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Increased customer control changes contact centre industry

It is now the consumer, not the company, that determines how interactions will be handled.


Johannesburg, 09 May 2011

In the last 10 years, the biggest change to affect the contact centre has been the shift in control from organisation to consumer, with regards to how interactions are handled, explains Siva Pather, GM of customer interactive solutions at Dimension Data.

“This shift has had far-reaching implications, and should not be disregarded, especially by industries that rely on communication,” warns Pather. “Those that do not adjust to these changes will fall behind.”

This transformation has served to not only increase communication complexity, but consumer expectation as well.

“Customers today expect service from anywhere, at any time, through any communication mechanism,” Pather explains. “They also expect to receive the same level of service irrespective of his entry point into the organisation, whether it be via the contact centre, online, or at a branch.”

There are several technologies available for businesses, which address the challenges associated with these ever-evolving customer communication demands. “Companies are urged to consider investing in some of these solutions if they want to remain competitive,” says Pather.

1. Multi-modal communications
“In the early 2000s, traditional voice accounted for 80% of overall contact centre communications, but a host of new communication options has greatly challenged its dominance,” says Pather. New communication channels such as social media, mobile applications, and self-service portals are all gaining popularity.

2. Breaking down channel silos
Heightened customer service-level expectations are forcing companies to break down boundaries between previously-siloed organisational in order to maintain competitive advantage. “Since customers expect a consistent level of service from an organisation at any given time, regardless of his initial point of entry, companies need to provide a holistic view of the customer across all divisions, business areas, and even branches,” explains Pather.

3. Increased fraud within contact centres
As interactions are becoming increasingly diverse and complex, there are more opportunities for fraud and less chances for discovery, explains Pather. “This is especially true where credit card transactions take place,” he says. “Organisations are urged to minimise this risk by investing in Payment Card Industry (PCI) solutions.”

4. Real-time, real-time
Consumers now expect service anywhere, and at any time. This new mind-shift has created the need for real-time analytics tools to be used within the contact centre. “These tools help organisations predict possible customer churn so that the situation can not only be avoided, but immediate steps can be taken to improve the customer experience,” explains Pather.

Some things never change

Despite several meaningful changes within the industry, the primary business drivers have by and large remained the same, Pather points out.

These include saving costs, improving customer experience, generating revenue, increasing efficiency, and reducing risk.

“The fact that these have remained largely unchanged means business have not fully explored business drivers in the context of the changing communications landscape,” believes Pather.

If companies truly wish to maximise return on investment, they should consider investing in interaction management tools, workforce management tools for the back-office, PCI solutions, voice biometrics, and hosted contact centre models.

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Editorial contacts

Elize H"oll
Dimension Data South Africa
(+27) 11 575 4142
elize.holl@za.didata.com