What is ticket volume?
Definition: Ticket volume is the total number of customer requests the customer support team receives during a specific period.
The ticket volume varies depending on the size of the business and the industry.
Businesses aim at having low ticket volume because it signifies that customers don’t have issues and complaints.
Why is tracking ticket volume important?
Tracking ticket volume is important because it provides unique insights into customer demands, support agents workload, and resource allocation.
By monitoring this KPI, companies adjust workflows and staffing and anticipate trends and ticket surges. This will ultimately lead to improved customer satisfaction and decreased employee burnout.
Companies that don’t track ticket volume can’t identify and respond to increasing customer demands or end up with long wait times and frustrated employees.
Understanding the factors influencing ticket volume
Product or service complexity
If a service or product is complex to install or use, it is more likely that the customers will encounter issues or have questions, which can result in an increase in tickets. To prevent this, clear documentation and proactive communication are needed.
Customer base size and growth
As the company grows and has more customers, eventually, the number of tickets will grow. Companies should prepare beforehand to scale their support operations and meet the demand.
Seasonal fluctuations
Every company has periods of the year where they make more sales, which leads to periods with a higher ticket volume. To avoid ticket surges the company needs to look into its data and anticipate these fluctuations to adjust the resources accordingly.
Promotions and marketing campaigns
Customers have more questions about shipping, returns, and order status during and after a promotion or marketing campaign. Adjusting staffing levels or including AI technology when running campaigns is key.
External events or incidents
External events such as data breaches have an impact on ticket volume. A ticketing system and proper staff allocation help prevent employee burnout during a crisis.
How to calculate ticket volume
Calculating ticket volume implies counting the number of tickets received during a period of time (year, month, week, or day). Companies do it manually by noting down every ticket that customer support receives and then counting the total during a specific period or with the help of customer support software that automatically tracks and categorizes tickets.
A customer support software is a superior option because it’s consistent and ensures companies accurately measure ticket volume. Apart from tracking ticket volume for all customer interactions, the software helps with ticket routing, analytics, and self-service options.
How to reduce ticket volume
- Self-service options — Offer customers self-service options through chatbots, a knowledge base, or a FAQs section, so they can resolve an issue without contacting customer support.
- Streamlined operations — Reducing the number of steps the customer needs to take to resolve their problem decreases the number of tickets. For example, customers should be directed to the support specialist they need right away and not explain their problem to multiple agents.
- Proactive support — Making sure customers get all the information they need without the need to open a ticket through email or social media campaigns.
- Customer support training — Ensuring all the agents are equipped with the knowledge and tools to resolve customer tickets efficiently so there is no need to reopen a ticket.
- Automation — Reducing the workload of customer support agents by providing automated responses and filtering tickets.
- Product/service improvement — Based on the most common issues customers report, the company needs to take note of the areas of improvement customers signalize. This will reduce the number of recurring issues.
