The contact center is one of the business world’s most vital assets, as these departments host the employees that essentially run the customer service show. As the IT landscape evolved during the past several years, contact center decision-makers have begun to implement more collaborative channels for clients beyond voice.

A recent Genesys survey found that approximately 63 percent of contact centers said their customers are fluently embracing the migration to new channels, which is natural, as consumers are using those applications, such as video and social media, in their daily lives. At the same time, however, approximately half of executives said the current solutions in contact centers are not prepared for future transformations.

“Perhaps companies’ technology is not up to date because they don’t have the budget to invest in the technology? Recent Forrester research showed that only 37 percent of companies have dedicated budget for customer experience initiatives,” said Richard McCrossan, strategic business director at Genesys.

McCrossan asserted that it is important for contact center decision-makers to assess their client demands and financial restrictions to establish a comprehensive and effective customer service plan.

Consumers want what?
Because every customer is different, it can be a challenge to implement a single platform and hope that it goes over well on every level. Social media, however, appears to be a popular choice among most consumers. This was one of the findings from a recent study by the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), which found that roughly 90 percent of clients believe social customer service is either extremely or somewhat useful.

At the same time, however, 93 percent of customers said they would prefer to be met on the channel they are using at the time of the interaction, suggesting that embracing a multichannel strategy that provides representatives with access to numerous applications is a good opportunity for most organizations.

“Arm the agent with the knowledge, channels and tools they require to best service customers. And take advantage of the emerging channels,” said Sarah Stealey Reed, the content director for ICMI. “Mobile, social and self-service are the perfect vessels to fulfill the higher needs of today’s agents and the greater demands of the connected customers.”

Customer care is one of the most important processes in the business world, as failing to keep prospective and existing clients happy will only make it more difficult to generate revenue. Working with an experienced service provider can give contact center decision-makers the tools they need to engage clients on multiple levels.