Stay Ahead of the Curve and Remain at the Forefront of Innovation

Guest Blog by Paul Webb of Prysm Group - hosts of the Call and Contact Centre Expo 2018

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CCCEBlog
Unified Communications

Published: September 27, 2017

Ian Taylor Editor

Ian Taylor

Editor

In the consumer-driven world of customer service, support and contact centres, it becomes increasingly important to stay ahead of the curve and remain at the forefront of innovation. Developing a sustainable competitive advantage can help to satisfy customer needs and instill a sense of trust that grows consumer confidence in the business.

This competition has led to huge innovation within the call centre industry – which has become renowned for being dynamic and evolutionary in a bid to win over the hearts and minds of consumers.

One of the biggest innovations of late has been the transition away from traditional legacy systems, which were increasingly plagued by limitations such as speed, ease of use, compatibility and security. These became major hurdles when it came to designing and delivering positive customer experiences across digital and voice channels.

“By 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator, according to a West UC study.”

Up until now, cloud computing has largely been the preserve of consumer web space. However, it has slowly progressed into the business environment and businesses that have become the early adopters of cloud solutions and web-based operating systems have excelled. These firms have reaped the rewards that have come with making the switch; improving the customer journey and increasing overall satisfaction.

All this whilst also extending their operating ability across multiple locations and promoting the flexibility of home-working to free up much-needed office space, as well as promote crisis aversion during times of snow days etc. These early adopters have paved the way for the call centre industry, which it appears is slowly following suit, whilst those that have not been left floundering in their wake.

How it works:

Software, operating systems and other business applications are delivered via the internet or provided ‘in the cloud’. This is usually outsourced to a web development company that is responsible for ensuring the smooth running and continuity of the cloud-based systems. Ultimately, this saves money as the complicated legacy systems that are maintained on-site are decommissioned. Furthermore, updates can be controlled remotely ensuring agents have continual access to the most up-to-date applications and customer information, as well as reducing downtimes when systems need to be updated.

How it helps:

Further to the points discussed, cloud-based systems come with a whole host of factors which are preferable to those of legacy systems. Running and operating processes mean that call centres utilising cloud services can benefit from reduced costs, while updates can be implemented quickly – an essential feature in such a fast-paced environment where speed is often noted as a KPI.

Additionally, you usually only pay monthly for the licenses or subscriptions that you use on each device and there is very often no upfront fee to switch. Security is improved across devices and web systems are often easier to use than their older database counterparts, which creates a more seamless transition across working environments and devices whilst improving cross-device compatibility.

Arguably, the best feature of cloud-based systems is their capacity to span a range of communication channels. This results in a more encompassing means of customer communication, whereby customers can be updated by email, SMS or social media rather than having to make time-consuming calls to answer often trivial customer requests.

Research emphasises cloud-based platforms’ suitability to help UK contact centres align with their top three business priorities: improving profitability (63%), ensuring technology keeps pace with changing customer behaviours (67%) and security (37%).*

*See the full West UC study.

If you or your business are interested in exhibiting at the Call & Contact Centre Expo (21st-22nd March 2018, London ExCeL) then please contact me at [email protected] or call 01872 218 007

Guest Blog by Paul Webb of Prysm Group – hosts of the Call and Contact Centre Expo 2018

 

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