When considering the technology capabilities within the call center, not all would think of the potential of incorporating mobile technologies with video capabilities. Perhaps the initial investment is too high or the call center does not have the infrastructure in place to support such a move. Whatever the excuses for not considering it in the past, call centers are now taking a closer look as the benefits are too obvious to ignore.

Call centers that turn to solutions that incorporate video into mobile technologies can realize such benefits as faster problem resolution, the strengthening of customer satisfaction, remote problem diagnostics and resolution, saving field service time and money, dynamic marketing and increasing sales. While the call center leaders may recognize such potentials, they may just be stuck on how to get there.

 

NMS Communications CTO Brough Turner (News - Alert) examined this phenomenon recently in an article that examines how interactive mobile video will change how call centers operate and transform relationships between organizations and their customers.

When video is incorporated into the interaction, the customer service representative has additional tools to deliver better problem resolution and the customer is often better equipped to communicate a problem.

Turner highlighted that similar technology has already been implemented into the automated movie phone line and is helping to create a richer customer experience. Currently, theaters in France send movie trailers to mobile phones so that subscribers can better determine which films to watch.

The challenge in making the move toward video-enabled contact centers is that the technology is still nascent, according to Turner. Interactive video and voice response (IVVR) technology is still in the trail phases in markets where 3G-324M video protocol is in use. Application developers and operators are still examining the best way to deploy the technology so that its use is not counter productive in terms of efficiency.

Another looming challenge is that of interoperability. It is imperative to make the technology accessible to the broadest population of subscribers and doing so efficiently is critical to grow revenues. As a result, video call centers are more likely to emerge in markets where the 3G-324M standard is widely used as it is adapted to more handsets. Such call centers will be slower to emerge in the U.S.

Tuner is quick to note that even with these challenges, call centers are on the brink of a new revolution and the convergence of voice and video will enable these companies to build stronger relationships with their customers and partners to produce a better overall performance.