When you have an issue with your computer and call the customer service number, you are directed to a customer service rep who works in a call center. These reps play essential roles. They help customers promptly alleviate their frustrations and anxieties by resolving their most pressing issues. However, the customer service reps get a little help from technology.
Inbound call centers wouldn’t be the same without these technologies
Technological advancements like AI and automation are already helping make customer service agents’ jobs more accessible by doing their work and how they receive and answer calls more organized. These agents find that they can answer more customer inquiries and resolve more pressing issues faster, more accurately, and much more efficiently.
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Call centers promise to be even better in the future
New technologies are on the horizon that promises to allow call center executives and senior managers to formulate effective strategies in the future, making these centers more productive, much more profitable, and viable in the long run.
Advances in AI will pave the way for greater organization and productivity
More call centers will integrate the latest in AI into their strategies and operations. The latest AI technologies and platforms are capable of machine learning. That is, they are perceptive, they can learn from their mistakes, they can analyze what went wrong, and they can implement beneficial changes in the future.
The next generation of AI platforms will allow reps to answer more calls faster and to the satisfaction of the customers who they are conversing with. These platforms will analyze the nature of these calls and will route them (calls) to the most qualified and experienced reps. The result is a shorter turnaround time, more personalization, and increased customer satisfaction.
An example of this type of AI is Natural Language Processing. Instead of pressing a button on their phones, customers can voice their issues verbally, or they can tap an icon on their mobile devices. NLP will interpret and analyze their inquiries and resolve them in the best manner possible.
Natural language processing (NLP) and speech recognition technologies will speak the customer’s language
Many call centers are in India and Pakistan. A common complaint of Western customers who call in is that they cannot understand the reps’ accents and Queen’s English. Natural language processing and speech recognition technologies promise to make call center strategies better by analyzing customer speech.
Often, the reps let the AI do the talking, literally. NLP and SP technologies will evaluate the ways, accent, and speed in which the customer is talking, process the information, and offer appropriate advice. These technologies can escalate calls to other AI platforms that can answer customer inquiries to the customers’ satisfaction. Good examples of NLP are voice recognition and intent prediction technologies.
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Agents don’t need to be confused anymore
The days when customer service agents dealt with complex issues and customer questions that they couldn’t answer are now over. AI comes to the rescue once again. Many inbound call center executives and senior managers invest in AI tools that can mine various databases full of deep, strategic, and insightful information and provide the agents with that information to answer customer inquiries and questions profoundly and thoroughly.
A good example of this type of AI tool is predictive personalization.
The latest AI tools can also analyze agents’ responses for overall professionalism. These tools will count the number of times agents use informal and unprofessional words and advise accordingly. Examples are “Okay” and “like!”
Omnichannel call centers are the cornerstone of an effective call center strategy
The latest and most successful inbound call centers incorporate omnichannel software, both in their strategies and in their centers. They find that both their agents and call centers can be more productive when customers have more than one channel through which they can have their inquiries, queries, and issues resolved.
For example, customers can reach out to customer service through chat support, email, video calls, and various social media platforms. The magic with omnichannel call centers is that these different communication channels are integrated. Therefore, agents can switch customers from one channel to another when necessary.
These channels also sync together. They are updated after every point of contact, which means that agents always have relevant and accurate customer information that they can access in their databases.
Social media plays a vital role
Most people view social media platforms as a way to share pictures of their pets or exciting tidbits of news with the world. However, social media platforms have become invaluable for inbound call center execs and managers. Customers find that they can post queries or issues on various platforms like Facebook and Pinterest 24/7 and get real-time answers from agents instantaneously.
Agents use automated responses to alert customers when a query or issue has been answered or resolved.
The latest generation of IT technologies is turning inbound call centers into super machines
The IT technologies mentioned in this article are just some of the newest generations of technologies that allow agents to better answer more inquiries and questions to customer satisfaction. These technologies are excellent at analysis and machine learning. They can also pick up on nuances and details that even the most detail-oriented, analytical, knowledgeable, and experienced person may miss!
