The customer service industry is always changing. That means keeping up with new technology and trends. This often results in a fun, fast paced environment, but can also come with its challenges.
Smart businesses need to keep evolving their processes and products in order to, not only stay ahead of the game, but in it. The customer service industry is not the only thing that is constantly changing.
Technology is consistently improving and customers change their minds all the time when it comes to what they need from companies.
Just because something worked in the past, doesn’t necessarily mean those same skills, technology or services will be beneficial today.
While considering the future of call centers in general, it’s important to ponder all the possibilities. Yes, there is some guesswork involved, but it is possible to make educated predictions as to what’s to come with the information available.
Here is what is in store for the future of call centers.
Changing Contact Channels
Calling in to speak with someone to solve a problem or to purchase an item has been the norm, even though there have been other options available. Now, the option of online chat is becoming more and more popular.
People can access this service through their devices or desktops, and don’t have to converse with anyone. Along with more online chat options, people also are using social media channels to directly contact a company and demand a response. Companies have to be ready for any source of interaction, even if they’re less proficient in it.
Greater Need for Bilingual Options
The number of Spanish speakers living in the U.S. is expected to rise dramatically. They may not speak English well but welcome the opportunity to be greeted and assisted in their native language. AnswerNow offers a variety of employees who are certified in understanding and speaking Spanish, rather than some companies that may have one or two employees who know how to speak a little Spanish. The former option seems to be your best bet, rather than the latter. This skill of learning multiple languages will increase over time as will the future of customer service, but in the meantime, explore how a bilingual answering service can help your business.
Conversation Analytics
People who are experts in communications and the sales process have studied thousands of hours of interactions and have come up with the most crucial times and phrases to get customers especially excited. These types of analytics can pinpoint the best times to make a sale, the best ways to create a fully satisfied customer or the worst things to say that can drive people away. Drilling deep into your process or programs can also find weak points where people may want to leave or even provide fraudulent information.
Voice Recognition
Companies are constantly looking for ways to securely help their customers access their information quickly and efficiently. It’s much more difficult to steal personal facts about another customer than it is to try to replicate their voice. An individual’s voice is unique as their fingerprint. A voice biometric is a numerical representation of the sound, pattern, and rhythm of an individual’s voice. You will continue to see this type of verification system more and more in the future especially with the rise of identity theft.
Predicting Customer Needs
Along with looking closer at what the call center representative is saying and finding ways to improve the sales/help process, a company can also look at reasons why people are calling, especially if there are common trends or themes. Learning this information can help predict why and when people will call, such as a certain number of days after a new product is realized is when people start getting confused and seeking help. Anticipating possible challenges can provide a call center with some useful guidance on how to configure the right team to maximum efficiency.
As they say, the future is now, so taking steps at this time to improve your organization’s efficiency and consistency can pay off in big ways in the future. Callers reaching a professional organization will likely be impressed and want to call back in the future. An organization that helps callers quickly and effectively will be able to handle higher call volume and bring in more money for the organization.
Curious to see how you can improve your customer service? Come explore our free guide on the 10 Commandments of Customer Service today!
