Some things never go out of style, like The Beatles, evenings by the fireplace and homemade apple pie.

Unfortunately, your contact center isn’t one of them, and if you haven’t replaced or upgraded your solutions recently, there’s a good chance your customers have noticed. In that case, it’s probably time for a little contact center modernization.

A good contact center makes an impact for three important stakeholders:

1) Your customers
2) Your agents
3) And your business

Contact center modernization can make your solution better for them all. Customer care has made huge advances over the last several years. Texting is now a common communication track for businesses, and AI and chatbots continue to forge new ground.

Amid all this change, customer expectations have responded. Today’s customers demand the flexibility to communicate in their preferred channel, at their preferred time. And they no longer accept long wait times and impersonal service as the norm.

You need to keep up in order to keep your customers.

In the past, updating or replacing your system to provide a higher level of service was cost-prohibitive. But today, that’s not necessarily the case. With a cloud-based system and an experienced partner, you can take your customer experience to new heights without doing the same for your expenditures. If you haven’t done so yet, going to the cloud is the number one step in contact center modernization.

But even if you do have a cloud-based solution, there are a few best practices to find even more value. So with that in mind, here are the top three benefits and best practices to guide you through your contact center modernization.

Save big money over time

Obviously, one massive incentive of contact center modernization is cost savings. So as you begin this process, consider future adaptations for even greater efficiency and customer experience.

As new technology develops, you need to have a process to incorporate it into your contact center plan. Customers may want to connect through traditional voice channels, but the preference is quickly changing to other channels, including email, chat, mobile and social.

That means your contact center needs expanded capabilities around these channels. On the one hand, you’ll have a few more expenses up front to ensure all those channels are supported, even if you’re not currently using them. But these channels are also easily automated, which can drastically cut customer service costs and agent workload.

Best Practice #1: Update the systems you need today and prepare for the growing customer service channels of the future.

Of course, upgrading your premise-based system to accommodate all of these channels can get very expensive very fast. But by moving to the cloud, you can cut many up-front costs and prepare for quick changes down the road.

These solutions could completely replace your current technology, but they’re more likely to run alongside existing systems. Cloud-based solutions let you pick upgrades you need without the expense of replacing all your current equipment right away. Plus, your customers can start using the channels they love, giving an instant boost to loyalty and retention.

Create better experiences for customers and agents

Cloud-based contact center solutions not only create enjoyable experiences for customers. They also give you tools to raise agents’ and managers’ productivity and job satisfaction while lowering attrition and training costs.

Customer service used to be black and white. A customer called and waited for an agent to answer. But call volume rises every year, even as people reach out via text, email, web chat and social media.

They want to interact with you at a time that’s convenient for them. Waiting on hold is not convenient, and it causes stress for your agents. Integrating automated solutions, like an IVR or one-way and two-way proactive text messages, is option to increase self-service and answer questions before someone calls. Other tools, like SMS Assistant, help agents interact more efficiently, creating exceptional experiences for everyone involved.

Best Practice #2: Support popular channels customers want with solutions that make agents’ jobs easier.

Modern contact centers are gaining momentum as the best option for responding to customer needs — regardless of channel or device. Good cloud-based solutions integrate customer data across all channels, letting employees see someone’s interaction history to relieve frustration for both your customers and your agents.

Focus on strategy, not just software

One of these tips already told you to keep an eye to the future, but this goes one step further. Not only does your contact center technology need to be ready to adapt, you must put a strategy in place to incorporate new channels as they develop. Crafting that strategy can be a major challenge, but your communication technology provider may be able to help.

When it comes to contact center providers, you have two options. Some providers sell a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, in which you’re on your own to implement, strategize and upgrade your solution down the road.

Managed service providers, on the other hand, take that responsibility and emphasize service in addition to software. A partner with managed services supplies experienced contact center professionals who work with you throughout the life of a contract to ensure you’re providing the best customer experience possible.

These are the partners who go beyond software and employ professional services expertise to help you devise the right strategy.

