Here’s a somewhat bold statement: voice-based customer support isn’t disappearing anytime soon.
Living in an omni-channel era, we might be tempted to believe that voice channels, and telephony, in particular, are becoming a thing of the past. Brands nowadays are continuously encouraged to diversify and automate their customer interactions, using chatbots and text-based channels like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. However, in many cases, talking to a human agent over the phone remains the ideal choice.
“Today, voice is still the most personal manner of doing customer support. It maintains the human factor in customer interactions, which is very much needed to make the customer feel heard and avoid frustration,” notes Thomas Laboulle, Founder & CEO at Toku.
Other than being key for certain industries such as the travel industry or the insurance industry, voice is also indispensable when it comes to more complex scenarios across the board.
“In deep, complex or sensitive interactions, a person will feel more reassured talking directly to a human and hearing their voice.”
From Traditional Telephony to In-App Calling
When talking about voice today, the most common channel that we have at our disposal is telephony. “This means that having localised numbers is still a must for companies from certain sectors – like finance, travel, or any service that has a type of ‘VIP channel’ – to facilitate the access to customer support,” says Laboulle.
The ‘next phase’ is the click-to-dial capability through a brand’s website, which adds a modernised twist to standard telephony. But what we now begin to see more of is the in-app or in-platform voice communications, which is another step forward.
“In-app calling is definitely evolving and gaining popularity, and there are a few key reasons for it,” Laboulle explains.
“In-app calling gives customers an effortless, seamless experience by allowing them to stay inside the app while contacting customer support. It’s also more secure, as there’s no ambiguity regarding the identity of either party. We are currently working on in-app customer support capabilities for one of our clients, to be launched in Q1 of 2022.”
Personalised Journeys: A Mix of Channels and Integrations
If there’s one thing that everyone’s sure about today when it comes to customer support, it’s the demand for personalised customer journeys. And to provide a customer with a personalised journey, it is critical to have all the necessary information about them at hand while interacting with them. That’s where integrations with CRM and ticketing systems come in, as well as the omni-channel aspect of communications.
“To deliver these personalised journeys, we are already showing all the customer-related information to the support agents during the call, whether it’s previous complaints, purchase history or anything else of the sort. The next step is to also provide individual and actionable insights to the agents,” Laboulle says.
Another key thing is being able to switch from one channel to another, according to the relevant stage of the interaction.
“Online forms or bots, for example, are great for the initial stage of gathering basic information from the customer. Then, after the information has been captured, the customer is directly contacted by the right agent,” explains Laboulle.
After using a voice channel, which is often the main event, there could be another switch to additional channels, depending on the specific use case. For example, an SMS confirmation, a WhatsApp/Facebook Messenger channel use, a push notification or an email.
“It is essential that each brand carefully selects the right channel mix for their audience and use cases,” Laboulle notes.
“What happens after the voice part is merely feedback provided through other channels. The core of interactions takes place during the phone call or in-app call.“
If you’re an APAC company looking to provide or improve your phone support in the region, feel free to reach out to Toku right here.
