What Call Center Technologies Facilitate Omnichannel Customer Experiences?

What types of omnichannel technical solutions are companies investing in today? In this post, we list several technologies that should put contact centers on the right track to deliver a seamless omnichannel customer experience.

What Is The Omnichannel Customer Experience?

When used to describe call center interactions, an omnichannel customer experience allows consumers to move seamlessly across different support channels. This means, for example, that they can switch from email to phone support without any problem.

What Call Center Technologies Facilitate Omnichannel Customer Experiences?

1) Native Support Channels

To allow the smooth flow of data through the channels, they must be native and integrated with the various applications. For example, integrating a state-of-the-art chat solution with an outdated local voice platform may be impossible.

For this reason, it is convenient for call centers to switch to cloud-based technology to more easily integrate all support channels and, if possible, all with the same provider.

2) Omnichannel Routing

Omnichannel routing solutions orchestrate all inbound and outbound interactions and then distribute them to agents qualified to handle both customer inquiries and the various available channels. Today’s advanced technology offers Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based routing that takes into account user sentiment and personality across all voice and digital channels to make routing decisions. And thanks to the system, omnichannel routing can provide the necessary context and interaction history to agents so they can successfully resolve customer inquiries.

Omnichannel routing helps smooth the transition from one channel to another. For example, if a customer is chatting with an agent on their mobile phone and then hits the “click to call” link, they could be redirected to the same person they were chatting with, for a seamless and frictionless omnichannel customer experience.

3) Unified Agent Desktop

Omnichannel also means that agents can work on multiple channels during the same shift. For example, an employee might end a phone call, then manage three simultaneous chat sessions, then perhaps move on to WhatsApp messaging.

Certain aspects could go unnoticed if agents don’t have the right tools to keep all those interactions in order. A unified agent desktop uses a universal inbox to help agents organize their tasks. It works in conjunction with omnichannel routing to ensure contacts have the right amount of work based on their competency and skills along with contact prioritization to ensure service level adherence.

Plus, everything an omnichannel agent needs is in one interface—no need to switch between different apps, as agents help customers from different channels. The context and history of the customer through omnichannel routing also appears on the agent’s desktop, allowing them to see the information they need to deliver seamless experiences.

Therefore, a unified agent desktop increases effectiveness and efficiency, and ultimately improves both agent and customer satisfaction.

4) Workforce Management Software With Omnichannel Capabilities

Supporting multiple channels and using omnichannel agents adds complexity to already complicated workforce management (WFM) tasks. The best workforce management software can accurately forecast volume for all channels and then calculate staffing needs based on omnichannel agent usage.

Good workforce management tools also make it easy to schedule omnichannel agents. For example, the system can take into account individual agent skills, handling times, the number of concurrent sessions they can handle, and other omnichannel characteristics to develop optimal schedules. This helps ensure that customers experience consistent response times across all channels.

5) Knowledge Management System That Can Be Used Across All Channels

A good knowledge base can help ensure customers receive consistent responses across search, self-service, and agent-assisted channels that deliver the right information, at the right time, based on context and AI guidance. Eliminating friction is essential to delivering seamless experiences.

6) Integration Of Contact Center Systems With CRM Applications

Omnichannel customer experiences are better when call center technology is integrated with CRM solutions. CRM systems contain customer data that provides additional context for omnichannel routing. Additionally, CRMs can be incorporated into the unified agent desktop to give agents even more information to personalize interactions and deliver superior experiences.