Best Practice #3: Don’t hire a software provider. Work with a partner who will keep your contact center ahead of the curve.

With the right partner, you can leave strategy in the hands of experts, so you can focus on present-day operations of your business.

Learn more about contact center modernization

Before simply buying the newest headsets or routing system, go through these three best practices to discover what you really need in a cloud contact center solution. You can read even more about this process by downloading our ebook, The Many Benefits of Modernizing Your Contact Center.

If it’s time to upgrade your contact center, don’t worry. Follow these few best practices to get the updates you need and prepare for new changes to create the most benefit for your customers, your agents and your business. With the right partner and strategy, contact center modernization can ensure your customer service never goes out of style.

Interested in finding out more about the topics in this blog or West? West is one of the subject matter experts that will be sharing their insights and expertise at Customer Response Summit Charleston, March 12-14, 2018. CR Summit Charleston will feature speakers from Neiman Marcus, Indeed, Capital One, T-Mobile, and more. For more information about our leading event for CX professionals, visit our event website. 

The post Top 3 Benefits and Best Practices of Contact Center Modernization appeared first on Execs In The Know.

The webinar will explore best practices in self-service, use case examples from leading brands, and how to determine the right data to meet consumers’ needs. Tips on how to infuse transparency and personalization into your organization, as well as key ways to incorporate proactive communication into your current customer experience strategy will also be shared.

“Customer expectations and technology are constantly evolving,” said Chad McDaniel. “More consumers than ever are reaching for their mobile phones, with twenty percent of shoppers making purchases via a mobile phone in 2015. It’s imperative that brands take a proactive approach with their customers and optimize this popular channel.”

To register for the webinar visit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7554530363851655171.

About Execs In The Know

For over 15 years, Execs In The Know has built a reputation of excellence in the Customer Management Industry and a worldwide community of over 50,000 Customer Experience Professionals. Execs In The Know connects people to engaging industry content, thought leadership, current trends, peer-to-peer collaboration, networking, and industry employment opportunities. Examples of this can be seen at their Customer Response Summit events, roadshows, webinars, workshops, Blog Talk Radio segments, Industry Benchmarking Series, blogs, thought papers, and social communities.

To learn more about Execs In The Know, visit www.execsintheknow.com. For more information on their Customer Management Recruitment Solutions, visit www.justcareers.com.

About West Interactive

A leading provider of cloud-based customer experience and communication solutions, West Interactive Services empowers enterprises to strategically attract, engage and serve customers on their own terms. They have nearly 30 years of experience consultatively integrating technology to improve interaction, enhance productivity, increase profitability and exceed customer expectations, with clients in healthcare, education, utilities and diverse commercial industries.

Experience Connected at West.com/Interactive.

Media Contact

Alyssa Pitura
Director of Marketing and Brand Experience
info@execsintheknow.com
www.execsintheknow.com
@ExecsInTheKnow

The post The Mobile Shift Webinar appeared first on Execs In The Know.

This is a guest blog written by Dan Gordon, SVP Strategy and Development at West, Interactive Services. Learn more about West at West.com/Interactive.

It’s estimated that we spend 177 minutes (nearly one-fifth of our waking day) on our phones daily — habitually checking them for updates around 150 times.[i] Furthermore, it’s predicted that mobile commerce will account for almost half of all e-commerce by 2018.[ii] Seasoned Silicon Valley gurus have even asserted a probable P.C. extinction as a result of the increasing functionality of mobile devices.

Digital disruption is transforming our lives and the brands we touch. Organizations need to put more power in customers’ hands. We need to free consumers to interact on their own terms and treat every interaction as a piece of an ongoing conversation. We need to enact thoughtful strategies to… Get. More. Proactive.

We’re now living in a world where 87 percent of parents use texting — 72 percent of which hold a positive perception of companies that offer text messaging customer care.[iii] It’s estimated that in 2018, mobile search will generate 73 billion calls to businesses across every industry.[iv] Luckily, knowing this puts brands in control of their own destiny!

