For several years, the call centre has been widely reported as dead or, at the very least, dying in the face of new technology. As chatbots, multichannel communication and artificial intelligence grow in maturity, what does the future look like for the call centre?
While there’s no avoiding the reality of changing preferences, cultures, and methods of communication, the right kind of call centre – with the right predictive dialler or inbound contact centre solution – still has an important role to play.
Read on to see how the function of a call centre is evolving and how your technology can support successful campaigns in a challenging, fast-changing climate.
Call centres are vital when it really counts
According to a report from telecoms firm O2, making and receiving calls is only the fifth most popular use of a smartphone, after social networking and browsing the internet. Meanwhile, researchers claim that as many as 91% of customer service jobs will – one day – be replaced by automation.
In short, people are using the telephone less than they used to. However, when people decide to engage with a business by phone, it’s quality – not quantity – that really matters.
According to Google, people call or accept calls from businesses when they need a fast answer, or when they are in the purchasing stages of a relationship. These are critically important moments and places where an automated service simply can’t replace the human touch.
But while call centres still have a lot to offer, the way we configure and use them needs to keep up with the pace of change.
How call centres need to change
Call centres have a long, healthy life ahead of them – but only if they adapt to changing customer expectations and preferences. Your hosted dialler or inbound contact centre solution can support your efforts in creating an experience that people want to use.
Better multichannel support
Increasingly, the telephone is one of a myriad of ways to communicate. Large-scale outbound campaigns can be effective, but channels like social media, email, and SMS all have the potential to generate huge quantities of leads.
Any inbound contact centre solution should offer multichannel support as standard, with intelligent routing to agents with proven ability in each channel. Meanwhile, the right dialler will work seamlessly with other channels – for example, allowing you to pull leads from your website and automate follow-up calling activity.
An integrated experience
New technology like chatbots isn’t something for call centre managers to fear. In fact, it’s a big opportunity that you can capitalise on – but only if the flow of communication is joined up across channels. For example, a customer could begin by talking to a chatbot, before being seamlessly transferred to an agent who already has a full summary of the conversation so far.
Ideally, the underlying technology you use in your call centre will include a flexible API that makes integration with third-party systems quick, easy, and cost-effective.
Responsible use
Finally, today’s call centres operate in an era of increased scrutiny from regulators and customers alike. People understand their rights to privacy and, in a world where phone conversations with friends are a rarity, there’s no tolerance for frustrating calls from a business.
More than ever, the right dialler configuration for outbound campaigns is crucial. With a predictive dialler, your call rate should be carefully balanced against the number of agents you have available to minimise dropped or abandoned calls.
We’ll help you keep your call centre relevant for years to come.
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