Omnichannel solutions are becoming the norm for customer communications.
A framework that opens and unifies varying modes of communication, omnichannel has taken the industry by storm.
In fact, the number of companies investing in omnichannel solutions has grown from 20% to more than 80% since 2020 (PwC).
With its varied features and benefits, like enhancing the customer experience, increasing productivity, and supporting operational efficiency, it is easy to see why omnichannel is so popular.
One of the biggest selling points is that omnichannel is good for all parts of a company or organization.
- Customers love omnichannel because of the personalized service they receive and the decreased time to resolution.
- Agents love omnichannel because they are empowered through tools to streamline their workloads and decrease redundant tasks.
- Supervisors love omnichannel because of the increase in team productivity, the tools for control, and the insights that support informed decision making.
- Leadership loves omnichannel because it encourages cross-departmental collaboration and spurs a unified approach to strategic growth.
Our focus for today is on those that work on the frontlines of omnichannel communication: contact center and customer service agents.
Omnichannel increases the volume of inbound and outbound communication.
Not surprisingly, the addition of new modes of communication and improved engagement found in omnichannel solutions translates directly to a higher volume of communication.
As customers discover quicker resolution times and more positive experiences, they will be more likely to contact the business again in the future. At the same time, improved customer loyalty will mean more customers to engage. The volume of inbound communications will increase.
On the other side of the coin, omnichannel prioritizes gathering customer feedback via automated surveys and messages, so there will be an increase in outbound communication as well.
So if omnichannel is meant to increase agent productivity and decrease their stress, how does this reconcile with the increased workload?
It all comes down to an expertly-designed interface and agent panel.
An agent panel consolidates all communications into one place for efficient tracking.
A good omnichannel solution should have an interface dedicated to agents and all of their conversations.
The Bicom Systems omnichannel solution has an Agent Panel with advanced, streamlined options for handling communications from different channels.
Our supported channels currently include voice calls, live chat, email, SMS, WhatsApp messaging, and Facebook Messenger.
In the Agent Panel, users can choose to look at separate tabs dedicated to Voice, Chat, and Email channels, or use the Conversations tab for a complete list of all communications.
The Conversations tab compiles contacts from all channels and displays pertinent information like their queue, channel, assigned agent, and status.
The Agent Panel is where agents spend their day-to-day, engaging with customers and resolving requests.
With the right tools, agents can do better than “handling” the workload.
Our Agent Panel and dashboards empower agents to not only handle the increased volume of communications, but to become even more productive while also enhancing and personalizing conversations.
Agents can now handle more than one conversation at a time
By placing all communications in one organized interface, omnichannel empowers agents to effectively handle multiple conversations at once without sacrificing the quality of communication.
Agents can view and open ongoing conversations from different channels from one interface, eliminating any time lost toggling back and forth between applications.
Say goodbye to idle time as agents can easily switch between conversations while waiting for a reply from a different contact. The customer will be none the wiser, and the agent can switch back in an instant.
With our Live Chat feature, agents can see a preview of what the contact is typing before it is sent, so they can begin deciding how to utilize their time while waiting. Canned responses offer a way to reply quickly and without using too much brain power while multitasking.
The Agent Panel supports personalization despite high volume
Our omnichannel agent panel incorporates relevant information about contacts right into the interface. This enables agents to quickly find what they need to personalize the experience for each customer.
Opening a specific contact will show the ongoing conversation, plus basic profile information and conversation history so that the agent does not need to repeat questions that have already been answered.
If Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is integrated into the Contact Center solution via Unified Communications integration, even more information will be provided to the agent.
One Agent can manage multi-channel interactions
In traditional contact center solutions, different types of agents are needed for different communication channels. Customers are routed based on their mode of communication, meaning they often have to repeat their questions and histories.
But with omnichannel, agents can follow contacts across channels to offer a more consistent, streamlined experience.
This is good news not only for customers, but also for agents who can spend more time engaging with familiar contacts rather than learning about new contacts.
Our Returning Customers feature will always attempt to route returning customers to the same agent they spoke with previously, regardless of the communication channel.
Multi-channel interactions will be appreciated by leadership as they can depend on a smaller team to handle all customer interactions. With the ongoing labor shortage, any tools to further empower small teams are invaluable.
Even Supervisors can use the Agent Panel
Finally, the many tools included in our omnichannel Agent Panel are available to not only agents, but supervisors as well.
When supervisors need to step in to help with an issue or take over an escalated communication, they can easily jump in right on the Agent Panel rather than switching back to their own portal and trying to find the contact and information there.
Supervisors will have access to their own feature-rich portals and dashboards, plus the Conversations tab where contacts from all channels are compiled in an organized interface.
Sharing access to these tools across teams increases efficiency and productivity for the business as a whole.
Give your customers an omnichannel solution today.
As decision-makers continue discovering the benefits of omnichannel for not only their agents, but their entire business and its path to growth, market demand will continue to grow.
Omnichannel is poised to permeate the communication landscape.
As a solutions provider, you have the unique opportunity to integrate omnichannel into your existing offering to boost your value and usher your brand into the future.
Start by upselling to your own customers. who are likely just waiting for omnichannel availability, then expand your offering to target a wider audience and pursue lucrative niches. Omnichannel is the secret to growing your brand and securing your place in an evolving market.
Ready to get started? Bicom Systems offers an omnichannel Contact Center solution that is feature-rich, scalable, and fully customizable.
All of our solutions are white label, ready to take to market, and backed by a team with over twenty years of industry experience plus our in-house support team.
Learn more about PBXware Contact Center on our website or contact our team of experienced individuals to get started today.