Customer expectations are only continuing to grow in this new, digital age. In the contact centre, the pandemic has ignited a new need for more meaningful experiences between brands and their customers. Companies need to work harder than ever to support clients when agents are working remotely, and face-to-face interactions are no longer possible.
Calabrio, an expert in customer experience intelligence, believes that today’s business leaders need to look for ways to futureproof their technology stack if they want to appeal to modern customers.
When Calabrio interviewed more than 300 contact centre professionals at the beginning of the pandemic, 51% said that customer experience would impact brand loyalty even more going forward. 57% of UK contact centre leaders said that increased empathy would be essential to customer experiences in the future.
Future-Proofing the Contact Centre
According to Calabrio, in an age where heightened customer expectations are here to stay, businesses need to take action. Around 93% of agents say that customers want quicker response times today, while 68% say they want human availability over bots.
To help customers make the right investments, the Director of Pre-Sales International for Calabrio, Ed Creasey, delivered some useful tips. He noted that in the era of the “new normal” contact centres need to review:
- Employee flexibility: Companies will need to invest in remote working solutions including video conferencing tools. Many organisations that have moved to remote working strategies during the pandemic have no intention of going back. It’s important that companies are prepared for an ongoing shift
- Omnichannel CX: Expectations around omni-channel service have increased drastically during the pandemic. The future of contact centres will require companies to invest in all of the channels their customers use, including video
- Blended workforce engagement management, and workforce management: As more companies notice the link between employee satisfaction and workforce engagement management, and the impact they have on customer experience, investment in the latest workforce engagement solution will be crucial. These tools are essential for companies that need to engage with virtual teams and maintain productivity
- Connected self-service and human interactions: Companies are increasing their spend on self-service tools to support modern consumers. However, these customers also want the empathy that only humans can provide. It’s important to have the best of both worlds in place
Optimising the Contact Centre
According to Calabrio’s World of Work report, more than half of the contact centres that responded have maintained Quality Management levels. Only around one third have increased their quality management evaluations during the course of the pandemic. Calabrio research indicates that 44% of operations are using things like automation and predictive analysis to enhance the evaluation of business interactions.
Going forward, more companies will need to invest in the right future-ready technology to make customer and agent experiences more effective in the digital world. For more insights into Calabrio’s tips for future-proofing your contact centre, you can download the latest survey from the company.
