Contact Centre Transformation: From Cost Centre to Value Centre
Traditional contact centres have often been viewed as cost centres. But with the right CX technology, they can be transformed into value centres.
Traditionally, contact centres have been viewed as cost centres. CX solutions were expensive, involving on-premises hardware that was costly to manage, so organisations tended to focus on minimising costs rather than delivering exceptional customer care. But the evolution of CX technology means that’s no longer the case.
With the latest contact centre solutions, powered by cloud computing and AI, businesses can transform contact centres into profit centres that drive revenue and bring added value to the wider organisation.
In previous articles, we’ve examined the impact of next-gen CX tech in the contact centre and how it can be used to optimise the customer journey, now we’ll look at how businesses can digitally transform the contact centre from a cost centre to a value centre.
Using contact centre transformation to seize the competitive advantage
Your contact centre is already providing value. Every organisation drives a competitive advantage from providing exceptional customer care through CX. But, at a time when customer expectations are higher than ever, businesses now see customer service as a key differentiator – one that can help them outperform their rivals. And contact centre transformation – deploying the most advanced CX tools to work in your operations – can make this happen.
The on-demand economy expects it. Customers are now accustomed to digital platforms allowing instantaneous, round-the-clock service through whatever channel they prefer. It’s this level of service and convenience that entices customers in, creates sale opportunities and keeps them coming back.
Growing sales isn’t just about winning new customers; it’s also about keeping the ones you already have. You don’t want them going to other businesses because your competitors offer a higher level of customer service. To achieve true contact centre transformation, the mindset must change from one of reactively fire-fighting customer issues to proactive problem-solving and value creation.
- Using the power of data more effectively to identify and fix issues before they occur.
- Giving customers self-service options to solve problems themselves.
- Empowering agents with training, information and insights they need to solve problems, first time.
The power of data
CCaaS solutions provide companies with insights that can be used for informed decision-making and strategising. Key metrics, such as customer satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Score and abandonment rates can now be tracked and analysed in real-time.
While these newest tools often seem to give managers more data than they know what to do with; that also demonstrates their flexibility. It’s up to the management team to select relevant data points that can be used to drive customer experience and improve overall value derived for the business. AI can then take over to turn raw data into insights which, in turn, can be transformed into an action plan to remove points of friction in the customer journey.
Self-service options
Most customers don’t want to ask for care; 80% of customers want to resolve issues on their own. Organisations that can give them the tools to do this are able to free up their workers to focus on more value-generating tasks. Once data analysis has identified where problems and bottlenecks lie, advanced chatbots, self-service portals and FAQs can be programmed with the knowledge to give customers all the tools they need to solve queries themselves.
Empowering agents
For those problems that cannot be resolved through self-service, agents must have the relevant information at their fingertips, and the training to be able to use that information for faster resolution, first time. Here again, the latest CX solutions come to the rescue delivering relevant insights into issues and providing the right training and support, so agents are not just better at what they do, but, are engaged and valued in their work.
The technology can also be used to help promote company culture, so, for example, to promote a mindset that agents are not there simply to respond to customer problems, but to treat each contact as a potential opportunity.
Then, by using the technology to integrate between customer service and other business units, such as marketing, legal or product development, fostering stronger inter-organisational bonds, and solving communication challenges, you can drive further rewards and value for the organisation.
Contact centre transformation starts with DigitalWell
Despite the technology now being available, not every contact centre is viewed or operated as one that can drive value and revenue. True contact centre transformation depends on changing the organisational mindset from viewing the contact centre as a cost centre, to refocusing on what technology can do to promote contact centre transformation, delivering more business value, while enhancing customer care.
Discover how DigitalWell can provide solutions and the consultancy you need to transform your contact centre into a revenue-generating centre for your business. Get in touch with one of our experts today.
For more insights on how CX technology and AI is transforming the customer experience industry, download our report, “AI & CX: From Transition to Transformation“.
