Why does the customer experience (CX) matter so much today? Jeannie Walters, Chief Customer Experience Investigator at 360Connext says, “When customer-focused values are prioritized and communicated throughout your whole organization, you create an environment where everyone can succeed.”
Most businesses understand how vital CX is to their success but what’s sometimes forgotten is how crucial the interaction customers have with the call center can be. Responsiveness, understanding customer concerns, and leveraging the latest technologies is needed to streamline the customer journey.
Do you want to improve call center customer service in your own business? Here are six of the major trends that can help you do just that.
Personalized Service & Support
Unless you offer highly specialized products and services, there are similar brands your customers can turn to. That makes it challenging to stand out, especially in a highly saturated online marketplace. Consumers are more willing to buy from and remain loyal to businesses that offer personalized experiences. This means brands should look for ways to use the knowledge they already possess about their customers.
One of the best ways to do this is with a call center knowledge management strategy. It’s built on data that helps agents guide customer journeys tailored to individual interests and needs.
Omnichannel Communications
Businesses that have the strongest omnichannel engagement strategies retain nearly 90% of their customers. Those with weaker strategies retain just over 30%. Customers want multiple ways to get access to customer support or call centers; some organizations have responded with chatbots, messaging apps, and customer service dedicated e-mail addresses.
Having more than one way to resolve problems or find answers to common questions enhances CX. It also gives call center agents more time to deal with people who need “live” assistance.
Cloud-Based Call Center Customer Service
One of today’s top trends is a cloud platform with advanced management apps. This gives your organization the flexibility and agility it needs to serve a larger, broader customer base without spending more on IT and infrastructure. It also gives you the option of hiring the most skilled agents, no matter where they’re geographically located; a boon for 24/7 customer support.
AI Adoption
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now regularly bringing behind-the-scenes benefits to call centers, including routing calls to the most qualified agent without the caller waiting. It also:
- Increases agent efficiency by “grasping” information over time, creating patterns that can be easily and quickly addressed
- Gives customers the consistency they crave by presenting all known information about them as soon as an agent takes the call
Advanced Self-Service Tools
A whopping 91% of consumers say they’d use an online knowledgebase if it was easily available and responsive to their needs. What’s important to understand is that this doesn’t mean people don’t want to deal with customer service, they just want a choice when doing it.
Self-service options offer the convenience and independence customers want. Beyond a great CX, self-service also benefits call center agents by shortening call queues and wait times. This allows agents to concentrate on helping customers with more complex issues.
Analytics for Improving Services
Customer service metrics are one of the most empowering parts of any data-driven organization. They should be a core part of any business strategy.
Metrics enable your business to make strategic decisions and grow in the right direction. You need to know what needs to be done, how your agents are performing, and what options are available for making improvements. Predictive, speech, text, cross-channel, and self-service analytics can promote an in-depth understanding of your organization’s overall process. It allows you to make improvements based on agent observation and customer feedback.
Call Center Customer Service Best Practices
Looking ahead, CX will continue to play a significant role in operating a successful business. Your customers want a fully-personalized experience that provides quick access to answers and solutions through the purchasing process. Proper call center management can motivate your team to succeed using contact center best practices.
