helps businesses offer better customer support as well as improve operations. Even if just one agent deviates from the schedule, especially during peak times, it could throw everything off balance.

Say a customer calls with a simple routine question, only to be stuck on hold for ages. This could be a result of low agent adherence. Similarly, if an agent arrives late during a call time, the remaining agents must manage a higher call volume.

This could translate to an increase in wait times for customers. Not only will that leave customers frustrated, but also overburden the other available agents, possibly leading to burnout and a dip in performance.

Why is Schedule Adherence an Important Call Center Metric?

Understanding the impact of schedule adherence lays the foundation for appreciating its significance. Here are some common reasons why schedule adherence is a crucial call center metric:

1. High adherence directly affects customer satisfaction because it ensures consistent availability of agents. This reduces wait times, leading to smoother operational efficiency, quicker resolutions, and more call center sales.
2. With agents available as planned, there is better resource allocation. Managers can monitor and observe factors such as call volume, length, etc. and utilize resources more efficiently, minimizing staff burnout and agent turnover.
3. Optimal resource allocation and utilization reduces costs from overstaffing, underperformance, or vacant, idle time.
4. Ultimately, schedule adherence is a valuable tool for call center managers. By analyzing adherence patterns, they can make data-driven decisions related to predictive scheduling, training, staffing levels, and more.
5. Low adherence can also lead to a higher number of missed calls and sales opportunities.

How to Calculate Schedule Adherence for Your Call Center?

To calculate schedule adherence, you divide the minutes an agent is in adherence by the total scheduled minutes. Then, multiply that number by 100 to get the schedule adherence percentage:

Typically, adherence is calculated for the whole call center by averaging all agents’ individual rates. Additionally, it is important to note that activities like training sessions, meetings, etc. during scheduled hours count towards adherence.

You can find this information through your schedule planning tool, call records, CRM integrations, time management software, etc. For example, agents can log time spent on training, meetings, pre- and post-call tasks, etc., on the CRM or project management software. Managers can also verify time spent on customer calls through call detail records. Then, compare this with time scheduled and expected of them.

What Factors Affect Schedule Adherence?

Understanding the root causes for disruption is crucial for developing solutions that promote consistent adherence. These are some of the top factors that disrupt adherence:

1. Agents taking ad-hoc leaves due to sickness or personal emergencies can disrupt the planned schedules. In turn, this may overburden present staff further affecting their adherence.
2. Unanticipated, non-seasonal spikes in call volume can overwhelm scheduled agents, making it difficult to adhere to work plans. For instance, there is a sudden influx of calls related to product malfunctions. Agents might even have to work through their breaks to handle the call volume.
3. Agents might be forced to pause work when dealing with technical challenges like system downtime or glitching. This is especially true when you don’t have a call center recovery plan in place.
4. Factors like inefficient break scheduling and low motivation can also affect agents’ drive to adhere to schedules.

How to Improve Schedule Adherence in Call Centers: 6 Strategies

Once you’ve identified the causes of low adherence in your call center or service center, you can plan out strategies to improve these numbers. Here are some actionable strategies to improve schedule adherence:

• Identify and Address Adherence Issues
• Set Realistic Schedules and Goals
• Leverage Virtual Call Center Features
• Monitor Specific Key Performance Indicators
• Conduct Regular Training and Collect Feedback
• Offer Flexible Scheduling Options and Rewards

1. Identify and Address Adherence Issues

Maintaining high adherence rates requires a proactive approach. Managers would have to spend time analyzing data such as adherence percentages over time, call analytics, reports, etc. This helps identify specific times adherence dips. For example, are there recurring patterns of tardiness or unplanned absences? Are there multiple instances of outages or service downtime? Is call volume trending upwards with staff unable to match call needs?

Once the root cause behind low adherence has been identified, businesses can develop targeted solutions. Some reports also reveal that agent and rep disengagement leads to poor service and high economic cost. To address this, businesses could offer motivational incentives or implement clearer policies. Furthermore, providing agents with timely constructive feedback is essential as this promotes a culture of transparency and support.

