Call Center Software Trends 2020 That You Must Know

In the last few years, new trends have kept on emerging quite frequently in customer service. The call centers across the globe have undergone a paradigm shift, to now being experienced centers for customers. As we are rapidly approaching 2020, it is time to check out what changes are lined up for contact centers that will prove to be a revolution for this industry.

Moving forward to the new year 2020, it is important to evaluate the future of contact centers with regards to the upcoming trends and how they will help to improve and enhance CX or for that matter improve the productivity of agents.

Given below are the top 5 contact center trends to look out in 2020:

1) Escalation of queries and complaints through social media

Social media is an effective platform to connect with customers. Social media channels are not only for marketing and advertising, but also for providing customer care to customers. In 2020, more and more customers will be raising their queries through social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Let us take a look at some facts mentioned below:

• 29% of customers of all age groups have used social media to complain about a brand's customer service.
• Social media channels like Facebook and Twitter help in delivering 46 percent more accurate responses and 44 percent quicker responses than emails.
• 80 percent of the total social media customer service requests come from Twitter alone.

As we approach 2020, these numbers are likely to increase at a faster rate with the proliferation of social media. Considering all these, it is high time for contact centers to integrate the option of social media customer support in their call center solution.

2) Omnichannel communication strategy for providing effective context-specific support

The omnichannel communication is an effective customer centric tool that provides a seamless and uniform customer experience across all platforms, be it through smartphones, desktops or for that matter even in-person. The omnichannel consists of strategic customer touchpoints across many channels so that customers don't have to repeat the same information again to different call center agents.

The integration of omnichannel communication with the call center software enables the executive to know the history of customers and provide effective responses within the shortest possible time interval. The omnichannel approach helps to save valuable time of both customers as well as agents, leading to quicker and more efficient resolutions of queries and complaints.

3)  Live engagement tools for better customer experience

Live engagement tools such as live chat, video chat, and co-browsing enable contact centers to provide proactive responses and faster resolutions to customers. It helps in identifying the customers’ issues which most of the time might be difficult due to lack of real-time communication.

Having various live engagement tools as a part of the call center solution enables enterprises to guide the customers better across their entire journey. It also helps to boost team productivity and customer satisfaction. It increases conversion rates and reduces the response time.

4) Automation using artificial intelligence (AI)

In addition to handling calls and responding to customers, call center executives perform a lot of other tasks such as categorization of the queries or complaints and tagging them. These basic tasks can be entirely delegated to AI-enabled chatbots. These chatbots would serve as the first point of contact for customers.

Moreover, chatbots enable businesses to provide 24 x 7 customer engagement. By making use of chatbots, the right queries can be assigned to the aptest agents which are best equipped to solve them. Blending AI into the call center software helps to reduce the workload of agents and provides effective real-time customer support.

5)  Hiring more remote call center agents

Most call centers have already started giving preference to freelance agents in comparison to having a high number of on-premises contact center agents. These freelancers can work from anywhere across the globe just by merely using the call center software over the internet. The advantages of hiring remote agents in comparison to in-house employees are:

• Saves valuable time and money.
• No added expenditure on IT tools and equipment.
• Lower maintenance cost.
• Saving money on currency value.
• A large pool of agents across the globe.
• Operations are made seamless and productive.
• Doing away with staffing issues.

In order to stay in the competition considering the current market scenario and cut-throat competition, call centers, and their agents need to be aware about the upcoming trends and be ready to integrate and use them as a part of their call center solution.

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