Category: Customer Experience

Which are the best websites and forums to read and learn about customer experience management, various frame works, case studies , points of view etc.
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Vonage, a global provider in cloud communications helping businesses accelerate their digital transformation, has announced the launch of new Visual Engagement, and AI and omni-channel features. As part of Vonage Contact Centre (VCC) solution, the new features will serve to enhance agent and customer service. With embedded video chat and screen sharing, virtual assistant, Webchat, real-time analytics and screen recording, these enhancements are creating seamless agent-customer interactions for Vonage customers. This will enable them to communicate visually, efficiently and effectively. Businesses must turn to less traditional channels and employ technology in order to connect with consumers in the advancing modern workplace. An ideal solution for this offers the flexibility to embed programmable capabilities, like video, directly into existing applications and workflows. Full article: https://www.cxtoday.com/contact-centre/vonage-launches-new-features-for-its-contact-centre-solution/
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Who we are isn’t the same thing as what we do.
But sometimes, what we do can change who we are.
Our identity describes the person we see in the mirror, the groups we identify with, the version of ourselves (and reality) that we come back to over and over. “I’m not a writer,” or “I’m not an entrepreneur,” or “I’m not a leader,” are fairly definitive statements.
But when the world changes, opportunities change as well.
All of us struggle when our identity doesn’t match the reality of the world around us.
In the face of that confusion, it’s tempting to abandon possibility and to walk away from an opportunity simply because it doesn’t resonate with the person we are in this moment. But only when we do something new do we often begin to become someone new.

The key to providing a great customer experience is making it consistent, timely and relevant. The challenge is doing it across multiple channels in a way that meets the goals of your customers and your business. That leaves many companies in a predicament. If the customer is always on the right channel, does that mean your contact center needs to support all channels? And if so, does it become exponentially more difficult to deploy, integrate, train, manage, supervise and report — with each additional channel? From the customers’ perspective, you need to make each interaction easy, fast and relevant while keeping it consistent, personal and making sure it feels like a single journey. Let’s break this down into five steps.
Map
Imagine
Match
Compare
Plan
As you move through each of these steps, you’ll find that if the customer is always on the right channel, you’re there to join in the conversation. Full article: https://www.genesys.com/blog/post/the-customer-is-always-on-the-right-channel
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Call centers have traditionally been seen as unprofitable, and a necessary cost for businesses. However, recent data has shown that creating exceptional customer experiences and providing quality service with a human touch has a direct effect on consumer loyalty and how much they spend.
With that said, call centers are expensive to run, so it’s important to consider the financial costs involved. If you’re thinking of launching your own call center, here’s a guide to help you calculate the costs involved.
The ROI of Call-Backs for Your Call Center
Types of call centers.
What are your goals for your call center? Your directives will help you determine the appropriate operation for your business.
Inbound call centers.
This type of call center manages incoming calls, most often from customers. They manage everything from technical support to complaints to order processing and everything in between.
Outbound call centers.
Like its name suggests, outbound call centers are used to make outgoing calls. Agents will perform phone outreach to create sales opportunities, verify information, conduct surveys, and much more.
Hybrid call centers.
You probably guessed it, but we’ll tell you anyway. Hybrid call centers combine the functions of inbound and outbound to create one powerhouse operation. Agents are often separated in teams based on their assigned duties.
Once you establish the functions of your call center, you will be better able to anticipate costs involved.
Why the Future of the Contact Center is Remote
Choose your location.
The next thing to consider is the location of your call center.
On-site, local.
It’s great to have a team of local in-house call center agents who are familiar with the local culture and customer base. Having a physical location is also important for businesses that require extensive data security, such as medical patient information or financial records.
However, this approach is also the most expensive when you consider the cost of renting local space and agent salaries. If this is a challenge, an on-site offshore call center may be a better fit.
On-site, offshore.
Offshore call centers offer a lot of the same benefits as its local counterpart. However, these are considerably less expensive to launch and operate — most offshore call centers are located outside of the US in places like India or the Philippines.
Remote/virtual.
More call centers than ever have switched to a remote set-up, thanks to the pandemic. This option is great because it eliminates the costs that come with renting a physical space. However, consider that you will need to accommodate your agents with reliable internet, equipment, and other tools needed to complete their work reliably from home.
Hire a team of agents.
The key to a call center’s success lies with its agents. In order to create a successful and profitable operation, you’ll need to invest time, resources, and money into finding and retaining the best call center agents.

TIP:
Hiring your first team of agents? Consider hiring a combination of trainees and experienced agents — this way, your call center veterans can provide guidance and support to new recruits.

