Most organizations realize that customers won’t tolerate the traditional contact center model where picking up the phone was the only option, waiting forever to speak with an agent was the norm, and the overall experience was excruciating. Email, SMS text, live chat, social media, and even video are now being used to provide support on the customer’s terms.
But offering more channels doesn’t go far enough in delivering the kind of experience your customers demand. A multi-channel contact center might offer more options, but it can lead to even more confusion and frustration if those channels aren’t integrated. If a customer is forced to start over with a new agent and repeat the same information each time the discussion moves from social media to text to phone, is the experience any better than the old model?
To meet the expectations of today’s customers – using the channel of their choice, seamlessly switching channels without repeating the same information or being handed off from agent to agent, and having their issue resolved on first contact – you need an omni-channel contact center.
In an omni-channel contact center, you have the choice to integrate all contact center channels, as well as your customer relationship management (CRM) system. An agent fielding a call will instantly see the customer’s interaction history on a single display, allowing them to pick up where they left off. Information gathered through live interactions or a self-service interactive voice response (IVR) system provides agents with the detailed data they need to resolve the customer’s issue as quickly as possible.
An omni-channel contact center empowers agents with the tools and data they need to succeed instead of allowing them to be blindsided by angry customers. Agents are able to provide more personalized support without delays or errors caused by switching between applications. They can make informed decisions based on real-time data and the proper context. This results in lower abandonment rates and higher first-contact resolution rates. Agents can also be an extension of your sales force when trained to identify cross-sell and upsell opportunities based on data available to them.
Meanwhile, you can manage contact center operations holistically, monitor customer interactions across all channels, analyze performance, generate reports, and look for new ways to improve efficiency and customer engagement strategies. You can even distribute surveys to collect valuable customer feedback.
When your omni-channel contact center is in the cloud rather than an on-premises facility, you reduce infrastructure costs and management overhead. You also give your agents the flexibility to work from any location because they can access the contact center interface from any device. Whether you choose to integrate a cloud-based platform with your back-office systems or deploy it as a standalone contact center offering, the cloud allows you to seamlessly scale features and agents as your organization grows.
Ancero Utility VoIP Contact Center is a cloud-based, omni-channel contact center solution designed for small to midsize businesses. Utility VoIP Contact Center brings together all communication channels, IVR, management and monitoring functionality, and CRM data into a single, integrated platform.
If your organization is struggling to meet customer expectations and maintain a high level of agent performance and productivity, your contact center could be putting customer relationships at risk. Contact us to learn how Ancero Utility VoIP Contact Center helps you improve customer engagement and retention while optimizing contact center operations.