The Benefits of Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions for Small- to Medium-Sized Businesses
Companies’ customer service strategies have changed dramatically in recent years. While there were once only two ways to contact a company—phone or fax—customers can now choose from numerous communication channels, including phone, email, chat, SMS, and social media.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend toward companies offering their customers omnichannel-powered experiences. What does omnichannel mean? TechTarget defines it as “an approach to sales, marketing and customer support that seeks to provide customers with a seamless and unified brand experience, regardless of which channel they use.”
A 2021 McKinsey analysis found that “More than one-third of Americans have made omnichannel features such as buying online for in-store pickup part of their regular shopping routine since the pandemic, and nearly two-thirds of those individuals plan to continue,” and they expect their customer service experience to be omnichannel-enabled, too.
Since then, people have come to expect more. According to a Retail Dive article, consumers are annoyed when a brand doesn’t connect its various departments and communications channels. The article quotes a retail industry advisor who says, “As a customer, it’s so frustrating to receive a text message about a flash sale when you’re troubleshooting a botched fulfillment for the same product. It’s happened to me, and it was right after I had emailed and called customer service […] Having to re-explain a complicated return or re-enter a tracking number or promo code are other common sources of frustration that plague disconnected channels.”
The Importance of Customer Service
Ensuring prompt customer service and being ready to assist customers if an order goes wrong, a coupon can’t be applied, or a shipment is lost is crucial to creating a dynamic, satisfying customer experience. Customer service representatives toggling between multiple channels to troubleshoot a problem increases the chance of error and customer frustration.
Managing multiple, separate communications channels can be challenging for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), but SMBs can meet customer demand for multi-channel customer support through omnichannel contact center solutions. Organizing and streamlining customer data across various communication channels is essential for enhancing customer service.
An omnichannel contact center solution is software that allows businesses to handle all customer communication channels in a single, cloud-based platform.
Omnichannel contact center solutions automatically sync interactions across multiple channels and devices, enabling your SMB clients’ customer service teams to see a complete view of customer activities and to track all actions and interactions of each customer—even if the customer has used multiple contact channels. Your client’s customer service representatives can easily provide the service their customers expect, without toggling between multiple communication channels to find customers’ previous messages and issues.
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Customer Service Stats
The value of good customer service can’t be understated. Here are just a few recent customer service statistics:
More than 50% of consumers will switch to a competitor after only one bad experience
73% of consumers will switch to a competitor after multiple bad experiences
56% of consumers rarely complain about a negative customer experience – they quietly switch to a competitor instead
3 in 4 consumers will spend more with businesses that provide a good customer experience
85% of consumers go out of their way to switch to a company that has better customer service
Customer-obsessed organizations reported 51% better customer retention than those at non-customer-obsessed organizations
62% of customers think experiences should flow naturally between both physical and digital spaces
With customer service such a critical aspect of attracting and retaining customers, an omnichannel contact center is well worth the investment.
What is an Omnichannel Contact Center?
An omnichannel contact center is a sophisticated customer service platform designed to integrate multiple communication channels into a single, cohesive system. This means that whether a customer reaches out via phone, email, social media, live chat, or any other channel, the interaction is seamlessly managed within one unified interface.
This integration ensures that businesses can provide a consistent and unified customer experience, regardless of the communication channel used. By leveraging an omnichannel contact center, companies can streamline their customer service function, making it easier for customer service agents to manage interactions and deliver exceptional service.
Real-World Example of an Omnichannel Contact Center in Action
Imagine a customer, Ben, who is shopping online for a new pair of headphones. He visits an electronics retailer’s website and has a few questions about the product specifications. He initiates a live chat on the website and receives immediate assistance from a customer service agent. The agent provides him with detailed information, and Ben decides to make the purchase.
Later, Ben receives the headphones but notices a minor issue with the sound quality. He decides to reach out to the retailer for support. Instead of starting from scratch, he sends a message through the retailer’s mobile app. The omnichannel contact center solution instantly recognizes him from the previous interaction and provides the agent with the complete history of his purchase and chat conversation.
The customer service agent, equipped with this information, quickly addresses Ben’s concerns and offers a solution. Ben is impressed by the seamless transition between communication channels and the personalized service he receives.
This real-world example highlights how an omnichannel contact center integrates multiple channels, such as live chat and mobile app messaging, into a cohesive system. It enables businesses to provide a unified customer experience, ensuring that customers like Ben receive consistent and efficient support regardless of the channel they use.
