The past few years have been a time of significant change for the contact center. With the rise of mobile devices and wireless broadband networks, customers increasingly seek services wherever and whenever they want, and using whatever device or medium they prefer. That has pushed companies to adopt multi-channel customer contact solutions.
Meanwhile, the massive popularity of social networks like Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter has taken customer interaction solution requirements to a whole new level. Companies not only need to field incoming requests to their call centers, they need to monitor what’s being said about their organizations and figure out how best to respond.
The good news is that call center businesses are making available new and more sophisticated customer interaction and call center management tools to address all that. These tools, and the widespread availability of broadband connectivity, also mean that call center representatives and managers don’t necessarily have to be at a single, centralized site. As a result, more call center reps can work from home, which may open the door for call centers to recruit the best and brightest.
All of the above was discussed today at the ITEXPO (News - Alert) session “Keeping Up with the Contact Center.”
Serge Hyppolite, vice president of product management at Aspect, said his company figured out more than a decade ago that customers don’t like to call businesses unless absolutely necessary. Instead, he says, they tend to prefer self-help tools and chat. That’s probably especially true for the younger generation, he indicated. In response to that, 10 years ago, Aspect (News - Alert) developed from the ground up a solution that enables such communications.
Customer interaction solutions increasingly include tools that enable businesses to monitor the chatter on social media and alert them if their names or products are part of the discussion. But Carlton Perkins, vice president of call center technology for Aurora Bank FSB, said it’s still sometimes a challenge in deciding just how to respond or, in fact, how best to interact with customers in any scenario. In an effort to interact with customers as they want you to, he said, call centers might integrate language into call center rep scripts that asks customers about their contact medium of choice.
Beyond multi-channel communications and social networking, another trend we’re hearing a lot about relating to call centers these days is virtual/remote agents, which mean a wider base of potentially more experienced reps for call center operators and their customers. James Dunn, CEO at TelStar Hosted (News - Alert) Services, said many of his customers use the TelStar solutions so they can easily use at-home reps. He adds that such customers also employ chat and video more frequently, not necessarily to interact with end customers, but more to enable managers and call reps to communicate.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, happening NOW in Miami, FL. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.
Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.
Edited by
Rich Steeves
