Human call agents, email, SMS, social media, chatbots, Interactive Voice Response – surely the customer has never had it so good?
Modern communication channels are nothing if not multiple and varied.
But with increased functionality and choice can come complexity and dilemma.
How do organizations’ customers really want to engage? When do they want to do it? And, most importantly of all, what’s the best way of providing them with the kind of service that makes them want to come back for more?
For many, the human touch is sacrosanct. Others have fully automated. Some deploy a hybrid model.
Wherever an organization sits on that spectrum, one thing is clear: today’s smartest and all-integrated contact center technology is at the center of best practice.
“In today’s mobile-first consumer world, customers want fast, flexible, and frictionless assistance,” says Venky Balasubramanian, founder and CEO of global cloud communications provider Plivo, whose all-integrated contact center solution Contacto is the perfect case in point.
“Organizations must be able to deliver on those demands while simultaneously being able to efficiently scale. That means having the right people who are motivated and well-trained but, most importantly, giving them the right tools.
“A lot of people are now happy to use self-service experiences like chat; some want to communicate through a social media platform; others will only use email and, yes, some will want to talk to a human being for urgent issues.”
“Customers determine when and where they interact, so contact centers must be configured to accommodate their preferred channels. That means organizations must provide all the options. There is no need to compromise between functionality, simplicity and personalization – you can have it all.”
In the case of Contacto, an omnichannel contact center platform combines traditional and emerging customer service channels with an easy-to-use interface, out-of-the-box customization and a focus on today’s mobile-first consumer.
Built on Plivo’s premium cloud communications platform, it natively supports traditional voice, messaging and emerging channels such as in-app chat, WhatsApp and social media, and integrates seamlessly with existing applications such as Salesforce, Zendesk, Shopify, Kustomer, and more.
It provides users with a single, centralized view of all customer interactions and histories; enables the creation and management of information in third-party systems without leaving the platform; and harvests rich data capable of helping organizations better understand customer behaviors and design more efficient workflows.
“Most businesses don’t have the time or resources to build out a fully customized contact center tailored to their customer service needs,” adds Balasubramanian.
“That’s especially true for nimble businesses in the B2C, retail and ecommerce space, where customer expectations are very high and where slick, effective service is a growing competitive advantage.”
“Deploying Contacto makes it possible for every organization, no matter their size, to provide customers with world-class customer service interactions and continually improve their customer service processes.”
Not that it’s all about the tech.
The best customer service teams also benefit from high-quality training and support.
“It sounds obvious, but organizations must, at all times, listen to their customers, hear what they are saying, and respond swiftly and directly,” says Balasubramanian.
“Customers are all individuals and should be treated as such. Also, they should all enjoy the same high-quality experience.
“Agents need to be properly coached to be attentive and responsive at all times and to be clear and consistent with every customer, every time. They must have a full understanding of how to deal with all of the different scenarios and have a thorough knowledge of all the organization’s standard procedures.
“It’s also important to have measurement criteria that you can review, and a regular feedback loop, so that you can continually adapt, improve and refine processes.”
Get that mix right and the customer becomes very sticky.
To learn more about how Contacto can help your business succeed and grow, visit the Contacto website.
