Exceptional customer service is more than managing numerous calls, it’s all about creating a meaningful connection with your customers such that you understand them and respond to their needs accordingly.
In recent times, advancements in technology, especially in artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how customer service is offered. From speech analytics to the power of integration, technology is changing approaches to customer services.
A notable platform that has ensured the application of technology to holistic customer service is 1Stream, a South African-based provider of cloud-based contact centre and CX technology.
This article explores how 1Stream is transforming complex contact centre and CX technologies into simple solutions that focus on improving customer experience and managing total costs to companies.
The latest contact center trends to help businesses in 2022
At a high level, the focus is on customer experience and the technologies that can support this. The aim is to provide users with the information they need to do their job in a single application.
Whether they are in Sales, Service, Delivery or Marketing, the goal is to have a single application so there is one place to go for all information.
There is also a move towards AI to improve service delivery. Companies are always under pressure to do more with less and the advances in AI have helped drive efficiencies through the improvement in self-service capabilities.
We see this with the increased use of chatbots and with the advances in speech analytics we are now starting to see more voice bots.
This will enable callers to talk to the system rather than enter digits on their phones. This change is going to drive more self-service which should help businesses provide consistent service at lower costs.
Improving contact center service for online retail
As retail moves online it becomes increasingly easy to switch between suppliers for the same products.
When this happens the only differentiating factor is the service. It’s relatively easy to copy products but it is not so easy to copy a company’s service delivery when they are getting it right.
When customers no longer experience your brand through bricks and mortar then the contact centre service becomes even more important as this is how customers experience your brand.
How technology helps to improve customer experience
Customer experience relates to the entire customer journey for the life of the customer. Staff needs to have access to the right information at the right time to provide fast and efficient service.
With the right tools at their disposal, the staff has detailed information on customers with a complete customer history.
They can see previous customer interactions as well as past purchases. Bottom line is, to be slick in your role you need easy access to information and this is where the right technology helps.
How can CRM help your business sales team?
CRM systems help more than just the sales team as they provide tools for Sales, Service, and Marketing. It’s about having one application that the entire company can use.
You can run marketing campaigns directly from the CRM and track leads that go to sales. All the information is in one place and salespeople are able to manage their entire pipeline from a single environment.
When the deal is closed the new customer is then automatically supported by the Service team with a range of helpdesk features.
Critically, detailed reporting is available across the entire process so management has an insight into sales, service and marketing.
How CRM helps customer loyalty
CRMs enable companies to have a 360-degree view of their customers as they provide users with complete customer information.
They also have various features to enable users to service customers more efficiently. If customers are being cared for at every touch point in an organization they will ultimately be more loyal.
Bottomline
1Stream the leading CRM and cloud-based contact centre provider in Southern Africa.
Established in 2008 by Jed Hewson and Bruce von Maltitz, 1Stream has been committed to enabling companies to deliver excellent customer experience using leading-edge technology.
1Stream is more than a simple service provider – we pride ourselves on being a quality provider of solutions that meet the highest global standards.
Over the past 15 years, we have earned a string of international awards for our commitment to delivering customer experience excellence and count a wide-ranging number of industry innovators and leaders amongst our client base – businesses, big and small, who are similarly committed to ensuring the very best customer experience through quality engagement.
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