According to CloudTask, the average salary for a Customer Service Representative in the US is $30,688 (USD) + benefits and commission fees, if applicable. You’ll also need a manager to oversee the operation — the average salary for that is $39,694 (USD) + benefits.
Here are some other call center roles you may consider hiring:

Trainers/coaches
Analysts
Quality assurance
IT support

To get an accurate reading on your expenses, you’ll need to figure out how many individuals you need to hire. You can calculate this based on performance goals, sales and revenue targets, and other data. It’s important not to skip this step — overstaffing will cost you unnecessary dollars, and understaffing leaves your call center open to call spikes and overwhelm.
Aside from salaries, you’ll need to consider other upfront costs. For example, the onboarding and training period will require considerable investment. After all, you can’t expect your team to become high performers on day one. Time spent sourcing and evaluating candidate should be taken into consideration as well.
Call center tools and technology.
Call centers require more than just a laptop and headset. Today, these operations are equipped with the latest technology to create seamless, high quality customer experiences.
The tools and resources you need will depend on the type of call center you are establishing. With that said, start your search with these three technologies:
Top Contact Center Technology Trends in 2021
Business phone system.
Phone systems involve different types of hardware, software, and processes to keep your call center operation running smoothly. It manages everything from call routing to the interface agents use to manage customer queries and/or accounts. Avaya is one of the most popular phone systems, but there are many options on the market.
CRM system.
If your phone system doesn’t include a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, you should invest in one. These platforms allow your agents to access and manage customer information in one central hub. CRMs are essential for creating positive customer experiences and building customer loyalty.
Performance analytics tool.
The best decisions you can make for your business are supported by data. That’s why you’ll need a performance analytics tool to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics. This information will help you refine your processes, identify gaps in your operation, and make informed choices on how to improve your call center.
Additional tools to consider.

Call-back technology. This simple but powerful tool offers inbound callers a call-back, so they don’t have to wait on hold, making call spikes more manageable for your agents.

Internal communication system. Give agents a way to communicate with one another, even with a customer on the line, so they can request support discreetly. This can be as simple as a chat system, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams.

Live chat system. The phone channel is great, but it can be costly to run. Consider providing customers an alternative way to reach you via live chat and free up your phone lines for more complex interactions.

Call center outsourcing: an alternative to in-house services.
Once you’ve accounted for the above expenses, you’ll have a good sense of the costs associated with launching your call center. However, it’s important to have some extra funds available for unforeseen circumstances, such as agent attrition, over/understaffing, and emergencies and crises.
For this reason, many businesses choose to outsource their call center operations. Outsourcing is often more cost effective, given that you don’t need to account for staffing, infrastructure, and other expenses.
Your Guide to Call Center Outsourcing in 2021
Is there anything else you’d add to this list? Share your thoughts with us @Fonolo on Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter.The post Blog first appeared on Fonolo.

A mass noun is one that doesn’t take an S when we have more. “Butter” and “Information” are both uncountable in use, because when we only have only one unit of butter (or information) we use the same word as if we have four or six units. Butter is butter.

Uncountable words are understandably difficult to measure at a glance. They don’t fit easily into the industrial mindset, and we’re often pushed to find things that are less mysterious.

But it turns out that uncountable words like trust, honesty, commitment, passion, connection and quality are a fine thing to focus on.

When was the last time you smiled? A smile is a simple act that stimulates a chemical reaction in the brain, releasing a suite of ‘feel-good’ hormones. To cheer myself up, I occasionally look into the mirror and smile. Heaven knows moments of joy have been hard to come by this past year! The endorphins…
The post Outperforming competitors with a powerful brand purpose appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

Online casinos are considered the future of gambling. These sites have numerous advantages over land-based casinos and that is the reason why they became so popular. Millions of people from all around the world register at these sites to have a pleasant gaming experience as online casinos are supplied with hundreds of quality games by some…
The post How Bitcoin Revolutionized Online Casinos appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

Bitcoin is the most talked-about subject in the financial industry. 2020 and 2021 have been fantastic for this cryptocurrency as it managed to not only break the record in value but breeze past it. As of March, Bitcoin is valued at around $50,000, which is quite a mesmerizing number. The recent spike attracted many new…
The post Bitcoin Terms That You Should Know appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

We can improve and magnify things in very short order.

Light bulbs, elevators, website technology–give it some time, and people will pile on and all of the important metrics will be sharpened, made more efficient and more powerful as well.

That’s not really the hard part. The hard part is doing it when people aren’t sure it can be done.

And in that stage of development, taking notes isn’t nearly as important as taking leaps.

If you do it once, we’ll figure out how to do it again.