The need for seamless omni-channel communications has become more relevant today than it was ever before. While contact centres maybe at the heart of your organization’s overall communication strategy, there is an ever-increasing reliance on technology today. So, how can your organization strike a balance between technology and agents to offer the best possible customer experience?
Remote-work has become the norm for many contact centres today. Which is why contact centres must adapt to upcoming market trends and emphasize on adopting the best technology mix for their business needs. In the new normal, demand and expectations have changed drastically as digital consumption has increased thereby having a significant impact on contact centre trends.
Based on insights, let’s take a closer look at the most important contact centre trends in 2021.
Emphasis on omni-channel conversations
As highlighted earlier, digital consumption has increased greatly. Consequently, customer expectations have become higher. We have come to live in a constantly connected world of quick turnaround times and instant gratification. Customers today seek a seamless omni-channel experience, which means a conversation can change mediums from a phone to a webchat or even email. For example, according to a report by Forrester, in the US, 41% if adults on the internet would prefer using a digital customer service instead of talking over the phone. Further, 63% agree with the statement: “I would like to be able to change customer service between channels and without having to repeat my situation every time.”
In an endeavour to retail customers, maintain loyalty, and enhance customer experiences, contact centres have rapidly increased their investments in omni-channels solutions.
Interaction analytics
Until a few years ago, call centre quality analysts would analyse only a few calls to ensure quality expectations and compliance are met. Today, it is possible to monitor 100 percent calls with speech and interaction analytics tools. Transcripts are automatically generated and instances where compliance or quality are not met are flagged. Agents can get quick feedback on areas of improvement and the overall customer experience is greatly improved. Further, sentiment analysis helps AI detect sub-text in voice or speech interactions to better identify customer expectations, moods, and needs. According to Research and Markets, the global speech market is expected to grow to USD 3,822 million by 2025 from USD 1,525 million in 2020. The CAGR for 2020-2025 is 20.2%.
Focus on Business Intelligence
By 2020, it is estimated that 85 % of customer service interactions will be automated and not require a human agent. It is not possible for contact centres to get in-depth analytics by identifying patterns and sales trends, analysing consumer behaviour, and even predicting the business forecast of a company. This is made possible with the use of Business Intelligence (BI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and platforms. With BI and AI, contact centres can predict call volumes and staffing needs, anticipate trends and problems, and even measure call campaign costs. The use of BI and AI tools is still in an early stage for contact centres but it is already helping them maximize their performance in an era of disruptions. BI and AI tools will be more automated and comprehensive in the next 5 years.
Conclusion
Technology is helping automate many contact centre processes. With an increased emphasis on omni-channel communications, AI and BI tools are automating conversations with a human touch. Voice analytics, BI, AI, and chatbots shall help streamline contact centre operations and reduce costs going forward. Contact Centres need to modernize and find the right technology mix to enable a successful digital transformation.