Multichannel vs Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions
While both multichannel and omnichannel contact centers support multiple communication channels, the key difference lies in how these channels are managed. Multichannel contact centers often operate each channel independently, which can lead to a fragmented and disjointed customer experience. Customers may have to repeat information or face inconsistencies when switching between channels.
On the other hand, omnichannel contact center solutions integrate all communication channels into a single, unified interface. This integration allows for a seamless and consistent customer experience across all channels, ensuring that customer interactions are fluid and cohesive. By adopting an omnichannel approach, businesses can enhance their customer service strategy and improve overall customer satisfaction.
7 Benefits of Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions
An omnichannel contact center can significantly enhance customer experiences. It not only increases customer satisfaction, improves customer retention rates, and establishes brand credibility, but it also streamlines your customers’ businesses. Here are seven of the many benefits of investing in an omnichannel contact center solution.
1. It Provides a Seamless Experience
Omnichannel contact centers help companies create a harmonious brand experience that is seamless from the initial inquiry to the final interaction. Omnichannel platforms allow agents to jump from text to chat to phone, maintaining excellent service quality throughout the customer’s journey by supporting various channels for customer contact.
This fluid continuity of service increases the chance of customer service representatives closing the sale, satisfactorily resolving an issue, or using customer insights gathered in real time to upsell the customer on additional products or services.
2. Omnichannel Solutions Offer Flexibility and Convenience
One of the greatest benefits of omnichannel solutions is flexibility. It allows customers to contact a business using the customer service channels most convenient to them. Rather than calling and waiting on hold, customers can reach out through social media, email, or SMS.
Zendesk reported that 70% of consumers purchase more from companies when they receive a seamless conversational experience. Another study found that companies that use three or more channels in a campaign had a nearly 500% higher order rate versus companies that only used a single channel.
Investing in omnichannel solutions helps companies adapt to their customers’ changing service preferences, by meeting customers on their preferred communications platforms.
3. It Improves Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
A frictionless omnichannel customer service experience can improve overall customer satisfaction rates. Omnichannel cloud contact centers are designed to enhance the customer experience by enabling seamless communication through various channels such as chat, SMS, and social media. A customer’s impression of your client’s service quality can have a significant impact on their satisfaction with the brand, and the likelihood that they will remain loyal to your client’s company.
Omnichannel contact center solutions allow businesses to provide excellent customer service that will leave a lasting impression by providing customers easy access to responsive support on the channel that is most convenient for them. This will improve the customer experience and significantly increase customer loyalty and retention.
4. Omnichannel Drives Higher Levels of Customer Retention
Adopting an omnichannel contact center solution can significantly boost customer retention rates. In fact, companies with an omnichannel strategy experience a 91% increase in customer retention year-over-year compared to those without one. This impressive statistic underscores the importance of providing a unified customer experience.
When customers can interact with a business on their preferred channels and switch between them seamlessly, they are more likely to remain loyal. An omnichannel contact center ensures that customers receive consistent and high-quality service, which fosters trust and long-term relationships. By investing in an omnichannel contact center, businesses can enhance customer loyalty and drive sustained growth.
5. It Results in Faster Customer Support Resolution Times
One of the standout benefits of omnichannel contact centers is their ability to expedite customer support resolution times. Customers can connect with agents on their preferred channel and switch between channels without having to repeat information, leading to a more efficient and effective support experience.
This seamless transition between communication channels increases the likelihood of first-contact resolution, where customer issues are resolved during the initial interaction. Faster resolution times not only improve customer satisfaction but also enhance the productivity of contact center agents. By leveraging an omnichannel contact center, businesses can deliver prompt and effective support, ensuring a positive customer experience.
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6. It Improves Productivity
Omnichannel contact center features also unify multiple streams of communication and customer insight for agents, leading to better performance and an increase in agent productivity. By consolidating customer communications to a central platform, omnichannel contact solutions simplify employee workflows and help them better manage customer requests.
Agents will no longer need to have multiple screens open and shift through multiple accounts to find a customer’s message and account, as everything will be available in one central location. This greatly improves efficiency, as agents can quickly and easily close tickets and move on to their next task.
For instance, if your client is trying to process a return for a customer, but the customer has reached out about the issue through social media, email, and by phone, the customer service agent would have to spend a significant amount of time looking through accounts to find all information relevant to the return.