When it comes to facilitating the graceful communications that customers now demand, it’s clear that we need to show them we know them on the web, over a call, via text and everywhere in between. This is where connected communication is quickly becoming a must.

Understanding that customers now expect seamless interaction across different channels, these prime examples illustrate how proactive strategies can do a lot of legwork for your business:

A leading cable provider uses natural language recognition in the automated voice system to interpret a caller’s everyday speech to determine that his internet is down. The call ends and the company attempts to remotely reset the modem unsuccessfully. Recognizing failure to resolve the issue, the provider automatically follows up with SMS. The text message directs the customer to a mobile webpage to easily schedule an appointment with a service technician. Click here to see this multi-channel experience in action.

One of West’s retail partners incorporates similar self-service elements to support day-to-day customer interactions. Learning from customers’ past behavior, the company is able to consistently predict a caller’s intent before a word has been uttered. For example, the IVR system can identify a customer by name, predict the desired action (like retrieving store hours), provide available appointment times, and send a reminder SMS with any relevant details after all is said and done.

Even “going green” is a cinch for customers when companies strive to make automated interactions connected and personal.

It’s never been a secret that the world is becoming more dependent on mobile devices; however, companies are increasingly conscious of the need to address customer concerns before they develop.

Be sure to join us on May 17 at the Execs In The Know webinar, “The Mobile Shift: How to Proactively Deliver a Better Customer Experience,” to position your organization for success.

[i] Google, Micro-Moments: Your Guide to Winning the Shift to Mobile

[ii] PWC, Total Retail Survey 2016

[iii] OneReach, Harris Poll Results

[iv] Google, Micro-Moments: Your Guide to Winning the Shift to Mobile

The post Mobile Disruption and the Future of Customer Care appeared first on Execs In The Know.

This is a guest blog written by Dan Gordon, SVP Strategy & Development, West Interactive Services. Learn more about West on their website. 

You’re gearing up for Super Bowl 50 this weekend, right? Imagine if you were settling in with your Best Buds (“King of Beers,” pun definitely intended) and discovered that it was aired via Pay-Per-View (PPV)…

Okay, don’t fret—this isn’t the case—but there are plenty of big TV events that are PPV-only throughout the year.

One leading cable/satellite company seized the opportunity for PPV viewership using proactive communications to promote an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event that would likely pique the interest of many subscribers.

It worked.

This client’s goal was to increase self-service to improve the customer experience – and capitalize on automation to increase revenue. Our expert data analysts helped them achieve both by drawing parallels between customers’ behaviors and their likelihood to purchase UFC PPV fights. Informed by that data, subscribers received proactive notifications two days prior to the event that gave them the option to purchase the fight right then and there.  

Predicting which customers would most likely purchase the next fight, and prescribing how to deliver an individualized, attention-grabbing message to them at the perfect time resulted in a 40 percent increase in revenue compared to previous efforts.

Analyzing customer data is the key to getting into the mind of your audience and taking their experience to the next level.

Here are some quick tips to help pull data off the bench and into your customer experience improvement strategy:

1. Determine who is performing a particular action? (Purchasing UFC fights.)
2. Pinpoint when, specifically, these customers are acting? (Day of program? Day before?)
3. Identify what other paths these customers are taking consistently? (Other programs/ sports packages purchases.)

Deep exploration of customer and market data is an asset in creating a more intuitive cross-channel customer experience. Identifying each customers’ needs and tendencies helps brands create a journey that feels personal and empowering, regardless of the channels they choose.

(Watch this video to see what we mean!)

Isn’t it comforting to know that if the Super Bowl ever were PPV, business analytics would help cable/satellite companies ensure the big game stays more about spiked footballs than spiked remote controls?

To hear more about this topic and others like it, from West and our other subject matter experts, join us at Customer Response Summit Phoenix, February 23rd-25th, 2016.

The post Data Can Be Your Customer Experience MVP appeared first on Execs In The Know.

