For the past few years, the contact center has been the only way to keep in touch with the client. Call center future trends predict the contact center will effectively combine many strategies like call volume, AI, omnichannel marketing, agent engagement, self-service options, comprehensive training, IVR, etc., to provide the best interaction. High call center KPIs result in increased sales, streamlined experience, and optimized resources.
No wonder companies are trying to modernize the approach to organizing customer support and implementing influential latest call center trends. This article aims to show the most popular ways to upgrade the contact center and describe what every business can do to improve the customer experience.
Following Call Center Outsourcing Trends: Boost Your Services
1. Experiment with ways to engage agents
The future of call centers depends on the number and quality of agents. Staff turnover is unfavorable for any business: a lot of time is spent on onboarding, or the work is quite complex and routine. That is why many companies try to work independently on the employeesβ involvement in the process, using various techniques like linking a monthly bonus to the quality of processed interactions or gamification (e.g., the βbest employee of the monthβ contest).
2. Update software to catch up with modern call center market trends
The quality of communication and the speed of solving any client problem lies in the software version. The more modern the software, the higher the productivity of agents. Therefore, many companies prefer to upgrade their monolithic systems, creating a convenient microservice environment for employees.
3.Β Connect your contact center with your business systems
High-quality BI, ERP, and CRM systems will keep all customer data in one place so that your agents research it quickly. It is an effective all-in-one solution to get accurate customer behavior patterns and data to learn and satisfy them better.
4. Optimize self-service channels & automate workflow
Contact centers have obviously experienced increases in inbound traffic, and addressing technologies within call center automation trends can help overcome this challenge. Some consumers want to use digital tools in their customer experience but still require human interaction.
Embracing digital tools is correct for the right tasks and activities, e.g., quick, simple ones like checking account balances. But if the customers want to know how to refinance their mortgage, it might require additional expert consultation. Therefore, the mission is to use technology and create more self-service channels for simple tasks to automate workflow by increasing spare time for more complex requests.
5. Implement new communication channels based on AI
There are various communication channels and methods: voice agents, chatbots, and live chats. Businesses use AI-powered call center innovations to serve customers in the most human-like way. Many clients dislike this approach since it doesnβt represent the full extent of the companyβs attention to each customer. However, AI-powered channels like Chat GPT remain an interesting area for investment.
6.Β Interactive voice response (IVR)
IVR systems will impress your customers through interaction with virtual voice messages that provide requested information or solve their urgent issues. An automated menu must include the most popular requests the customer can select from. The call center will benefit from IVR by serving more clients per minute, thus retaining them within your business. Moreover, you can integrate AI capabilities with IVR to advance voice authentication and scan the callerβs tone and intentions.
7. Move towards omnichannel to deliver contextual support
Multi-channel service is a purposeful and promotional concept. Meanwhile, an omnichannel approach can provide customers with a quicker solution to their problems within one interaction. Many eCommerce businesses use omnichannel marketing to improve customer experience, reach new audiences, and boost client satisfaction, leading to greater reputation and sales.
8.Β Flexible working hours as a permanent component
Remote work conditions and flexible working schedules are no longer a service peculiarity but a standard among trends in call center industry. Make sure to catch up with this norm by hiring outsourced agents from different locations and time zones to serve 24/7 support.
9. Engage a contact center service provider
Call center outsourcing services are becoming popular in the world of delegating. Managers see a significant profit in sending tasks to professionals. It helps save resources and time for solving higher-priority tasks they cannot entrust to others. Besides, a reliable provider will take care of agent training, data security, and quality of services.
10. Rising customer expectations to catch up with Gen Z target audience
Afterwords
Call center trends exist to follow them and benefit from them. If you ignore them, you do not go with the times and lose many opportunities to improve your contact center. The main point is implementing them correctly with your efforts or hiring the necessary services. People update their websites, upgrade chatbots, and use AI for data, so why fall behind?
There is no relevant and rational reason to resist innovations because clients and money do not disappear βΌ they just move from one service to another. If you want to keep people engaged constantly, apply technologies, automate processes, and provide an enhanced customer experience.Β
If you want to delegate this responsible task to an experienced team, go ahead and book a call to get a free detailed consultation.
