“People pretend not to like grapes when the vines are too high for them to reach.”
― Marguerite de Navarre
While as a figure of the 16th Century French Renaissance, Marguerite de Navarre would never have been able to predict the social world of today, her words still ring true. What you put into your work is what you get out of it. For many consumers, ease of function is all important and many are not willing to put in more than minimal effort, and so they dismiss some of the amazing technical offerings that today’s modern world has to offer.
However, when it comes to selecting a contact center software solution, it is important to realize that ease of function and full functionality are not even close to the same thing. In order to have the most productive contact center, you need to be able to
- View of all customer interactions across all channels
- Utilize the efficiency of a predictive dialer
- Monitor advanced reporting features
- Support CRM integration
- Access unlimited scalability
While you can simplify the user interface of a software that does all of this, you just can’t simplify a technology with so many capabilities.
Take Marguerite's advice and don't dismiss software just because it will be difficult to learn it well. You will get out of your software solution what you put into it. Take the time to learn how it works and it will pay out in the end, delivering the highest performing contact center available.
The Perfect Blend
Let me offer you some advice. The right technology isn’t going to be the most simple, just like the best dishes take some serious preparation and a variety of ingredients to get the flavor just right. When it comes to beef, you can grill a steak with just salt and pepper and it will taste fine. Or, you can take the time to blend a spice rub together and find the perfectly crafted wine or beer to match the flavor notes.
So, when it comes to contact center software solutions, you might have to put in some work learning the technology so that you can use it to its utmost potential. It’s worth it.
Think of the software company’s service delivery team as chefs. The support engineers who take the time and effort to deliver the software to your computers want you to feel as if you are the only customer that they are supporting. They want to give personalized customer service but they also have a lot of other assignments on their plates.
In order to enable them to give you the customer service that you deserve, there does have to be some effort on your part. You have to be patient as they prepare “the dish” to your liking. Filet mignon takes a little longer than a plain old strip steak.
You also have to educate yourself. You have to make an effort to learn about the technology. This way, technical support will be happy to fix any problems with a dish that gets sent back to the kitchen, as long as it is an actual problem and not simply your misunderstanding of how the dish should be prepared.
If you want your software custom-prepared to your specifications, then ask ahead of time so that you are sure of what you will be getting, and they will understand what you need from them to delight your taste buds.
Synopsis
So, simply put, to get the most out of your contact center software solution:
- You need to learn the software. You won’t have to spend time calling technical support about FAQs, you will be able to troubleshoot most basic software problems yourself, and you won’t have any unreasonable expectations of what the software can do.
- Be patient with technical support. They are working as hard as they can to deliver the best the product has to offer in a manner that will suit your business needs. If you understand how the software works on a basic level, then you will be able to ask them more informed questions during training sessions to gain a more complete understanding and save time for both of you.
- Speak clearly about what you want. As I said, if you understand the software on a basic level, then you know what it is capable of and will be able to tell service delivery team exactly what you want, especially with a custom CRM integration. The right software company will take your needs into consideration in future product releases and interactions with other customers. Helping yourself will also help many others. Try reading case studies from the software company to find what works for your business.
The Sky’s the Limit
If the food metaphor didn’t do it for you, let me put it like this. A jet plane is much more difficult to fly and has harder controls to learn than a car, but only in a jet plane can you fly so fast that you break the sound barrier.
It is totally worth it learn a more advanced set of controls and functions for your contact center software, if you want your contact center performance to reach the sky. The sky’s the limit, but you need to learn how to get there with the support of mission control.
