An omnichannel contact center is software that allows customer service agents to provide support and share information across multiple channels, including phone calls, chats, emails, text messages, and social media. Support reps can see every customer interaction, so customers don’t have to repeat themselves.
An omnichannel contact center consolidates several contact channels into one platform. And customers love it. According to Aberdeen Group, companies adopting an omnichannel strategy saw a 91% increase in customer retention year-over-year than those without!
There’s one undeniable truth: If people must find you, they’re going to find someone new.
Omnichannel Customer Experience Example
Here’s an example to show you how an omnichannel cloud contact center works in practice. Let’s say a customer is dealing with a technical issue. They’ve read a few self-service help docs but have hit the point where they need help.
Their first stop is your website’s chat to explain the issue. But after some back and forth, they decide to call in to “talk to a real person.”
An omnichannel customer experience solves this problem. This way, when that customer calls customer support, live agents already have:
Customer behavior data, including past interactions
Transcripts of their previous chat conversations and video calls
Recent touchpoints, such as self-service options they attempted
Rather than making customers repeat themselves, your contact center agents start with a holistic view of every customer interaction and can pick up right where their colleagues left off.
This sort of unified communication isn’t easy. But it’s what your customers expect.
Research from McKinsey shows that most customers engage with three to five different channels to resolve a request. In addition, 86% of customers expect conversations to move seamlessly between omnichannel customer service channels.
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Omnichannel vs. Multichannel Contact Centers
You’re probably familiar with handling support requests across multiple service channels. Contact center providers have been adding new channels for years, leading to people describing them as multi-channel because it works across multiple communication paths.
Here’s a quick comparison between a multichannel and omnichannel contact center.
Functionality Multichannel contact center Omnichannel contact center Supports multiple channels Seamlessly switch between communication channels ✗ CRM integration for relevant customer data ✗ Real-time insights on customer activity ✗ One team can handle requests across all channels ✗
However, a few significant features separate a multichannel approach from an omnichannel one.
Different channels are managed by separate teams in a multichannel contact center. This means real-time customer interaction history isn’t updated as they transcend from one medium to the next. When customers move from a call to chat, they’re essentially starting over.
On the other hand, the omnichannel approach combines all your communication channels, customer history, and data into one consistent experience. Customers can use their preferred channel without repeating themselves. Contact center agents can gracefully handle each topic using centralized contact center software.
Beyond the lack of features, there are a few downsides to a multichannel contact center as compared to an omnichannel one:
Multichannel contact centers provide a worse customer experience. Customers must repeat themselves when switching messaging channels. They also don’t get the personalized experience they crave today.
Multichannel contact centers can be more expensive to run. When customers need to make several requests for one issue, companies need to hire more customer service agents. On the other hand, Omnichannel pricing includes many more capabilities for the same price (e.g., intelligent VAs, workforce management, smart IVRs, conversational AI, etc.).
Multichannel contact centers could harm customer engagement. Numerous customer service stats indicate that consumers would switch companies after a single poor experience. What will your existing omnichannel call center cost you?
More channels don’t create a better customer experience. Instead, the more channels you support, the more critical an omnichannel approach becomes.
Omnichannel Contact Center Benefits
Cloud-based contact center solutions simplify complex interactions. When you streamline customer service tools, you’ll help them become more productive and effective. But where do you start when building out an omnichannel approach? Here are seven of the must-have features for choosing an omnichannel contact center:
1) Cloud-based with a unified interface
An omnichannel strategy works when employees can effortlessly move between channels while maintaining customer history and context. For this to happen, your contact center software needs an easy-to-use, intuitive interface that provides real-time data for each agent. Here are a few qualities to look for when evaluating an omnichannel contact center’s interface:
Customer data and conversations in one place: Agents shouldn’t have to jump between screens, tools, or apps to maintain a seamless customer experience. API integrations are imperfect — strive for complete functionality without middleware.
Cloud-based redundancy: Look for a tool that manages all your data sources and conversations in the cloud. The cloud keeps all your CRM organized and allows agents to work from home comfortably .
Quick access to real-time data: Agents should have access to customer insights, past interactions, and customer satisfaction scores to deliver the best experience possible.
