The 8 Telemarketing Metrics You Need To Track  

If you use telemarketing calls to reach customers, you need insight into how employees conduct, manage, and effectuate call center operations. Being informed of your team’s practices and outcomes can help you steadily improve your call center performance and achieve your telemarketing goals. 

One way to maintain visibility into your call center operations is to monitor telemarketing metrics. To help you navigate these performance measures, this article will highlight the value of tracking these metrics and describe eight telemarketing KPIs you need to keep an eye out for.

Why You Should Value Your Telemarketing Metrics

Telemarketing metrics (or telemarketing KPIs) give you a broad understanding of your call center’s success. These indicators provide visibility into the telemarketing practices you excel in and those that need improvement. By accounting for these metrics, you can strengthen your relationships with customers, address their needs, and increase their satisfaction levels. 

Not convinced? Check out the following statistics to see why you need to track your telemarketing performance metrics:

1. 61% of consumers stopped purchasing from a business after a poor customer service experience. (Microsoft)

2. 66% of call center businesses are looking to invest in Advanced Analytics to provide better customer journeys. (Deloitte) 

3. 75% of customers seek consistent experiences across channels, including phone calls; 73% are willing to switch to competitors if they don’t receive these. (Salesforce)

Telemarketing KPIs That Measure Call Center Performance 

Given the influence of telemarketing on customer behaviour, you must optimize your customer calls. To do so, you need to select and measure a few telemarketing KPIs, including:

• Call Abandonment Rate
• Average After-Call Work Time
• Average Handling Time
• Occupancy Rates
• Cost Per Call
• Average Sales Per Agent
• Call Completion Rate
• Call Quality

1.  Call Abandonment Rate 

Your call abandonment rate depicts the percentage of callers that hang up after receiving your calls. Most businesses consider a healthy call abandonment rate to be between 4% and 8%. A call abandonment rate below 4% indicates that your calls are appropriate and practical. Conversely, a figure above 8% hints at internal issues within your call center communications. 

Some call center issues include poorly written scripts, outdated technologies, and internal glitches. If these problems reoccur and your call abandonment rate remains above 8% over an extended period, you risk losing customers. As such, you should try to keep this telemarketing performance metric below 4%. 

To measure your call abandonment rate, use the following formula:

Call Abandonment Rate = (abandoned calls / total telemarketing calls) * 100

2.  Average After-Call Work Time 

The average after-call work time reveals how long it takes telemarketers to complete post-call tasks. These tasks include noting call outcomes, sending follow-up emails, and analyzing customer feedback. Essentially, they wrap up the previous customer call.

If you have a high average after-call work time, there are several changes you can make. For example, you can encourage callers to finish tasks when they’re on the call, eliminate futile responsibilities, and implement post-call templates. If, however, decreasing the average after-call work time comes at the expense of task performance, you must reconsider the importance of reducing this KPI value.

The formula for measuring average after-call work time is:

Average After-Call Work Time = (total after-call work time / number of calls) * 100

3.  Average Handling Time

Your average handling time reflects how much time telemarketers spend on calls from start to finish, including wait time, call time, and after-call work time. According to Call Center Helper, the standard average handling time is around 6 minutes. However, this can differ considerably depending on your industry.

To decrease your average handling time, perfect your telesales script and keep your customer database up-to-date. This way, you can deliver pertinent information to the most relevant decision-makers.

You can calculate the average handle time by:

Average Handling Time = ((hold time + talk time + after-call work time) / (total number of calls)) * 100

4.  Occupancy Rate

Your occupancy rate reveals the time telemarketers spend on call center-related activities relative to their working day. Companies aiming for high productivity and efficiency should keep occupancy rates below 85%. Anything above this figure can result in burnt-out callers, leading to poor performance, low morale, and high stress levels. 

To calculate your occupancy rate, use:

Occupancy Rate = ((talk time + hold time + after-call worktime) / logged-in time)) * 100

5.  Cost Per Call 

The cost per call metric, as its name suggests, looks into the cost of making a telemarketing phone call. Businesses often use this metric for a greater understanding of their budgeting requirements. 

While most call center managers aim to decrease their cost per call, that shouldn’t be the primary focus. If a cost reduction results in low-quality customer calls, you must find a price-quality balance that satisfies stakeholders and customers alike. You can decrease your cost per call while maintaining superior call quality by training employees, monitoring calls, and providing consistent caller feedback.

The formula for calculating cost per call is:

Cost Per Call = (sum of operational telemarketing costs / number of calls) * 100

6.  Average Sales Per Agent 

The average sales per agent KPI measures the average number of deals closed by callers over a period of time. Using this telemarketing performance metric, you can see how telemarketers perform sales-wise. This measure also illustrates how your team progresses towards their sales goals.

If this telemarketing metric is low, there are multiple things you can do to improve it. For example, you can encourage your call center team to study your offers better, educate themselves on rapport-building, and optimize their calls for time. Implementing these changes enables telemarketers to form human connections with customers and sell more effectively. 

To calculate the average sales per agent use:

Average Sales Per Agent = (total number of deals closed by telemarketing agents / number of agents) * 100

7.  Call Completion Rate

Your call completion rate shows the percentage of telemarketing calls that have successfully reached customers over a specific period. If your call completion rate is low, you may be dialling incorrect phone numbers, receiving no replies, or getting rejected phone calls. To increase your call completion rate, pinpoint the source of your problem and address it promptly, implementing solutions to reduce unsuccessful phone calls.

The formula for calculating call completion rate is:

Call Completion Rate = (number of successful calls / total number of calls) * 100

8.  Call Quality 

The call quality telemarketing metric is defined by each company individually. While businesses base their call quality on different factors, it usually refers to telemarketing calls’ efficiency and effectiveness. Generally speaking, high-quality calls are deemed to be polite, professional, and timely, while adequately addressing customers’ needs.

Although there’s no universal definition for call quality, companies can include factors such as tone of voice, problem resolution, script adherence, and call control into their computation of call quality. 

Parting Thoughts On Measuring Telemarketing Metrics 

Continuously improving your call center operations isn’t easy without tracking telemarketing metrics. With monitored KPIs, you can assess your call center’s success and gain an exhaustive overview of your telemarketing activities—including the changes needed to facilitate effective calls, impress stakeholders, and ramp up sales. Using iwinBACK’s call center functionality, you can keep track of your telemarketing KPIs and bridge the gap between you and your telemarketing goals. Contact us today for a quick demo!