Around 50% of leaders overseeing contact centers highlighted that managing the growing influx of customer interactions stands among the top three business challenges for their firms concerning customer engagement, revealed a joint survey by Verint and Five9.
The Evolving Role of the Contact Center: Putting AI and CX at the Heart of CX Delivery report aims to gain deeper insights into how contact centers are transforming due to shifting consumer behaviors and increasingly high expectations.
“Increased customer interaction volume and the proliferation of channels has created a massive amount of engagement data, transforming the contact center from a main source for company and product information into a goldmine of insights into consumer needs, behaviors and customer experience challenges. Organizational leaders need to find ways to unify and harness this data so they can deliver a more personalized and connected customer experience,” says Celia Fleischaker, Chief Marketing Officer, Verint.
The results further indicated that larger companies (those with 2,500 or more employees in their contact centers) are almost three times more inclined to silo engagement data into separate repositories. Such larger companies also interact with customers across a minimum of four communication channels, making integrating data from these customer interactions more complex.
Extracting valuable data
Uniting all the data is just part of the challenge; the subsequent task is to extract valuable insights from this data. Among contact center leaders in smaller companies (500 to 2,500 contact center employees), there are difficulties in deriving meaningful conclusions from their engagement data. About 46% of these leaders identified a restricted budget as one of their foremost business hurdles. The majority of them (87%) have managed to centralize their data, but they are now seeking an economical method to make effective use of it.
“Contact centers have a unique opportunity to position themselves as a valuable data resource within the broader organization. Having disparate data systems and siloing information that could improve business operations leads to tremendous inefficiency. Enterprises cannot afford to delay integrating modern applications. Integrating AI and automation offers agents a relief from the volume of incoming calls, providing them with the information they need to offer a joyful experience. Effective management and visibility of engagement data can transform your contact center customer experience and make a big impact across the entire customer journey,” said Dan Burkland, President, Five9.
Consolidating engagement data into a singular repository marks the initial stride towards enhancing a company's customer experience (CX) strategies through practical insights.
Effectively harnessing engagement data's intelligence helps brands elevate customer experiences, enhance customer lifetime value, and consequently achieve a more favorable return on investment.
The paramount importance of AI and Analytics in Contact Centers
The findings indicate that numerous organizations are aware of the necessary adjustments required in their contact centers to address customer demands. As a result, they are actively reshaping the framework of their operations to align with these requirements.
Omnichannel Engagement: While email and phone remain standard channels, social media, live chat, and private messaging have gained significant importance in customer interactions. Customers prefer to engage through their preferred channels, prompting contact center leaders to guarantee this option without compromising the quality of the customer experience.
Relieving Agent Burden: Dealing with the surge in customer interactions poses a difficulty for 48% of those surveyed. To tackle this issue, almost 90% of participants are leveraging conversational AI, enabling chatbots to manage a considerable number of inquiries without needing to involve a human agent.
Enhancing Contact Center Productivity: The challenge of locating skilled personnel has compelled contact center leaders to achieve greater results with limited resources. They are achieving this by integrating specialized bots into workforce management, performance management, and knowledge management systems.
Verint has also just revealed a report showing that in the last year, over three-quarters (77%) of businesses have noticed a rise in consumer demands for improved digital interaction.
