By Navinder Singh, General Manager at In2IT Technologies

Contact centres have evolved significantly over the years because of changes in technology, business needs and customer expectations. While voice remains a critical component, many customers now prefer to interact via email, instant messaging, and even social media. They also expect a seamless experience across channels and the ability to access self-service support options 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An integrated, collaborative omnichannel approach incorporating next-generation technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become critical, particularly when it comes to meeting the expectations of Millennial customers.

Collaboration at the core

Millennials are now the largest consumer group in the world, and they possess significant buying power. They are tech-savvy, value convenience, and expect businesses to enhance their experiences. Businesses need to understand and meet their expectations to improve customer engagement, which includes using a variety of communication channels, including social media and self-service, and offering quick response times, personalised interactions, and a seamless experience across channels. 

The customer experience needs to be consistent and continuous regardless of which medium of interaction is used, which requires both integration and collaboration. Not only is collaboration critical for seamless interactions across channels, but it also helps improve the customer experience through improved first-call resolution and faster resolution time, which in turn improves cost-effectiveness. This in turn improves business outcomes. 

Technology the enabler

Advancements in technology allow contact centre resources to become more efficient and more effective, and embracing the latest technology offerings is essential in remaining competitive in meeting Millennial customer expectations. Personalised communications, convenience, an omnichannel experience and 24/7 support are all facilitated using technology, and as the world moves inexorably toward increased use of AI and automation, businesses that fail to adapt will fall behind. 

Integration is essential for offering the seamless experience customers require – for example, integrating a customer service chatbot with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can help agents provide faster, more accurate responses to customer enquiries. Integration also helps companies streamline their operations, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Both collaboration and integrated technology are vital in achieving real-time engagement and customer support. In addition, an effective and robust centralised contact centre platform is critical for managing customer interactions across various channels such as voice, email, chat, and social media.

Robust solutions from the right IT partner

While technology platforms and software solutions are important tools, they need to be implemented correctly to deliver maximum value. This is why having the right IT (Information Technology) partner is critical to the modern contact centre. They will have the technical expertise around technology and tools to help evaluate existing infrastructure and recommend solutions for improving operations and enhancing the customer experience. They will also offer the necessary integration capabilities to enable contact centre solutions to work with other business systems. These systems include CRM, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and marketing automation tools to deliver a 360-degree view of your customer interactions and provide a better user experience.

In addition, an experienced IT partner will help businesses scale technology solutions to meet their changing needs, ensure appropriate focus on security and data protection, and deliver cost-effective solutions that reduce costs. Additionally, the right IT partner offers ongoing support and maintenance to ensure that systems are always up-to-date and performing at their best. The combination of collaboration, integration and the right IT partner can help businesses streamline contact centre operations, improve the customer experience, meet customer expectations, and drive business growth.