2) Seamless integration between channels
Customer expectations change rapidly. A few years ago, most people wouldn’t use a chatbot to answer their questions; today, 74% of customers prefer them for quick answers. An omnichannel contact center must be scalable and agile enough to integrate with any new channel that comes to the market without downtime or changing workflows. Here are a few questions to ask when evaluating how your omnichannel contact center will handle integrations:
What other tools integrate with this contact center? Look for integrations with your customer CRM and every communication channel you use, such as predictive dialers and digital channels like email, SMS, and social media.
How are integrations displayed in the interface? Look for contact center software that reduces friction by bringing cross-channel conversations together into a single view. Agents shouldn’t need to bounce between screens to keep the conversation moving.
Is it easy to share data or merge reports across channels? Look for reports that prioritize customer experience rather than a specific channel. For example, the first response time is preferred to the first email response time. It’ll help you with forecasting and workforce optimization.
3) Customer insights render personalized experiences
Your customers are unique in how they use your product and seek help. Some customers enjoy using self-service options like a knowledge base. The preferred channel to solve a significant issue is the phone, email, and social media. The more access agents have to information, the better equipped they’ll be to handle requests. A communications platform like one from Nextiva pulls all your customer data into one place. This capability means your team can see interaction history, account value, and satisfaction during conversations. Here are some customer insights your omnichannel contact center should include:
Customer info: Name, company, alternative contact info, and open or closed tickets can help you personalize the interaction.
Interaction history: A list of conversations across all channels and a brief rundown of their outcomes.
Real-time insights: Product pages, help docs, or features they recently used to add context to the issue.
Account value metrics: Customer value, trending satisfaction, and survey results. Support agents should instantly know they’re assisting a high-value account.
4) Intelligent routing of inbound requests
With more channels, proper routing becomes crucial. A seamless customer experience means connecting customers to the right agent the first time around.
Look for a contact center solution that offers intelligent routing features such as:
Automatic call distribution (ACD) : Route inbound calls to the right person or team depending on history, time, or support level.
Deep CRM integration : Leverage your existing customer data to direct customers to the right agent or department. These surface actionable insights across the entire customer journey.
Conversational AI : Respond to customers seeking help with answers based on artificial intelligence. Select omnichannel contact center solutions that leverage AI and natural language processing to pick up on real-time sentiment.
5) Integrated data across the customer journey
The only way to execute a seamless omnichannel experience is to gather data along each customer touchpoint. As people shift from social media to chat to phone calls, their history should reflect each customer interaction. Here are a couple of data-focused features your omnichannel contact center should support:
Insights into the customer journey: See where your customers came from and what channels they used to connect. Examples of these contact methods include a mobile app, email, or SMS.
Track and analyze your entire pipeline: Understand customers’ steps throughout their business relationship. Add or subtract “points” depending on the intent and outcome.
An omnichannel contact center streamlines customer communications.
6) Performance management and reporting
An omnichannel contact center can give managers deep insights into their team’s performance. Instead of trying to streamline metrics or reports across several tools, everything is in one place. Here are a few essential reporting tools that your contact center should include:
Historical and daily data trends: Contact center leaders should see at a glance where agents and processes need to improve. Most call center solutions offer this out of the box.
Customizable KPIs and goals: What’s most important to you? Speed of answer? CSAT score? Identify which ones reflect your customer’s needs and business drivers.
Agent dashboards for coaching: Reporting should be empowering and actionable for both call center agents and managers. Adopt team-based wallboards to drive awareness and friendly competition.
7) Enterprise-grade security and reliability
Finally, security and uptime are critical when a single tool handles all your customer data and support channels. For example, Nextiva’s network has the industry’s highest uptime, which means you can be there for your customers. Your omnichannel solution is up to the task if it:
Meets stringent industry standards such as PCI, SOC 2, or HIPAA
Maintains a status page with updates on past events and planned maintenance
Undergoes regular security audits and 24/7 monitoring
In the age where data breaches and outages can happen to almost anyone, you can’t afford to go with the bare minimum. You need a proven leader to power your communications.
How Does a Call Center Compare to an Omnichannel Contact Center ?
