Collaboration

Help Agents Improve Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is now about more than making sure the customer gets the product and that the product works. It's about creating loyalty.

Voice is still the most common way people reach out for service. However, Forrester Research reports that use of alternative contact channels is growing. Its latest report reveals increases of 25 percent in community usage, 24 percent in chat, and 12 percent in web self-service over the last three years. Video chat is newer, but is becoming a more common part of the mix.

Real-time access to experts goes a long way toward resolving customer issues more quickly, leading to happier customers and greater loyalty.

Contact center agents:

• Work onsite from a central call center with others in the same role
• Use a central software system to access and update customer account information
• Work a regular shift without need for contact outside work hours
• Are often in the role for a short time
• Depending on industry, may be seasonal workers based on sales patterns

New contact center trends include:

• Virtual call centers with agents in several locations, including a home base
• Deeper detail on a customer's interactions across channels, including social media engagement
• Adding text chat and web-based video to real-time customer interaction
• Social media monitoring and response
• An ability to identify available experts to resolve customer concerns more quickly