Today, organizations striving to offer the best possible customer experience are busy building and refining what’s being called “omnichannel” contact centers to ensure that customers can get consistent service regardless of which communication channel they choose. However, not every contact center is the same, since they each service different industries and different demographics of customers. So, it’s important for companies to know their customer base and to understand why they choose the channels they do.

While more and more Americans are starting to use other channels to reach out to the companies with which they do business, credit card customers are still reaching for the phone about half the time.  According to a recent survey commissioned by customer analytics solution provider [24]7 and carried out by Harris Interactive (News - Alert) Service Bureau, one out of two credit card customers begin their customer service journey by picking up the phone, despite the best efforts by companies to direct these customers to Web self-service vehicles.

Interestingly enough, the fact that they start on the phone doesn’t mean they stay there. It also doesn’t mean that their problem is resolved. After making a phone call, about 30 percent of credit card customers make a second phone call. One-quarter of respondents move to the Web site as their next preferred channel. All in all, 82 percent of credit card customers polled use at least three channels of contact when they interact with their credit card companies, and 88 percent use at least two devices.

This is troubling. In an era when first-call resolution ought to be the primary goal of any customer support center worth its salt, credit card customers are clearly being let down. In addition, there is evidence that when customers use a second channel, their previous interactions aren’t carrying over.

"Credit card providers should not be offering yesterday's IVR to today's connected customer,” said [24]7 CEO and founder P.V. Kannan. “Customers want a smart IVR that is conversational, uses natural language and connects seamlessly to other channels and devices. When a customer continues their interaction on the Web, they expect the context of their previous phone call to be maintained.”

Customers today expect to be able to use a mobile device. They expect their calls to be routed to the right place. They expect to be able to use Web services from both their PCs and their mobile devices. And, they expect that companies will know who they are when they reach out. The higher value the service, the more a customer is likely to expect from a company. Given the competition in the credit card market – and Americans’ propensity for changing providers that displease them –  it’s inexcusable that any provider would not offer cutting-edge, top-notch customer service.

Boosting first-contact resolution requires ensuring that databases are integrated, mobile apps are not operating in a vacuum, calls are being routed correctly, agents have access to all customer information before they even pick up a call and – perhaps most significant for the credit card industry – that customers can understand the agents who are picking up their telephone calls.