As customers increasingly diversify their communication channels, contact centers must adopt omnichannel CX environments to provide seamless customer engagement and satisfaction across all channels.
Customers of today expect to get what they want within minutes. To meet these demands, businesses must upgrade from traditional contact centers to integrated omnichannel platforms, which require strategic investments.
At present the drive towards attaining omnichannel capabilities has taken center stage, a recent survey conducted by Cisco showed that 91% of contact center managers consider integrated omnichannel as a top priority.
In this update, we discuss the foundational steps required to prepare your contact center for omnichannel success.
Connect each channel to an Integrated central CRM and agent desktop
The first step towards omnichannel success is to connect each channel to a central CRM system and agent desktop.
This integration enables agents to view the conversational history of each customer and offer personalized support. By linking the CRM to other systems such as order management, document management, and Voice of the Customer (VoC) software, agents can track the customer journey in a single thread.
An omnichannel desktop allows agents to leverage multiple channels simultaneously to escalate the conversation and take advantage of various media. For example, agents can take payment via chat and send a confirmation SMS message within seconds.
This integration promotes consistency across all channels, resulting in seamless customer experiences.
Create and integrate an Intuitive agent UI
Agents should not have to switch between multiple systems and interfaces when handling interactions across channels. Instead, omnichannel desktops pack each channel into neat channel tabs with personal statistics, work bins, and templates accessible within the space.
Investing in a unified desktop streamlines the process and reduces the likelihood of errors. Setting up custom automated triggers can further enhance the UI by allowing agents to quickly change channels, access internal systems, and send post-call follow-ups.
Connecting the desktop to a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform allows agents to share their cases with a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for guidance, which is especially useful in today’s remote working world.
An intuitive agent UI increases productivity, reduces errors, and improves overall performance.
Provide training on the capabilities of new channels to agents
While omnichannel technology is designed to benefit agents, they may resist change, making early engagement and training critical.
Rolling out small-scale responsibilities on one channel first, and only routing simple queries to this particular channel is an excellent way to increase agents’ familiarity with the technology in a safe, comfortable environment.
Training agents on when to escalate contact between channels is also essential, especially when a customer’s query requires a switch to a different channel to resolve it effectively.
Such escalations may become part of the new quality monitoring criteria that contact centers must reevaluate after shifting to the cloud.
Training agents on new channel capabilities ensure that they are better equipped to handle every customer query, leading to improved performance and customer satisfaction.
Continuously monitor the performance of new omnichannel platforms
Continuous omnichannel reporting across various channels is critical, including automated channels.
Monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) across various intents ensures that agents are set up for success when handling every customer query across all customer engagement channels. It also helps contact centers in safeguarding the service experience.
Analyzing data collected from various channels can identify areas of strength and weakness, allowing the contact center to make necessary improvements.
Monitoring omnichannel performance enables contact centers to adjust their strategies and improve their omnichannel capabilities continuously.
Synchronize your new omnichannel platforms to maximize their capabilities and enhance CX delivery
Omnichannel is a powerful tool for optimizing CX and driving revenue growth as well as seamlessness and uniformity in the quality of customer interactions, allowing organizations to create more personalized and targeted CX initiatives across all channels that resonate better with their customers.