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Report: IVR Holding Its Own as Live Contacts Wane

By TMCnet Staff

According to official reports, the Philippines’ BPO (business process outsourcing) sector will be generating $25 billion in revenue by next year, which will account for 10 percent of the Philippines’ economy. The growth the country is experiencing is responsible for overtaking India as a call center capital of the world.

This has pushed industry players to come to the Philippines and deploy the latest call center technology to ensure it continues delivering services for organizations around the world.

One of the concerns recently addressed by Boston-based Aspect (News - Alert) Software is the delivery of omni-channel contact center services. According to a report by Roderick T. de la Cruz of manilastandardtoday.com, the country’s sales manager of Aspect Software, Alfred Lallana Jr., said, “By 2016, more than 60 percent of inbound customer service interactions are expected to come from devices other than your landline.”

This means than more than half of the people reaching out to contact centers in the Philippines will be using mobile devices or computers. Additionally, voice is becoming the least preferred option for millennials, who are increasingly using SMS, email and video chat for customer support.

As this change takes place, call center agents also have to adapt by acquiring new skills that will allow them to communicate with this growing demographic.

According to the “Aspect Consumer Experience Index: Millennial Research on Customer Service Expectations”, 73 percent of consumers would rather have the option of solving any problem they have with products or services on their own. That means less interaction with call center agents, but what interactions they have is generally being carried out on their mobile or other computing device.

Call center operators have to implement software, systems and technologies that are able to interact in real time. For example, ZipwireAspect is a fully cloud SaaS (News - Alert)-based contact center solution that delivers omni-channel customer care with voice, multi-session chat and email, fully-featured agent and supervisor desktops and advanced reporting and recording capabilities.

A mobile-ready solution leverages mobile and Web capabilities for sharing photos, videos and documents, integrating mobile customer service functionality into apps and websites without significant redesigns.

As the expectations of customers continue to change, a cloud contact center is able to adjust and allow operators to resolve complex issues and anticipate their needs on the first contact no matter what channel they choose. Contact centers that are not adjusting their operation for this omni-channel interaction will see themselves losing customers.