Read on to find out the top trends in contact center technologies.
The changing requirements of COVID-era in customer support has completely changed the game for call centers. It is likely that going forward from 2022 will see call centers moving fast to deploy more advanced technology solutions and implementing internal process overhauls for better efficiency.
According to Accenture, AI is likely to increase business productivity by over 35% before 2040 just in the US. Implementation of AI is expected to become mainstream in the near future as data from Juniper Research suggests that AI tech can reduce business costs by $8 billion annually by 2022. IT Support Boston excels in supporting Contact center as a service.
Biggest Challenges to Contact Center Success
Reducing Call Wait Times
The switch to digital prodded by the pandemic has resulted in more calls than ever as customers get used to digital-first solutions. An increase in calls and manual escalations have prompted many call centers to adopt call-backs to reduce call times. Even customers are happier with call-back scheduling compared to being put on hold.
Continuing Remote Operations
Harvard Business Review estimates that in the pandemic period, hold times increased by 34% and escalations rose by 68%. Even as the pandemic ebbs, remote work is likely to stay mainstream for a long while to deal with rising levels of uncertainty due to factors impacting global stability such as extreme weather, political instability, economic disparity, social unrest and more. In order to serve remote operations fully, call centers must invest in cloud-based infrastructure to allow for greater flexibility and scalability.
Agent Recruitment and Retention
Call centers continue to face massive employee attrition that’s posing a significant challenge in 2022. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 3.5 million people have left their jobs voluntarily since January 2019. Turnover in the call center industry is at an average of 30 to 45 percent, according to Quality Assurance and Training Connection.
When an employee leaves, companies lose in more than one way. They lose the time, resources and training already invested in that employee, the experience and familiarity that the person already has with the role and of course, the costs of attracting, hiring and training new talent while losing productivity until the new person finds their feet.
Call centers are expected to leverage chatbots (virtual AI-powered agents) to meet increased demand without the necessity for human intervention. Chatbots have proven high-success rates, lower error margins, continuous availability, and never leave jobs once they are trained.
For better employee retention, companies will need to look into innovative and better recognition and rewards, competitive pay and benefits and more.
Low Customer Satisfaction
With many customers using the digital Avenue for the first time in the wake of the pandemic, it has been difficult for call centers to keep customers satisfied during its course. Customers want convenient self-service options, as without them, they must exert time and effort into calling up, going through the menu of various options, being put on hold, not getting the result in the first instance and more than just keeps adding to their frustration.
In worst instances, such frustrations can pile up into a significant impact on your bottom line. This is a serious issue as data from SQM suggests that 30% of content centers call volume are call-backs from unresolved issues.
In order to craft a more personal experience, call centers must invest in software such as interactive voice response (IVR) software. This ensures that the customer is quickly redirected to the right agent based on the specific requirement. IT Support Rhode Island specializes in advising companies on Contact Center Technology, Contact Center Platforms and Contact Center Management.
Top Trends in Contact Center Technology
Here are the most notable call center technology trends to take customer satisfaction to the next level:
Advanced Customer Self Service Technology
Recent data shows us that more than two-thirds of customers really prefer self-service customer service, and 46% of dissatisfied customers tend to abandon a purchase rather than talk to a live agent. It is hardly surprising that 91% of business managers plan to immediately increase investment in customer self-service as a top priority in 2022.
AI & Machine Learning Tools
Contact center industry estimates suggest that nearly 85% of customer support inquiries will be routed through AI technology this year. 78% of contact centers have implemented or are in the process of implementing AI technology, while 80% plan to deploy chatbots by 2020.
AI integration is expected to improve employee productivity and enable live agents to focus on complex problem-solving (at 80% and 72%, respectively). However, companies remain concerned about AI deployment disrupting daily operations.
Predictive & Advanced Data Analytics
It is estimated that by 2020, 40% of all data analytics projects will focus on customer service quality. This is expected to impact growth, improve efficiency, and increase centers’ ROI significantly. Advanced data analytics will enable contact centers to leverage data in newer ways than before to better understand, serve, and reach customers.
Predictive analytics is likely to play a major role here as it can anticipate future customer decisions based on past behavior data. This will help companies better plan their demand, resource usage and allocation, performance assessment, and deliver a more personalized experience for the customer. Many organizations consider advanced analytics technology as a top priority and 15% mark out predictive analytics as their top technology goal for 2020.
Intelligent Interactive Voice Response Technology
The use of Interactive Voice Response technology (IVR) along with chatbots and AI is likely to be in greater use to improve customer service quality. New IVR technology integrates nicely with new features like voice-to-search tools, digital CSAs, and automated self-service.
IVR brings down the cost of customer service to just an average of $1 per customer inquiry, compared to live chat at $5 and telephone service at $12. IVR can also map customer journeys effectively with logic-based procedures that align with brand goals. The ROI is expected to be more than ten times the cost of the initial investment in the technology. Managed IT Services Boston provides companies with bespoke Contact Center Solutions.
