No matter how your customers reach out to your company, they want you to solve their issue quickly.
However, what’s changed is that now 70% expect you to be able to do this seamlessly as they move between email, website chats, phone calls and more.* This is the future of customer service for both small and large businesses.
Meeting those demands requires a service platform that combines every channel and all data sources in a way that agents can use efficiently and effectively.
These omnichannel contact center solutions are purpose-built to address shifting customer needs and are quickly outperforming the multi-channel tools stuck in legacy contact centers.
As we’ve seen regularly, customer demands and the number of channels they can use to reach your service team are only set to grow. Converged Technology Professionals has responded with a proactive suite designed to keep up with multiple channels and mitigate challenges they cause through an omnichannel contact center solution.
What Is an Omnichannel Contact Center?
An omnichannel contact center is one where agents can manage and utilize every service channel available at once. In a modern setting, it typically also means that agents are using a single piece of software to work across all channels, whether they’re traditional phone calls and emails or SMS texting and website chats.
By using a single software solution to manage all channels, contact centers can create notes on each customer and make them available for every future interaction. Agents can see where the customer was last time they reached out, what the issue was, and if it was resolved.
Not only does this make it easier to deliver service, but your analysts can review omnichannel data to get a better understanding of repeat issues that might be harming your bottom line.
From the customer’s perspective, they get the impression that you “know” them because your agents understand the context of their business and interactions. People love this, and they have for years.
Aberdeen initially noted that omnichannel customer experiences and support services have a 91% higher year-over-year increase in customer retention rates compared to those without omnichannel solutions, all the way back in 2014.*
What is a Multi-Channel Contact Center and How Does it Differ from Omni-Channel?
The big point of confusion with omnichannel solutions is how they differ from past multi-channel options and why this difference is essential.
Multi-channel solutions may offer customers all the same methods for getting support, but these channels aren’t connected. So, not only will they get a different agent on a chat or phone call, but they’ll also need to re-enter data and re-explain issues when they move between any two channels. Data doesn’t follow the customer.
On the other hand, an omnichannel solution has every option and channel connected, making the customer experience seamless too for both your business and the customer themselves.
When the customer engages with a chat on your website or app and then clicks to chat with a representative, the agent who connects immediately gets that recent chat history. They’ve got a complete view of the customers and get to work immediately solving their issue.
Data follows the omnichannel customer.
So, you can largely eliminate duplicate data entry by the customer, solving one of the biggest frustrations with any customer service interaction.
Who Already Uses Omnichannel Contact Centers?
There’s a good chance the leaders in your industry already use omnichannel call centers because the solutions are affordable for SMBs as well as enterprises.
We’ve worked with companies from large enterprises and national non-profits to regional insurance providers who benefit from having a data-rich understanding of their customers.
Global enterprises were some of the first adopters of omnichannel solutions because shared data can make it easier to overcome language barriers and provide 24/7 service to customers.
As the technology matured, more features and capabilities have been made available to smaller organizations that need to meet their customers on preferred channels. Today, new digital businesses are often the biggest adopters of omnichannel software.
Ecommerce businesses, for example, interact with customers primarily online and through chat.
By enabling chat tools as well as phones to be used as a backup should difficult problems arise with customers, Converged Technology Professionals helps businesses find the best omnichannel solution that engages customers on their preferred channels, making service more enjoyable, effective, and reliable every day.
And if you’re wondering what is an omni-channel contact centre and how does it differ a call center, understand that many in the industry use these terms interchangeably. Just make sure when working with your IT vendor or partner that you are getting the right functionality and features you need in you’re your solution.
Omnichannel Provides Customer-Oriented Service
Each customer has a preferred way they interact with companies like you. Some only email while others prefer to call the moment anything is amiss.
An outdated contact center only can address one type of customer preference, so you’re always starting off on the wrong foot with a sizable portion of your audience.
Omnichannel contact center solutions avoid this issue by equally supporting each customer, however they prefer to reach out to you.
By integrating data from all touchpoints and solutions, your team can quickly get to the business of addressing customer concerns. Omnichannel solutions make it even easier to use the data from your CRM, financial, or industry-specific software. Your vendor or IT team only needs to work on integrating a single solution to put all data at agents’ fingertips.
Meet customers on the channels they prefer with full knowledge about their issues and past experiences. It’s the smart way to arm your agents and help them deliver high-quality service that increases reputation and retention.
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