Any customer service interaction channel developed for customer service should focus on one key point: ensuring customers have access to exactly what they need, when they need it. This means the mobile app – catering to the consumer on the go – cannot cause more confusion than convenience. The contact center software should integrate with the mobile app so customers can accomplish their goal, even if they cross over to another channel.
According to this Call Center Corporation post, the majority of apps available today really only offer one-way interactions. For customers who truly need assistance, they have to launch an interaction outside of the mobile app. In such an instance, the mobile app offers no value to the user. In the grand scheme of things, mobile customer service should offer a unified experience. Without it – what’s the point of the app?
Even worse, companies lose money with mobile apps that don’t provide customers with what they want. If a user is forced to call in to the call center and repeat information to an agent who has no context for the conversation or interaction just completed on the mobile app, extra time is spent handling a call that should have never been made in the first place. So, not only is the call center spending more money on calls than necessary, the increased handle time makes the cost of the call even higher. This is the problem mobile technology is supposed to address.
Fortunately, there is a way to overcome this challenge. An integrated mobile contact center leverages contact center software to ensure interactions taking place on the mobile app are captured in the customer contact. If the customer encounters a problem, an agent can address it through mobile customer service. Users simply tap on the mobile phone, a button that will instantly connect them with a contact center agent.
Options in such a solution may include a chat window or phone call and should connect the user directly with an agent already familiar with their information and what they were trying to complete on the mobile app. While the ultimate goal is to avoid the call altogether, the integrated approach at least offers a better method for ensuring customer satisfaction.
While this sounds like the next step for integration into the contact center environment, a number of companies already have the capabilities in place to support the mobile contact center without realizing it. The technology is already there in automatic call distributor software or computer telephony integration already used to improve performance and interactions. The only step missing is the implementation of the mobile desktop software on top of existing systems and the contact center is ready to go.
This trend toward mobility is not one that is fleeting as consumers want easy and quick access to solutions while on the go. The contact center able to support this demand is better equipped to meet customer expectations and knock out the competition.
Edited by Rachel Ramsey