Why has customer satisfaction fallen four years in a row for call centers?

Posted by Rachel Brink on May 29, 2015 8:21:30 AM

The rise of the Internet and expansion of communication channels have given today’s consumers far greater power to explore alternative product/service options, putting customer experience at the forefront of purchasing decisions. In fact by 2020, customer experience is expected to overtake price and product as a brand’s competitive differentiator. And according to Dimension Data’s 2015 Global Contact Centre Benchmarking report, which surveyed 901 contact centers across 72 countries, 75% of contact centers recognize service as a competitive differentiator (up 18% over the past two years), and 57% say they can relate improving customer experience levels to revenue and profit growth. But despite the growing effort towards improving customer service to better meet rising consumer expectations, customer satisfaction levels have decreased for the fourth year in a row—which begs the question, where are businesses missing the mark when it comes to their service delivery?

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Topics: customer service, cloud based contact center, cloud call center, customer satisfaction, customer experience, cloud computing

Contact Center Trends for 2015

Posted by Guillaume Seynhaeve on Dec 4, 2014 8:42:00 AM

The contact center space is changing. So what should one expect in 2015?

Continued Implementation of Self-Service: Recent studies have shown 67% ofcustomers prefer self-service over speaking to a live representative, which has its benefits when considering self-service interactions are 200-300% less expensive than those handled by a live agent. While the use of live agents is not expected to decrease, the importance and extended use of self-service is likely to be a continued theme next yar.

Growing Deployment of Cloud Infrastructures: By 2015, cloud computing spending is projected to reach 155 billion, compared to 46.4 billion in 2008. And according to DMG Consulting, cloud-based infrastructure is the fastest growing area for the call center industry, predicted to almost double between 2013 and 2015. When compared to premise-based solutions, contact centers based in the cloud have experienced 27% reduction in annual contact center costs and a 35% improvement in uptime. Offering superior reliability, scalability, and cost-savings, cloud adoption shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon and likely to continue its successes in 2014 well into 2015 and beyond.

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Topics: customer service, cloud security, cloud based contact center, call center, multichannel contact center, contact center, contact center solution, remote agents, cloud call center, scalability, WebRTC, reliability, big data, cloud contact center, customer experience, self-service, customer relationship, at-home agents, multichannel communications, saas integrations, security, virtual agents, personalizing customer service

On-Premise vs Cloud Contact Center Solutions

Posted by Guillaume Seynhaeve on Aug 8, 2014 10:10:00 AM

Today technology is at the center of any discussion regarding competitive advantage, sustainability, and growth. As it specifically relates to the contact center space, the ability to deliver and communicate with customers using the latest channels has never been more important.  And yet, despite the emphasis on offering the latest in customer communications, the vast majority of businesses are still basing their service delivery on old, inflexible, and costly premise-based solutions. Which begs the very obvious question, why? 

For one, while there is no denying that smartphones and the age of social media are quickly transforming the communication landscape, the tried and tested concept of calling-in is still not dead. In fact, 73% of customers still prefer to speak to a representative, which is far greater than those choosing to use Twitter to communicate at 22% (Forrester). And this shouldn’t come as a surprise when you consider the generational breakdown of today’s customers, from Baby Boomers (79 Million), to Generation X (52 Million), to Generation Y (75 Million), to Generation Z (Still growing); with every one listing the phone as a primary means of contact except for the last. So, yes, premise-based solutions are surviving by virtue of those generations, but the trend is quickly moving towards email, social, media, and web, so keeping to the old way of things may not be the wisest of strategies. At the very least, it will not support any long-term competitive advantage your company may otherwise have. 

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Topics: cloud based contact center, cloud based, call center, cloud based solution, contact center solution, cloud based call center, best business practices, employee retention, SaaS, customer satisfaction, first call resolution, On-Premise

Contact Center Flexibility: A Must Have

Posted by Guillaume Seynhaeve on Jul 18, 2014 11:02:00 AM

Consider the following:  If someone had told you ten years ago that 140 characters would change the world and the way we do business, what would you have said? 

