Digital is the new norm, and it’s disrupting the way customers communicate with brands. With the proliferation of newer digital devices and channels, customers prefer to reach brands through digital channels rather than voice channels.
But companies deploying and promoting digital customer service channels, like chat or SMS, are not seeing the results with NPS, containment, and agent efficiency. They struggle to explain to management the difference between “adding chat and email” and a true omnichannel experience — one that can integrate digital and voice channels.
Building omnichannel experience is not easy. The definition of omnichannel is evolving. It started as a concept around the ability to serve customers in their channel of choice. It then evolved into a more unified channel approach — where customers can move seamlessly across channels without having to re-authenticate and repeat information.
The next wave is all about seamless channel transitions across the entire journey, across departments, and even within a transaction. So what does it take to achieve true omnichannel experience? It involves balancing operations and agent experience to deliver — right tools, training, systems, and processes.
A thoroughly planned omnichannel strategy involves redesigning operations — one that connects data and processes across all channels in the contact center. Here are some aspects to look into as you build an omnichannel operation:
1) A seamless desktop — One that is truly unified so agents can be omnipresent in all channels their customers are in. One that can help agents manage all digital and voice channels seamlessly, in one single interface. One where an agent can easily pivot across channels even within a transaction.
2) Tools to better understand customers — Agents need to have a high level of omniscience so they know what customers are calling about and what they need sometimes even before customers know. This comes from an open platform that can integrate seamlessly with various enterprise apps like CRM, billing, and order management, and then pull every customer profile and interaction data right at their fingertips, right when needed.
3) An onboarding and continuous training that can help agents become truly omnichannel — Deliver ways to learn best practices on managing customers in every channel as well as across all channels.
4) Native omnichannel not just for routing but for all operations across the center — Workforce management, quality assurance, training, performance management, and other systems that truly integrate all channels for a holistic view.
Learn more on how to build a truly omnichannel contact center: Join us at Contact Center Week on June 26th, 4:00 pm at the Innovation Lab Track, main stage — and learn how Sony, the pioneer in consumer digital experiences, transformed its contact center into a truly omnichannel center.
