Too Few Companies Are Achieving True Omnichannel Customer Support

What does having an “omnichannel” contact center really mean? Does it mean having multiple channels available for customers to use? Yes, in part, but a contact center can’t be said to be “omnichannel” unless those channels are integrated properly to allow customers to begin an inquiry on one channel, and effortlessly switch to another.

While most companies understand the need for an omnichannel customer support experience, far fewer are able to put it into practice. In a recent interview with Destination CRM, Contact Center Week analyst Matt Wujciak noted that while nearly all businesses (96 percent) understand the importance of having an omnichannel contact center, many are still striving toward that goal. CCW’s research has found that a full 87 percent of companies plan to offer customers true channel choice, but most aren’t there yet.

Wujciak noted that voice remains a critical underpinning of omnichannel customer support.

“Human connection through the voice channel is the most efficient way to achieve personalized care, increase customer service, and [optimize] retention rates,” Wujciak told Destination CRM.

But if customers choose to start with voice and then move to another media (or vice versa), companies need to be able to treat the multimedia outreach as part of the same inquiry, and not a separate transaction. CCW says that omnichannel, cloud-based chatbots are a good basis for an omnichannel experience, as they better enable contact centers to share content across channels to give customers all of the information they need in a single location via automated self-service. Artificial intelligence can also be used to mine calls and emails and make connections between different media.

It’s particularly important to include social media as part of the mix, as customers are increasingly turning to social channels to communicate with companies.

“It’s vital that a customer interaction that starts on a social platform can easily transition to another channel in your contact center and transition back as needed,” Wujciak said.

Edited by Maurice Nagle