INTERVIEW Online for a next generatio
The next generation contact centre and the adoption of apps and social media are at an inflection point, according to Natalie Keightley, Contact Centre Product Marketing Lead at Avaya,
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here has been a shift in consumer attitudes towards multimedia as a way of engaging with brands and accessing customer service. As a result, businesses are investing in contact centre technologies because they understand that customer service is now a major defining factor of business success. Yet delivering superior customer service today is a very different ball game to what it used to be, explains Keightley. “The rise of what is known as the hyper-connected generation, typically those people born after 1980, has unleashed an army of tech- savvy individuals who have never known life without the Internet, mobile devices and social networking,” she said. “They now represent approximately 25 per cent of the world’s population and in turn a huge technology- hungry customer base across many different industries.”
Technology is changing the parameters of the interaction between consumers and business. It’s clear that today’s ‘app- driven, Google-it’ generation has become accustomed to communicating on their terms, at their convenience. Not only do they want to communicate in the way that suits them best but they also want instant answers and on the spot resolutions. In fact, speed and convenience have become so intrinsically linked with good customer service that 42 per cent of customers worldwide rank quick query resolution as the most important factor when assessing good customer service.
Multiple channels “The proliferation of smartphones and the mobile Internet during recent years has helped to fuel this trend to the extent that a whole new dimension is emerging in the world of the contact
had big implications for the customer service industry, seeding the idea for the mobile app that is now, in many ways, the gateway to many businesses’ customer service and communications functions. “We have tools like One Touch Video, allowing customers to click to video from a smart devices, and Contact Centre Mobile, allowing them to click to call from mobile apps,” noted Keightley. “And the industry is flourishing. The Apple App Store today, for example, has more than half a million apps available for download, recently surpassing the 25 billion download milestone. While many of these apps are designed for entertainment, businesses are increasingly looking to apps not just as an interface for information and important contact numbers but as a one-stop-shop customer service portal.”
Natalie Keightley A whole new
dimension is emerging in the world of the contact centre and customer services
centre and customer service,” added Keightley. “Already, 40 per cent of consumers prefer alternate methods of contact such as email, chat and text, and 36 per cent would like to use smartphone apps to resolve queries. People are not just working on the move, but
are increasingly shopping and banking using sophisticated mobile devices.”
Avaya research jointly carried out with global Platinum Partner BT found that 24 per cent of consumers have already tried mobile banking. This social phenomenon has
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Avaya is bringing new technologies to market to help improve both agent- assisted and automated service to drive more personalised and seamless customer experiences across an array of media channels, including social media. The Avaya Aura Experience Portal, for example, helps businesses to optimise automated services for multimedia in and out-bound interactions, reducing the need for customers to repeat information already captured in self-service. “Avaya Aura Contact Center 6.2 is another technology that helps business to solve customer issues more effectively by bringing all parties along with customer information into a session,” explained Keightley. “In this way, technology anchors the customer, making them the central
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