In these challenging times, quick-to-deploy cloud customer interaction solutions, such as Bots, Callback & Digital Channels can provide contact centres with some short-term fixes whilst also delivering long-term benefits.
As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, contact centres are faced with a double whammy; coping with erratic and unpredictable call volumes, whilst also preparing for scenarios where agents may not be available to work.
As contingency plans are drawn up, in addition to resource planning, contact centre managers will be looking at how their systems and technology can assist in these uncertain times. Cloud technology comes into its own in these difficult times, because by its nature it is easier to flex and can be deployed outside of the traditional centralised office-based environment. Agent home working becomes more practical, and additional digital communication channels can be enabled.
Organisations will want to learn lessons from the coronavirus outbreak, and will initiate long-term reviews and programmes to cater for future uncertainties. But in the short-term, they need solutions that can be rapidly deployed and deliver real benefit within days. We look at a few examples of how cloud solutions may help:
Bots
Bot technology is starting to have a significant impact on customer service, but is seldom seen as a short-term initiative! However, the use of Bots as a first-line for fielding simple queries can help organisations focus their limited human resources on those queries that actually require manual intervention. The key here is to ensure that as many simple queries can be handled (taking an FAQ approach) with an escalation route to agent interaction via a call or one-to-one chat when required.
Callback
We all know that waiting in long contact centre queues can lead to significant customer dissatisfaction. Unplanned events, such as the coronavirus outbreak can lead to unexpected spikes in call volumes, which can cause significant queue times. By offering a reliable callback service, using either virtual queue technology or scheduled callbacks, organisations can flatten call volumes whilst retaining customer trust.
Proactive Communication
If you know that customers need assurance or additional information, why not proactively provide that information, rather than wait for them to call? This can be via various channels, and may be generic information placed on a website, or personalised emails and SMS text messages. The combination of a personalised text message with a call-to-action such as ‘reply “yes” to this message and we’ll call you back’ can be very powerful – providing both relevant information and a route to personalised assistance – but only if required.
Digital Channels
The challenges of dealing with increased customer interactions may lead organisations to explore whether to bring forward their plans to offer digital channels (such as WhatsApp, social media and SMS) to customers as an alternative to voice. Depending on how deployed, these digital channels can be more efficient in terms of agent utilisation, and may lend themselves more to agent home working (as they are less bandwidth dependent).
These solutions can all be deployed quickly and can be even more powerful when combined. Every organisation is different, and the challenges posed by events outside of the organisation’s control, such as the coronavirus outbreak, will be unique. Based on our experience, we expect organisations to utilise some of these quick-to-deploy cloud technologies as a short-term fix – but that short-term fix may open up long-term opportunities to become more efficient and serve customers better.
Guest Blog by Kevin Ross, Director of Geomant.
Kevin Ross established the firm’s UK arm some 15 years ago, focusing on its cloud customer interaction solutions. Prior to joining the company, Kevin held product management and customer service management roles in communications and outsourcing organisations, including AT&T.
