Call Recording Featured Article

The telephone, while undoubtedly one of the greatest inventions of the nineteenth century, has had (and continues to have) limitations. There’s a reason why most people reserve face to face communications for their most critical conversations. A voice from the other end of the line is never going to be as effective as a voice that has visual cues accompanying it. For the same reason, telephone customer support can sometimes be limiting. Often, there are visual elements that would enhance the conversation: a product photo, a demonstration, a page on the Web site, or even just a video conference between customer and agent.

As omnichannel customer engagement becomes more necessary to selling today, there is evidence that some companies are choosing to offer customers a mix of media, both audio and visual. It’s called “visual engagement,” and it can raise the customer’s loyalty and chances of purchasing more, according to a recent article by Sydney Winward writing for Business2Community.

“Visual engagement solutions like co-browsing, screen sharing, and agent video make online customer service instant, relevant, and effortless,” wrote Winward. “Does this result in hard ROI? Without a doubt. In fact, according to Aberdeen (News - Alert) Group research, businesses employing visual engagement tools enjoy an 83 percent greater year-over-year increase in annual company revenue compared to those who don’t.”

Visual engagement isn’t just for the customer. It can also help the agent grasp the customer’s problem more quickly (and avoid frustrating conversations like, “See the little icon in the right corner? Upper right corner? No, not that one. The one that looks like a little star. Have you found it?”) and demonstrate a resolution faster. In this way, it’s a great tool to boost first-call resolution, which is a critical metric for omnichannel customer engagement today.

Agents can even teach customers to do processes themselves, like handle billing or fill out forms. Self-service can be very empowering for customers. Moreover, you will improve first call resolutions, as you shrink the chance that customers will have to call back for the same reason.

“Many people are visual learners,” wrote Winward. “If they can actually see an agent walk them through a process, it’ll help them learn better. This increases customer confidence and trust in your business, encouraging them to come back to do business with your company time and time again.”

Today, quality customer service is a driving force improving customer transactions. It’s also a huge competitive advantage. Research from CEI Survey has found that 86 percent of customers would be willing to pay more for a better customer experience, yet only one percent of customers feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations. This leaves enormous room for improvement in customer engagement strategies.

On the workforce side, there is also room for improvements. Today’s workforces have record levels of disengagement with their jobs, which is bad news for customer support. One of the most oft-cited reasons workers are so disengaged is because they feel they lack the right tools to make a difference in their jobs. Visual engagement technology can go a long way toward more effective workforce optimization.