Contact center technology is one of the most important investments in your customer journey. While your agents are likely the most important investment, technology can be a true differentiator when it comes to offering services (like a virtual queue or callback option) that improve the customer’s experience.
In 2020, 40% of customers stopped doing business with a company thanks to poor customer service.
So, if you want loyal repeat customers, you need to invest in a better customer service experience. We identified six contact center technologies that will help improve your customer experience, agent experience, and efficiencies to ultimately and increase customer retention.
1. Contact center as a service platforms
A contact center as a service (CCaaS) platform allows you to get all the routing and ACD technology you need in your call center, but now seamlessly integrated and on the cloud. CCaaS platforms are cloud-based—meaning they can support a remote workforce, they’re scalable, and can be integrated closely with other software.
CCaaS platforms incorporate all traditional contact center technologies, like automatic contact distributors, interactive voice response systems, and outbound call systems. This way, you can purchase all your needed technology from one place, knowing it will work without maintenance regardless of where your contact center employees are located.
Take a look at solutions like Twilio Flex or Five9 if you want to switch to a cloud- based ACD in your call center.
2. Speech sentiment analysis
Speech sentiment analysis elevates traditional call recording systems to the next level by using AI to analyze calls for insight into the customer’s emotions.
Speech sentiment analysis works for any call—incoming, outgoing, or between team members. After a call, speech analytics takes the transcript of the call and looks for keywords, lengthy pauses, or emotional queues. After the analysis is complete, agents and managers get insights that indicate whether customers were happy or upset, how long they expressed that emotion for, and they’re able to see whether that emotion is tied to a resolution or not.
Some examples of how these sentiment readings can be used include:
- Knowing when to involve a manager
- Understanding the customer’s pain points
- Improving processes and products
Speech sentiment analysis works based on things like the speed of talking, tone of voice, and words chosen. The software will note each mood change and the overall tone of the conversation, so you can use the call to improve your customer service. Look at providers like CallRail that offer matching software solutions like call recording to get the most out of this call center technology.
3. Automated callback programs
Automatic callback programs, also called virtual holding, give time back to their customers by calling them when a customer service agent is ready rather than having them wait on hold.
There are a few ways to offer callback. First, you can have the customer schedule a phone call with a representative from your website or an app. This way, the customer only has to answer the phone when it’s time, whether minutes or days away. Alternatively, you can let the customer call, get in the queue, and then ask if they’d rather have a computer virtually hold their spot. Either way, the customer can go about their day, just keeping the phone in their pocket.
Mindful can better prepare your customer service center with technologies like callback, call scheduling, messaging, analytics, and notifications.
4. AI-powered self-service systems
AI-powered self-service systems, often in the form of chatbots, offer customers the chance to quickly solve their problems before they ever reach a live customer service agent. According to Microsoft, 12% of global customers rank being able to find answers on their own as the most important factor of customer service.
Having a chatbot, like LivePerson, reduces the load on your agents. And, since more than 12% of customers would likely rank it in their top five most important factors, it is also likely to boost customer satisfaction and retention. In addition, a chatbot can help with processes like resetting passwords, accessing personal info, or preparing information for an agent.
5. Real-time voice-of-customer solution
Traditionally, gathering customer insights to improve brand experience requires time-consuming phone calls and emails. Now, voice of customer (VoC) solutions can improve your customer experience by surveying customers immediately after an interaction with an agent. These real-time customer insights could help your brand in a few ways:
- Reduce churn: Step in when customers indicate dissatisfaction to keep an issue from snowballing into a major problem.
- Increase upgrades: Offer upgrades to customers who indicate they’re happy and looking for more.
- Reduce call center stress: Create fixes and guides to the most common problems, and reduce service ticket requests.
Using a voice of customer solution helps your brand maintain a glowing customer perception, building trust and enhancing CX by fixing problems as they’re flagged. Options like Survey Dynamix include the ability to integrate with your existing telephony software or CCaaS—tying real-time feedback to specific interactions.
6. Knowledge management systems
Also known as a knowledge base, knowledge management systems are programs that store and sort either internal SOPs and processes or externally searchable self-help information. Knowledge bases can help team members improve and fix products and services or collaborate together. Alternatively, they can help customers find the information they need to solve a problem—often in conjunction with an AI chatbot.
Maintaining an updated knowledge base can save time for both the customer and the customer service agent. Knowledge bases offer answers to simple requests, like password reset, hours, or exchange policies, and can be laid out in an easy-to-find and send format. Look at options like Stack Overflow to start building your own.
Summing up: Create a tech stack that improves your customers’ and agents’ experiences.
Your contact center relies on having the right software to help each customer. So make sure your tech stack is up to date as you grow and technology changes. Implementing a knowledge management system or an automated callback program helps both the customer and the agent save time and get to a resolution faster.