However, an omnichannel solution would allow the agent to see all customer communications on one screen, simplifying the return process. This significantly reduces the time it takes an agent to close a support ticket, which boosts productivity. It also increases customer satisfaction, as customers will appreciate the faster response time to process their return.
Omnichannel contact center solutions are invaluable investments for your clients. They make your teams’ jobs easier while improving the quality of their service.
7. It Provides Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics
To ensure that their current business strategies are effective, your client needs to measure and analyze the performance of their team across all supported channels. However, gathering customer data and analyzing the data from all independent channels the teams utilize and manage is an enormous, time-consuming task.
On the other hand, omnichannel contact center solutions’ software displays these metrics in one place, providing business owners with a comprehensive report on their current strategies’ performances and where they could improve.
Reselling Contact Center Solutions for an Omnichannel Presence
For businesses looking to expand their offerings and create a new revenue stream, reselling contact center solutions presents a lucrative opportunity. By becoming a reseller, businesses can help their customers establish a robust omnichannel presence, significantly enhancing their customer service capabilities.
Why Resell Contact Center Solutions?
Boost Customer Service: By offering omnichannel contact center solutions, resellers enable their customers to streamline communication channels, providing a unified customer experience. This integration allows businesses to manage customer interactions seamlessly, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Modernize Communication Capabilities: As technology evolves, it’s crucial for businesses to stay ahead. Reselling contact center solutions helps clients modernize their communication strategies, ensuring they remain competitive in the market. By adopting an omnichannel approach, businesses can meet the growing expectations of today’s consumers who demand seamless interactions across various platforms.
Future-Proof Businesses: The shift towards omnichannel communication is not just a trend but a necessity for future-proofing businesses. Resellers can empower their clients to adapt to changing customer preferences and technological advancements, ensuring long-term success.
Benefits for Resellers
Recurring Revenue Stream: Reselling contact center solutions allows businesses to add a consistent revenue stream. As clients subscribe to these solutions, resellers benefit from ongoing income, contributing to business growth and stability.
Strengthen Customer Relationships: By providing valuable solutions that enhance customer service, resellers can build stronger relationships with their clients. This fosters trust and loyalty, leading to long-term partnerships.
Expand Market Reach: Offering advanced contact center solutions positions resellers as leaders in communication technology. This can attract new clients looking for innovative ways to improve their customer service function.
By partnering with a reputable provider, businesses can access comprehensive contact center solutions that cater to diverse client needs. This partnership not only enhances the reseller’s portfolio but also ensures that their clients receive top-tier solutions to thrive in a competitive environment.
Simplified Scalability
It can be difficult for companies to know their future needs, particularly in a growing business where demand can fluctuate significantly. Cloud-based omnichannel solutions change that, providing the flexibility for businesses to shrink or grow their services as needed to handle changes in volume. This makes it easy to ensure your customers have the tools they need to meet current and future demand.
The right omnichannel cloud contact center solutions will offer your clients everything they need for a fluid, consistent customer service experience that can dynamically respond to differing customer needs, scale rapidly according to demand, and better ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Contact us to learn more about omnichannel contact center solutions, the advantages they can provide to your SMB clients, and the benefits of partnering with SkySwitch for your UCaaS needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. How does an omnichannel contact center improve agent productivity?
An omnichannel contact center enhances agent productivity by consolidating customer interactions into a single platform. This eliminates the need for agents to switch between different systems, allowing them to access all necessary information quickly and efficiently. By streamlining workflows, agents can resolve customer inquiries faster and focus on delivering high-quality service.
2. Can small businesses benefit from omnichannel contact center solutions?
Absolutely! Omnichannel contact center solutions are particularly beneficial for small businesses as they provide the tools needed to offer high-quality customer service without the need for extensive infrastructure. These solutions are scalable, allowing small businesses to expand their customer service capabilities as they grow, ensuring they can meet customer expectations effectively.
3. What role does customer data play in an omnichannel contact center?
Customer data is crucial in an omnichannel contact center as it ensures personalized and consistent service across all communication channels. By integrating customer data, businesses can track customer interactions, preferences, and history, providing agents with the insights needed to tailor their responses and improve the overall customer experience.
4. How does an omnichannel contact center enhance customer loyalty?
An omnichannel contact center enhances customer loyalty by providing a seamless and consistent service experience across all channels. When customers can interact with a brand effortlessly and receive prompt, personalized support, they are more likely to develop a positive perception of the company, leading to increased loyalty and long-term relationships.