This is a guest blog written by Dan Gordon, SVP Strategy & Development, West Interactive Services. Learn more about West on their website. To hear more about this topic and others like it, join us at Customer Response Summit Seattle, September 28-30th.

Picture this: You’re a frequent flyer, going from city to city every week, and spending hours in airports. You have your routine down to the letter and any substantial hitch has a domino effect on your schedule – not to mention work/life balance.

You roll with inevitable delays and gate changes better than most, but you have to be in-the-know. You don’t demand flawlessness, but you do expect communication at a rate that keeps up with the countless voice messages from your colleagues, emails from your boss, texts from your spouse, in-app bill-pay alerts, etc., that are hopefully punctuated by a few moments to catch your breath.

So, you opt-in to SMS/text alerts from your airline. When you land, your phone dings with a notification that your connecting flight is delayed due to plane maintenance. “Ok. Is there a gate change?” you naturally reply, knowing that it takes 20 minutes to trek from point A to point B.

The response: Radio silence or, perhaps worse, a plain old “Thank you for flying with us.” (Why? Because that alert was sent by a machine and there’s nobody manning it on the other end.)

There’s an estimated 30-minute hold-time when you click-to-call, so you ask a rep at a nearby kiosk who, unfortunately, hasn’t yet gotten the memo that there’s a delay in the first place, much less its implications. Meanwhile, dozens of other confused passengers are duplicating efforts – spending far more of the airline’s time and money – when a simple “There is no gate change at this time,” SMS response could have taken care of it.

***
Pew Research tells us that 9 in 10 Americans own a mobile device and roughly 65% of them own a smartphone, proving that this scenario is a very real one – and this customer service challenge, a pleasantly solvable one.

***
One-to-one agent-based support is expensive, which explains why many organizations adopt proactive communication strategies to preempt some of customers’ inbound service needs. SMS/text messaging engages customers on devices they’re already using and just so happens to provide a more bang-for-your-buck than other channels.

However, SMS isn’t so simple that you’re off the hook for two-way support; just as they would when having a text conversation with a friend, customers expect to be able to respond to SMS notifications and assume your brand will heed their replies. (It’s completely rational.) The big hitch is that not every reply is predictable and not every interaction can be automated. (They’re only human.)

Fortunately, solutions are out there. Agent-assisted SMS can do much of the heavy lifting for you – managing conversations, automating texts when possible, routing queries appropriately, and enabling agents to multi-task.
Customers fully benefit from the convenience of your SMS support offer, your contact center agents more confidently manage customer service, and costs stay impeccably low. That’s textbook “win, win, win.”

Advanced SMS solutions can interpret free-form, natural language texts and automate replies; others can route requests to an agent and provide as much freedom or selection of “canned” responses as is appropriate. Any agent on the receiving end of an escalated customer message can see the entire conversation (including an initial alert that may have prompted it) and duly engage with countless users at one time.

Unlike phone conversations, which demand undivided attention and plea for in-call resolution, SMS dialogues could take place over two minutes, 12 hours or even days, depending on the nature and urgency of the matter. Nonetheless, every interaction is recorded, every conversation is regulation-compliant, any transferred agent maintains visibility, no conversation requires exclusivity, and every customer feels nurtured.

Think back to that your same travel experience above. An offer to request SMS “HELP” with the initial notification of a flight delay could have saved multiple customer service representatives’ valuable time – not to mention your frustration. Multiply that times the hundred-some fellow passengers on your flight, times however many flights a day, in however many airports around the world, and you’re talking serious savings and skyrocketing customer satisfaction rates.

Now imagine the implications in your industry, on your contact center: Banking, insurance, utility, healthcare, pharmacy, telecom, retail, home services… You name it.

If that’s not a reason to feel great about hopping on a plane to Seattle, to join Execs In The Know at Customer Response Summit, I don’t know what is.

West will share more about how this concept works at the Idea Lab during Customer Response Summit Seattle, September 28-30, 2015. Join us!

The post One-on-One Text Conversations Make Customer Support Easier (And Cheaper) appeared first on Execs In The Know.