Call abandonment is one of the clearest signals that something is wrong in a contact center. When callers hang up before reaching anyone, you lose more than a conversation. You may lose a sale, a renewal, or the customer’s patience. And many of those people call back, adding to the very queue that made them give up.
Vonage has published a case study on Wowcher, a UK online deals company, that shows how a Salesforce-integrated contact center helped tackle abandonment and repeat contacts. This article summarizes what the case study reports and turns it into practical lessons for US teams. Every figure below comes from Vonage’s published story.
The background
The case study describes Wowcher as the UK’s second largest online vouchering website and part of DMG Media. Most purchases happen online or in its apps, but some customers call with questions.
Wowcher had three problems:
- Advisor performance needed to improve.
- It could not connect sales outcomes with customer service outcomes.
- Contact volumes were too high because of poor first contact resolution.
What Wowcher implemented
Wowcher chose Vonage Contact Center with Salesforce integration. According to the case study, its Head of Operations researched options and felt that VCC’s integration would improve advisor management, the quality of business information, and ultimately customer service.
The published results
- Call abandonment fell to less than 4%.
- Wowcher met its target of answering 90% of calls within 30 seconds.
- Average contacts per caller fell from 2.4 to 1.7 over six months.
- 25% of calls were fully resolved through the IVR.
- Average handling time dropped below 240 seconds, against a target of 300.
- Employee satisfaction rose to 91%.
The case study also reports that Wowcher handled over 150,000 inbound and 40,000 outbound calls a year on the platform.
Lesson 1: Real-time data drives better decisions
The case study credits real-time reporting and analytics with helping Wowcher improve processes, IVR menus, and individual advisor performance. Custom reports covered contact volumes, abandonment, IVR usage, average handling time, first contact resolution, NPS, repeat contacts, and agent-level satisfaction.
Apply it: Make sure supervisors can see abandonment and service levels as they happen, not in a report next week. Pick a short list of metrics and review them daily.
Lesson 2: Make the IVR easy to change
Under its previous system, the case study says, Wowcher paid its vendor £750 every time it needed an IVR change. With VCC, it could change menus as often as needed, segment customer groups, and create instant messages about popular products. That flexibility is linked to 25% of calls being resolved in the IVR.
Apply it: If every menu change is slow or costly, your IVR will fall out of date. Choose a platform where your own team can adjust messages and options quickly, and review your menu regularly based on call reasons.
Lesson 3: Give agents context through the CRM
Wowcher’s advisors benefited from features such as whispers that announce call information, customer details popped on screen from the CRM, and click-to-dial. Those features made the job easier and are tied in the case study to rising engagement.
Apply it: A tight Salesforce contact center integration means agents know who is calling and why before they say hello. Learn how that works in Vonage Contact Center for Salesforce.
Lesson 4: Fix first contact resolution to cut volume
The drop from 2.4 to 1.7 contacts per caller is a big change. Fewer repeat calls means shorter queues, which means fewer abandoned calls. It is a virtuous circle.
Apply it: Track repeat contacts and ask why people call back. Often the fix is better information for agents, clearer IVR messages, or self-service for simple questions. Our article on AI virtual assistants and call deflection shows another example of this effect.
Lesson 5: Coach with recordings and feedback
The case study mentions easy access to call recordings and post-call IVR satisfaction surveys, which helped managers coach a team of 12 advisors.
Apply it: Small teams benefit most from targeted coaching. Use recordings and customer feedback to find specific, fixable habits.
What this means for US teams
Wowcher is a UK business, but the mechanics are the same for a US team of any size. Abandonment usually comes from a mix of long queues, confusing menus, and calls that should never have needed an agent in the first place. None of those are fixed by adding headcount alone. They are fixed by seeing the problem clearly, giving agents the right information, and letting customers solve simple things themselves.
A quick abandonment checklist
- Measure abandonment by time of day and queue.
- Compare staffing against peak call times.
- Review your IVR: is it too long or confusing?
- Add callbacks or messaging options for busy periods.
- Give agents CRM context so calls are shorter.
- Automate the most common simple questions.
- Track repeat contacts and fix their causes.
If you still connect your phones to Salesforce through Open CTI, remember that Salesforce plans to retire it on February 28, 2028. See Open CTI migration paths for your options.
The bottom line
Wowcher’s published results show how real-time reporting, a flexible IVR, and a tight Salesforce integration can work together to cut abandonment and repeat contacts. The lessons apply to any team that wants fewer hang-ups and happier customers. To learn more about the platform, visit our Vonage Contact Center page.
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xRapid Media LLP is an independent company and Vonage channel partner; it is not Vonage. Vonage, Salesforce, AppExchange, WhatsApp and Gartner are trademarks of their respective owners. Customer results are as published by Vonage.