The Contact Center industry is ever-changing; we are a technology driven industry; as technology changes and evolves, so does the contact center. One of the greatest changes we have seen in recent years is the increase in the number of channels that are available for us to engage with our customers. For the contact center, the challenge becomes identifying which of those channels are the most efficient and cost effective for your contact center. Depending on the industry, this can vary. For example, the channel that is most efficient for the health care industry is different than that of retail. Additionally, the demographics of the industry also come into play. Healthcare and insurance customers tend to skew a little older and these customers prefer to rely more on the familiar channels of phone and email. Retail customers, however, skew to a slightly younger demographic who rely more on live chat, text, and social media.
Each channel brings its efficiencies and challenges to the contact center.
CHANNELS OF ENGAGEMENT
When Centris began 20 years ago, the most prominent channels in our contact centers were phone and email. Adapting to the changes in communication, we have since added live chat, text and social media platforms as means of engaging with our customers. Let’s take a closer look at each channel and the efficiencies it offers.
Phone: Despite all the new channels of connecting, the phone is still preferred by many. Let’s face it, we all carry our phones with us now, so connecting via this channel is easier than ever. However, getting through IVR systems in a timely manner doesn’t always happen, which can be very frustrating for the customer. Some IVR menus offer a myriad of options making it confusing for the customer and paving the way for mistakes to be made that drop the customer into the wrong department, requiring them to start the process over. This decreases the efficiency of this channel and increases the frustration of the customer.
Additionally, if the contact center relies heavily on Average Handle Time to measure performance, there is a good chance the agent is moving too quickly through the call without completely resolving the customer’s issue. Here at Centris, the phone is a primary channel for engaging with our customers, but we have implemented some practices that help to boost the efficiency of this channel. For example, we offer a few simple options in our IVR menu making it simpler and easier for the customer to reach the agent they need. We also always prioritize the customer experience; it is far more important to us that the customer has an excellent experience by getting their issue resolved on the first call. Is the phone a cost-effective channel for the contact center? Absolutely! Is it efficient? Yes, it can be when there are fewer menu options for the customer allowing them to reach an agent more quickly.
Email: Email is a favored channel among older customers and it is a very cost-effective one for the contact center. Is it efficient? That depends on a few factors: was the email written in a coherent manner that is easily understood by the agent? Did the customer ask several questions in the body of the email? What is the contact center’s policy on email response? Each of these factors plays into the efficiency of this channel. Ideally, a customer should get an email response within an hour or less of reaching out, but if the email is difficult to understand or if multiple questions have been asked, it can take the agent longer to resolve the issue for the customer.
Live Chat: Live Chat has been one of the greatest developments for the contact center because it offers the immediacy of a phone call while providing the written record of an email. Not only that, but agents are able to engage with multiple customers simultaneously, unlike phone or email. Implementing Live Chat does require an investment on the part of the contact center but the return on this investment is quickly realized thanks to its many efficiencies. One of the greatest features of Live Chat is the instant, written record that is generated from the chat and both the agent and the customer can retain a copy of the chat for their reference. Live Chat allows agents to assist several customers at once and when you consider that many agents can help many customers at once, that makes Live Chat one of the most efficient channels available.
Social Media: As we mentioned earlier, there are certain channels that are more popular with certain demographics. Social Media is one of those channels. Millennials tend to use social media to reach out to contact centers more than other age groups. Is this an efficient means of connecting with customers? If your customers are on social media then yes, it is. Is it cost effective? Yes. It doesn’t cost anything to be on Social Media but contact center managers need to take into account the time required to manage this channel, particularly if it is a popular one with your customers.
Text/IM: Text messaging is another channel of engagement in the contact center. It is cost effective because most people have access to this channel. However, this is another channel that skews more heavily to younger consumers than those who are older so the efficiency of this channel depends on whether or not your customers use it.
We utilize each channel depending on the industry and customer we are serving, always maintaining our priority of the customer experience. If you would like more information on how Centris can provide excellent customer service for your customers, contact us. Our commitment is to provide your customers the very best customer experience no matter what channel they choose.
