Customer call centres lack confidence

It’s imperative for companies to continue evolving their customer engagement strategies if they wish to survive in a competitive industry landscape. An independent research study conducted by global business consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, found that 77% of European midsized call centres surveyed recognise the connected customer journey as elevating their competitive advantage and having an immediate impact on their business. Yet, the report also reveals that alarmingly, only 14% of those surveyed expressed confidence in their ability to meet current and future needs.

The report, Midsized Call Centres Take a Digital-first Approach; Cloud Solutions to Power Customer Service in 2019, was sponsored by Genesys (www.genesys.com/en-gb), the global leader in omnichannel customer experience and contact centre solutions. It explores what customer experience means to midsized organisations in terms of business impact, priorities and technological maturity. The report also highlights technologies, such as cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and messaging apps, that small- and medium-sized businesses should consider improving customer and employee engagement so they can compete with larger enterprises.

More than 40% of survey respondents believe anticipating and catering to consumer needs are by far the most important capabilities in providing good customer experiences. In Europe, 76% of midsized call centres surveyed indicate the ongoing digital disruptions across industries will significantly impact them. As a result, midsized call centres are accelerating investments in digital channels and emerging technologies. Some of the key report findings include:

• 60% of European midsized call centres see near-term momentum in cloud and everything-as-a-service, somewhat higher than the 53% global response.
• 55% of European executives cite the total cost of ownership and 49% deem CAPEX avoidance as critical factors when moving to a cloud-based customer experience solution.
• 77% of European respondents cite the immediate impact of big data analytics, compared to 61% globally.
• 50% in Europe, versus 46% globally believe that AI, including machine learning and personal digital assistants, will have a real, immediate impact on their business.
• 64% of global respondents expect to apply AI to engagement channels, slightly more than the 63% response from European midsized call centres.
• 55% of European respondents versus 52% globally plan to support messaging apps and virtual assistants over the next two years.
• Additionally, 46% of respondents in Europe reportedly use multiple platforms as opposed to running a single platform that would integrate all channels (voice, text, web chat, websites, email, social media, mobile and forums).

“It’s no surprise that the majority of organisations are looking to cloud, AI and big data to deliver the kind of experiences consumers expect today,” said Olivier Jouve, executive vice president of PureCloud at Genesys. “For smaller organisations, a cloud-based, omnichannel contact centre is the best way to deliver predictive and personalised service across every channel.”

Jouve continued, “With our proven migration path to the cloud, Genesys has made it easy and fast for midsized businesses to propel their customer experience forward by accessing new technologies that enable them to produce the results that count the most, like increased revenue, sales and customer satisfaction.”