The Latest Trends In Contact Center Technologies For 2019

The new technologies are redefining the call center centered on the client. These technologies are stimulating their own tendencies. Some are simply a natural evolution of traditional contact center products, while others underline the changing scene of user expectations and the continued emergence of advanced technologies in customer service centers.

It’s time for call centers to return to the basics of why they exist. As of 2019, the most important trends will focus on people. Likewise, it must be taken into account if the new technology to be implemented is adapted to the needs of the contact center. For example, agents must be trained to properly use the new tools. Otherwise, they will not improve customer satisfaction.

Objective: To Guarantee A Good Customer Experience

According to Gartner, a great customer experience is associated with innovation and differentiation. And the reality is that we started to lose sight of the basics within our organization. If the basics are not well understood, no amount of investment in technology is made; the client will not be given a good experience.

The trends that should matter are those focused on people, not focused on technology. In 2019, therefore, trends will revolve around how to use new technologies to put people first.

The Latest Trends In Contact Center Technologies For 2019

1) Get Rid Of The Tools That Limit The Agents

It is key to find professional software for call centers that is customizable. It is necessary to think about what would help the agents to offer a better service to the clients. A professional telephone answering solution for your contact center will provide you with advanced automation tools such as routing, ACD or IVR, specialized modules for agents and supervisors, real-time statistics and easy integration with corporate systems.

2) Use Deeper Analysis To Inform About The ‘Customer Journey’

Technology promotes thousands of interactions between customers and agents. This means that there are thousands of data points to provide real-time information about the customer’s trip. These data will guide decision making, to understand client behaviors and to find out what could improve their experience (and the experience of the agents).

A single metric does not show an accurate picture of the trajectory or customer satisfaction. But deepening, combining metrics and customizing reports on agent desktops, provides powerful data to inform decisions that will affect customers.

3) Hire More Remote Agents (Or Allow More Telecommuting)

With thousands of call centers abandoning legacy systems for cloud-based options, remote work becomes a viable option. Native cloud technology provides the necessary flexibility and security. Not to mention the fact that allowing remote work creates happier and more productive agents and can reduce wear by up to 50%.

4) Focus On The Commitment Of Employees To Improve Customer Satisfaction

Putting employees first and creating a team of committed workers will improve CSAT scores and customer satisfaction. A company with highly committed workers sees a 10% increase in customer ratings and a 20% increase in sales, and customer retention rates are 18% higher.

Creating a committed workforce means connecting agents with the company’s larger objectives, since you give them a voice in the work they do and the purpose they have. When employees are involved and connected to the purpose of the organization, they will provide a positive customer experience in a consistent manner. And, consequently, they will build lasting relationships with customers.

5) Connect Your Systems To Manage Customer Information

When the systems work together, the client’s information is shared among the tools, so everyone works so that the agents gather knowledge about the clients and their trajectory. The ‘Benchmarking of the Customer Experience 2017’ report by Dimension Data shared that only 8% of organizations say they have all their channels connected (omnichannel) and up to 70% say that none or very few of their channels are connected.

Customer information floating in isolated channels means that the opportunity to understand customers is being lost. When the parts of the trip come together, patterns can be found that help agents offer proactive customer service experiences.

6) Train More Often To Attract And Retain The Best Talent

Training must be part of the daily workflow. With a daily training to the agents, they will be better at their jobs and will obtain more satisfaction by helping the clients. By 2019, organizations want to expand training and improve analysis as the two key initiatives to improve call center talent. In fact, 63% of companies plan to expand training opportunities for their agents. Developing your talent is key to keeping them and making customers happy.

7) Form With Contextual Relevance

With more frequent training and education, there is a need to make training more relevant for agents and clients. Just addressing KPIs without taking into account specific interactions means that agents will not get comments that are useful and relevant. Training must also be more personal and humane. The agent deals with complex client problems, dozens of scenarios and hundreds of different personalities each week.

Instead of giving an overview of performance, it is important to observe the interactions between agents and customers. How? Focusing attention on the words used by the agents and on the tone of the clients. In this way, you can discover how to improve communication between the agent and the client.

New technologies are essential to improve the operation of call centers, but it is key to always keep in mind that they should facilitate the tasks of agents and interactions with customers.