Future trends shaping the contact center
As the way customers and companies interact continues to evolve, the contact center industry is also adapting. Behavioral trends and technology that are shaping the future of contact center include:
Real-time, on-demand service
Customer service issues don’t limit themselves to business hours. Consumers expect to be able to reach companies whenever an issue arises or on their timetable. An omnichannel approach that provides access across various channels makes this a reality.
Self-service contact center
Can the issue be resolved with an IVR system, such as making a payment over the phone or reporting a service outage? Not having to enlist a call center agent for every single issue aids with customer experience and can also help reduce call center costs.
Personalized attention and responses
Contact center systems with artificial intelligence (AI) integrations can recognize phone numbers associated with the account and immediately recall pertinent account details. These systems can also identify when a customer is having a problem online and contact them directly to help.
Chatbots
AI can also be integrated into online chatbots that can interact with customers, answer frequently asked questions, or escalate issues to agents who can reply or initiate a one-on-one conversation.
Social media
As organizations embrace on-demand customer care, social media has become an important channel for responding to customer needs. Use of social media as a contact center channel has increased 25 percent since 2015, according to a BT Research study.
Mobile and SMS texting
Both customers and contact centers are using texting and mobile devices to communicate localized sale offers, send appointment reminders and order updates, or even enable advocates to opt-in to fundraising efforts.
Video conferencing
Customers can connect with contact center agents using video conferencing when working tech support to help troubleshoot issues.
Analytics
All of this interconnectivity is creating a boon for analytics professionals. New insights on customer behavior can be used to create new products and better staff contact centers in response to high-volume contact times, as well as use speech analytics to improve employee training.
Contact centers provide a critical function for organizations that want to improve the customer experience. As customers look to connect with companies when and how they want to resolve customer service issues large and small, the ability to quickly and easily handle these requests should be a top priority. Today, it’s not enough to simply have call center functionality, you should offer a true omnichannel experience for all customers and ensure that you have customers for life.