Call centers are the backbone of customer service for any business. Over the years, the technology used for call centers has changed drastically. Nowadays, every company must pay attention to trends, especially in adopting new tools to enhance productivity and performance.
In this article, we'll talk about the top five trends changing the face of outbound and inbound customer service.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is a buzzword that's not going away anytime soon. The application of AI in customer service technology is varied – and there's plenty to look forward to in the coming years. One example of an AI application is using a predictive dialer that makes intelligent predictions on agent availability and dial rate. The most significant benefit of using AI is the capability to analyze interactions and determine why customers reach out.
Through AI, there's potential to learn from human customer service agents' behavior in coming up with a VR system that accurately answers common questions. This tool will help increase productivity, and only direct important and complicated questions to live agents.
Analytics and Big Data
Data analytics is an essential tool in helping businesses improve their services. With the help of big data, you can study vast amounts of information and make data-driven decisions. For example, you can identify the top customer concerns and find a way to reduce these issues by improving your product or service offerings. Apart from customer service, you can also use big data to increase marketing and sales results.
This technology can also be used to analyze customer speech as a means of evaluating agent performance.
Remote customer support
Operating remotely has never been more relevant than now. But this practice isn't new. Remote call centers are effective, efficient, and affordable too.
Of course, we're not only referring to overseas support centers. Small and medium businesses can also implement remote customer operations by taking advantage of tech tools such as VoIP. Moreover, innovative cloud solutions also help connect customers to an agent anywhere in the world. This capability makes it a more seamless means of implementing work from home protocols during the ongoing pandemic.
Multiple customer support channels
Companies today are starting to recognize the importance of using multiple channels to provide customer support. Today, making a phone call isn't the only means of resolving customer issues.
Social media, for example, is being highlighted as another channel for addressing customer support issues. Other examples include chat support, email, and outbound calls. By taking advantage of multiple channels, the company can boost satisfaction and resolve complaints faster.
Self-service support channel
Another means of streamlining customer service is by giving the customers the tools and information necessary to solve their issues. One excellent example would be a phone application or web portal that allows customers to make updates to their preferred products or services.
Many companies are already taking full advantage of self-service channels because it reduces support cues, and agents can devote their time to more essential customer concerns. Also, by encouraging customers to resolve their problems independently, they become more satisfied with the company's services.