2. Set Realistic Schedules and Goals

To foster consistent adherence among agents, it’s crucial to begin by setting realistic schedules and goals. Balancing customer needs with agent well-being is key. Overloaded schedules can lead to burnout, harming both adherence and customer service quality.

Calculate and analyze your current adherence rate to establish a baseline and develop achievable schedules. Refer to agents’ adherence history while goal setting. Further, as part of goal setting, have open communication about the importance of adherence–specifically how individual actions affect team performance and customer satisfaction. When agents understand their impact, they’re likely to stick closely to their schedules.

Also, by making adherence a shared responsibility, businesses can build a culture of adherence in the organization. And by integrating schedule adherence into the organizational culture aligns agent objectives with business goals.

3. Leverage Virtual Call Center Features

Call center software can be a lifesaver when it comes to improving schedule adherence rate. Solutions like call routing, call flow builder, and helpdesk/CRM integrations up the game by streamlining operations, enhancing call handling efficiency, and automating repetitive tasks.

Having call flows with predefined routing rules help agents better adhere to schedules. They structure how incoming calls can be managed automatically. For example, sequential call routing distributes calls evenly among agents, preventing overload and maintaining balanced workloads. Similarly, skill-based routing will ensure callers get directed to the most suitable agent promptly.

VoIP-CRM integrations can further optimize workflow efficiency by automatically syncing call and customer data between the two platforms. And, agents can use these integrations to handle calls directly through their CRM interface. This saves them time switching between systems and keeping them focused on their schedules.

Such solutions reduce wait times as well as minimize agent idle times, thus changing low adherence levels.

4. Monitor Specific Key Performance Indicators

Schedule adherence is certainly a crucial metric, but it doesn’t exist in isolation. It interacts with and influences other call center KPIs, such as handle time (AHT), first call resolution (FCR), average call duration, and customer satisfaction.

For instance, lower AHT generally translates to more calls handled within an agent’s shift, potentially improving adherence. Now, consistent schedule adherence ensures that there are enough agents available to handle incoming calls, reducing wait times and potentially lowering AHT.

Monitoring other KPIs helps identify areas where schedule adherence might be impacting overall performance. Say adherence is high but FCR is low. This could mean agents are rushing calls to meet scheduling goals—which, in turn, may lead to unsatisfied customers who need to call back.

5. Conduct Regular Training and Collect Feedback

Regular training and feedback collection are some other ways you can impact adherence rates. Ongoing training keeps agents up to date. Equally important is collecting feedback from agents to identify any challenges they face.

For instance, let’s say a company notices a dip in adherence rate after introducing a new CRM system. The feedback from agents may reveal that they find the platform cumbersome and time-consuming. In such cases, a focused training session on navigating the system better can equip agents to handle calls more efficiently.

So by regularly collecting feedback and addressing any issues through training, businesses can ensure continuous improvement in adherence over time.

H3: 6. Offer Flexible Scheduling Options and Rewards

Rigid scheduling often leads to frustration and ultimately, low adherence rates. A Gartner survey found that 43% of participants credited flexible working hours for boosting their productivity levels. So consider providing agents with flexibilities like the option to work from home or remotely and adjust their shifts. With cloud telephony solutions, you can provide agents with more location flexibility without compromising on call quality or privacy.

For instance, an agent has a last-minute doctor’s appointment. With flexible scheduling, they could swap shifts with a colleague or work remotely for part of the day. Providing such flexibility to adjust their shifts or work remotely also acknowledges the importance of work-life balance, thereby boosting morale and commitment.

Beyond flexibility, recognizing achievements goes a long way. Rewarding agents who consistently adhere to their schedules closely can boost morale. This could also motivate others to strive for the same level of commitment and excellence.

By implementing these strategies, businesses not only improve adherence metrics but also cultivate a culture of accountability and efficiency among their workforce.

How Can GCF Help?

High agent availability = happy customers. You can achieve this with high schedule adherence at your call center. One effective approach to enhance adherence is by leveraging virtual call center solutions. However, navigating the multitude of options and functionalities available can be daunting.

Contact Global Call Forwarding and let our virtual call center experts help you make the right choice for your business.

Call us today and find out how GCF can empower your business with tailored solutions for better operations!