Customer Experience: The New Metric In Contact Centers

For years, people’s perceptions of “call centers” were big open rooms with rows of desks and people on headsets looking to get off the phone with customers as quickly as possible. For a while, that view was accurate. Bonuses and rankings were based on call counts and talk times, not necessarily customer satisfaction and the overall customer experience.

Today, those metrics have changed. Call counts and talk times are still important. However, customer experience, satisfaction, and first-call resolution statistics are now leading the way.  Plus, voice communications are not the only way we interact with customers, partners, and vendors anymore. Omni Channel is here, and it is here to stay.

With new communication channels such as; webchat, SMS, email, social media, and video chat, it can be hard to balance every communication channel. Does your company currently offer several channels of communication for customer service? If your answer is yes, you may not be aware of how each of your communication channels is doing.

LDI  works with prospects and customers to assess the current way they communicate internally and to end-users. We recommend cloud solutions based on that particular customer’s communication needs and goals.

This article will cover what a contact center is and how to empower your customer experience ambassadors to achieve a new customer service metric with the right tools and solutions. Additionally, we will cover where your customer experience ambassadors can work and how they can be managed in real-time and historically. 

After reading this article, you will walk away having a good understanding of how contact centers can lead your company to a higher level of customer service through reliable and qualitative communication efforts. 

What Is A Contact Center Or CCaaS (Contact Center As A Service)?

CCaaS (Contact Center As A Service) is a cloud-based solution that optimizes the way you communicate by using a contact center provider’s software.

CCaaS enables you to buy the technology you need while relying on a vendor or managed services provider responsible for maintenance and upgrades. The provider will essentially operate the system and make this conventional contact center available to your company monthly.

The contact center includes automatic call distribution (ACD), private branch exchange systems (PBX), email, text, and social media channels. 

The provider or vendor you decide to work with will be responsible for managing the quality of all these channels. They will also be responsible for providing ongoing helpdesk support.

How Can Customer Experience Ambassadors Reach A New Metric Of Customer Service?

Today, customer service or contact center agents are tasked with more than call counts, a good opening line, and a friendly voice. Agents are tasked with representing the brand, first call resolution, and, most importantly, an outstanding customer experience.

In the world of social media, one misstep can lead to a Twitter war, negative Yelp review, or Instagram onslaught.

How can new customer experience ambassadors be empowered to achieve a new level to support customers’ demands? It is a combination of knowledge, ongoing training, and reliable technology tools to help them access information and subject matter experts in real-time. 

The knowledge and ongoing training are a company requirement, but technology tools are where LDI can assist. As more applications and services move to the cloud, integrating them is a critical component to enhancing your agents’ ability to access information, solve problems, and answer questions quicker, thus improving the experience of your customers and your agents themselves.

So does LDI do this? Well, we use something called an API. An API is a set of functions and procedures enabling the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or service. APIs enable organizations to connect multiple applications to work together to meet the needs of your business.

So imagine, one our your customers calls one of your customer experience ambassadors. Because you have their Caller ID in your CRM, your agents’ PC screen pops with their specific information. They can quickly check the status of an order, billing information or verify an appointment time and date.  

Your agent will spend less time with each caller as the information is readily available. Your customer will have a personalized experience without the need to provide account information. Happier customers equal happier agents.

Where Can Your Customer Experience Ambassadors Work? 

With a cloud-based contact center solution, ambassadors can log in, make and receive calls; and use chats, SMS, or emails from anywhere, as long as they have an internet connection. 

They will have the same tools, access, and capabilities regardless of where they are located.

Gone are the days of large rooms filled with rows of cubicles and agents with headsets. Today you can have flexibility in where, when, and how your employees work.

How Can You Manage The Contact Center In Real-Time And Historically?

Even with the proper tools and training, it is critical to measure various KPIs to ensure you meet your customers’ needs.  

Therefore, having access to data in real-time and historically is a necessity to empower your managers to make business decisions that will impact the experience of your agents and customers.  

At LDI, our CCaaS provides:

• Real-time calling statistics dashboard for desktop or wallboard display for both agents and supervisors
• Real-time customizable threshold alerts
• Enhanced supervisor management abilities, including monitoring, whispering, and barging; and
• Historical reporting on agents, groups, queues, or all media types.

Ready To Implement a CCaaS Solution & Enhance Your Customer Service Experience?

A CCaaS solution streamlines the communication process to ultimately enhance customer service. A contact center can help set the tone for what kind of quality of service customers can expect from you moving forward.

CCaaS technology provides an optimal experience for both your employees and customers alike. 

At LDI, we help clients consider integrating CCaaS and UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) to align their business around a central communications platform to help streamline their communication efforts. 

LDI offers a user-friendly cloud-based solution that helps customers integrate all communication tools into a singular manageable solution known as LDI Elevate. This solution enables customers to communicate and collaborate from anywhere at any time. 

Reach out to an LDI specialist to learn more about our CCaaS and UCaaS solutions today.