Effective call center operations begin long before an agent picks up the phone to speak with a customer or vice versa. It begins when a customer peruses your company website a week prior and finds that your FAQ section is outdated. It commences when a client downloads your company’s mobile app. It all starts the moment customers decide to follow you on Twitter or “like” your corporate Facebook page. Let’s explore one of the many ways in which customers initiate call center interactions well before the first “hello” is spoken: the mobile phone.
According to a 2012 smartphone usage statistics infographic from Go-Globe.com, 91.4 million smartphones are being utilized, and that’s just in the United States alone. Research from ABI further shows that global smartphone usage is slated to reach 1.4 billion by the end of this year.The advent of the smartphone has paved the way for more immediate customer service and, as a result, higher expectations, sharpening the focus of call center managers everywhere. The smartphone has transformed the customer service lifecycle, as customers no longer have to wait until they get home in front of a desktop or laptop to get answers or to begin the service process. The rising sophistication of smartphones means that companies need to think outside the box regarding their current call center communication strategies if they want to both retain existing customers and reach new ones.
How can this be accomplished? Simple changes as to how you decide to run your business – including an examination of your existing call center applications, software and solutions – should be the first step taken toward achieving the results you’re looking for. Consider that 97 percent of young adults are expected to use smartphones to send text messages by 2016. Your call center software must be designed to not only handle phone calls, but every other form of communication and communication channels, including digital and social platforms.To that end, the digital customer service applications that Vocalcom provides make this a smooth and profitable process. Our award-winning, transformative call center technology enables you to track multiple service channels including Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, chat sessions, video and more.