Trends come and go, that’s not news. However, assessing the lifespan of each one and its long-term relevance in the business community is definitely a challenge.  Case in point, Google is still the leader in search engines since its birth in 1998, but when was the last time you saw a laser disc?

If we consider Henry Ford’s famous quote,“ You can have any color, as long as its in black”, there certainly was a time when companies set the standard and consumers were the willing recipients of whatever businesses disseminated.  However, today the environment has drastically reversed, with customers clearly dictating what, where, and when without much care or consideration as to the how. As a result, businesses are clamoring to keep up with the changing standards and trends set by the very consumers they wish to please; a tall older unless you have a crystal ball. 

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Topics: cloud based contact center, contact center, contact center solution, cloud based call center, remote agents, best business practices

Tomorrow’s Contact Center – Who will be at the helm?

Posted by Rachel Brink on Jun 25, 2014 8:26:00 AM

Historically, contact centers have primarily been dominated by the young, if you believe a 2008 YouGov survey, with many generally below the age of 30.  With an increasingly tech-savvy and demanding consumer-base, one might interpret this as a benefit.  After all, who better to meet the multi-channel habits of today’s needy customers than today’s tech-centric youth?

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Topics: customer service, cloud based contact center, call center, multichannel contact center, multichannel call center, contact center, call center software, cloud based call center, cloud call center, best business practices, employee retention, service delivery, VOIP

CEO Thoughts: Hate maintenance windows? So do we.

Posted by Guillaume Seynhaeve on Mar 3, 2014 10:45:00 AM

I am working with a mortgage broker to refinance my home. The mortgage broker uses a number of tools to communicate with his clients and seems to be pretty tech savvy. I found out that he uses Salesforce.com because he invited me to communicate with him using Chatter.

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Topics: cloud based contact center, outbound, crm integration, cloud based solution, 360 view, call center software features, blended contact center software, contact center, contact center solution, call center software, cloud customer support, cloud customer service, small business solution, cloud call center, customer support, best business practices, scalability, SaaS, VOIP

Amar's Alley: The Battle Between Contact Centers and Answering Machines

Posted by Guillaume Seynhaeve on Feb 24, 2014 9:40:00 AM

“Hi! you have reached blah blah blah, please leave your name and number and I will get back to you." Familiar? It should be….these words likely echo in your ears at some point everyday! Correction…this probably happens to you on almost every call! 

Allow me to provide you with an outside perspective from a member of the “old guard” (let’s just leave my age at that), who always jumps to answer a call, regardless of what’s going on and even if the number is unknown.  In my younger days, we would run across the office floor, or down the flight of stairs at home to pick-up the phone, because we were taught that if a device rings, it's for a reason.  Today, I am intrigued by how often I come across that same old message, “Hi! You have reached (blah blah blah blah), please leave your name…"

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Topics: cloud based contact center, call center, crm integration, custom crm integration, 360 view, call center software features, contact center solution, call center software, cloud call center, customer support, best business practices, call blast, employee retention, scalability

3CLogic Contact Center Software: Always on, always innovating

Posted by David Rastatter on Feb 5, 2014 9:00:00 AM

Software continues to evolve every day, harnessing human creativity and technological innovation in a process that adapts to an ever changing environment. But as with all types of evolution, this process is not without its hiccups. This is specifically true when it comes to contact center software. Any flaws in a system’s development can have a direct impact on the success of that business. That being said, software upgrades are not a bad thing. Upgrades fix bugs, enhance existing tools, and add new ones, but upgrades can also be a double edged sword. How many times have you upgraded your smart-phone software and had problems? You may be happy with the overall upgrade, but some things don’t measure up. The same concept applies to contact center software.

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Topics: cloud security, cloud based contact center, contact center software, cloud call center, scalability, no centralized server

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