Call Center Management Featured Article
The Vast Gap between Multichannel and Omnichannel
In the past, companies built a customer support infrastructure and they expected customers to adapt to it. “This is our IVR menu. Wait to hear all the options – even the ones that aren’t relevant to you – and at the end, we might connect you to a live agent. Then again, we might not. We really DON’T value your call, and we do just hope you’ll go away. Oh, but continue spending money on our products and services.”
Today, companies are finding that business as usual just doesn’t work anymore. Customers are now in the driver’s seat, and they are the ones building the support infrastructure. Competitors are a click or log-in away, and customer loyalty is lower than it ever has been. Yet many companies continue to blithely put substandard customer experiences out there and say to customers “take it or leave it.”
There’s evidence they’re leaving it. A study by NewVoiceMedia (News - Alert) and recently highlighted by Forbes’ Shep Hyken found that American businesses are losing $62 billion each year because of bad customer service. This figure has more than tripled since 2013. More than ever, companies need to begin configuring customer support how customers want it. They also need to expect that changes will be fast and sudden, according to a recent blog post by NICE’s Jason Andersson.
“The consumer market is driving rapid changes in how end users prefer to interact and how they expect customer services to be provided,” wrote Andersson. “Organizations are continually adding both self-service and assisted service channels (such as video, chat, e-mail, social media, etc.) in order to meet customers’ expectations and improve their experience.”
Yes, companies are adding channels, but are they adding them properly? Are they integrating them so that customers can switch between communications channels with no loss of knowledge and no need to repeat themselves?
“Customers now expect consistent support and cross-channel knowledge of their earlier interactions, irrespective of when they communicated, how they communicated, or from where they chose to do so,” wrote Andersson.
Here lies the difference in definitions between “multichannel” and “omnichannel.” Multichannel means offering customers a variety of ways to communicate. Omnichannel means making sure those channels are properly integrated to support customers no matter what combination they use them in, and agents can cross channels to ensure a great customer experience regardless of channel. This allows customers to “hear” the same company voice regardless of the channel, and organizations to be aware of their situation even if a service starts in one channel and ends with another, according to Andersson.
“To be able to provide customers with a seamless experience no matter what channel they choose, organizations need to create an omnichannel experience for their employees as well,” he wrote. “Whether it is the IT manager that needs to operate multiple systems, the compliance officer that needs to ensure compliance no matter the channel, the agent that needs to handle interactions, the supervisor that needs to ensure his agents are knowledgeable and have the skills and tools they need to perform at their best.”
This need for true omnichannel will dictate the technology choices contact centers will need to seek in the future. It’s not enough to be there for customers. You need to know where “there” is.
Edited by Alicia Young