Contact centres are rapidly becoming the engines that drive customer engagement, especially in a new digital world where customer experience has become a critical differentiator.
So says Deon Scheepers, strategic consultant at Interactive Intelligence, who notes superior customer service gives businesses the edge over their competitors, increases profitability, and boosts long-term growth.
The role of the contact centre has changed significantly and must ensure there is consistent customer experience across multiple channels, he points out, adding the contact centre has become the hub that monitors and tracks customer interactions and touch-points with the business.
"Customers are changing, and this is forcing business and contact centres to adapt," he says. "Customers are connected, informed and more demanding. They expect personalised service, first-time resolution to their problems, and it must be easy to do business with the contact centre and organisation. This change in consumer behaviour has impacted how organisations manage customer experiences."
According to Scheepers, the contact centre must be included in the overall customer experience strategy of the organisation, and integrated into all operational areas of the business.
"Social media, big data, mobile and cloud are changing the entire customer experience environment and how contact centres provide services to customers. In the future, there will be a significant focus on providing omni-channel customer service, enabling customers to move between different channels, while maintaining a contextual and holistic view of all interactions."
In Africa, contact centres face unique challenges, and in many African countries, contact centres are still a relatively new concept. "Africa has a high mobile penetration rate, as we all know, but smartphone adoption is low, with most people still using features phones," says Scheepers.
"Language is also a challenge - Africa's diverse languages and dialects have hampered the use of speech as a self-service engine. The variety of languages also impacts on how to recruit, train and staff contact centres if you want to provide for multiple languages."
Join Scheepers, as well as Andre le Roux, MD, Africa, Interactive Intelligence, and Gareth Mellon, programme manager: ICT team, Frost & Sullivan Africa, at the ITWeb Customer Experience Executive Forum, in partnership with Interactive Intelligence.
Two forums will take place, one in Johannesburg on 4 August, and one in Durban on 6 August.
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