Cloud Call Centers – Better for Business & Customers

Cloud-based call centers have a host of benefits to both the organization deploying them and customers using the technology. In addition to rapid deployment, cloud-based technology supports continued updates and upgrades more easily. Furthermore, return on investment is easy to realize in short order if for no other reason that CapEx declines. However, one of the most beneficial aspects to cloud-based contact centers has less to do with technology and more to do with soft costs. Cloud-based contact centers are proven to facilitate better customer experience.

According to a white paper by Aberdeen Group, there is more than one hidden ROI of a cloud-based contact center. They performed a survey of 487 contact center executives looking for key trends and best practices, and found that 34% of businesses currently used a cloud-based contact center, while an additional 28% planned to deploy cloud technology within the year. The primary reason? To address constantly changing customer needs.

Customer experience is an important part of every contact center initiative. The goal is to improve the experience thereby increasing chances of more sales, better metrics and overall better word-of-mouth. With the ever-increasing channels adopted by customers, it becomes critical for contact centers to rapidly adapt to ways of communicating and interacting. Social media is a great example. Customers expect immediate responses when they mention a brand via social media. The only way to quickly incorporate channels and new technology to support them is to go to the cloud.

The white paper showed that it was, in fact, customer experience that drove cloud-based deployments, with 45% of the respondents claiming it as their primary reason. Improving agent productivity was second, with reducing costs as third at only 26%. This shows a maturation of executives toward understanding the power of customer experience and the need to empower agents to provide excellent service.

Good Customer Experience Loves Technology

Another interesting statistic is cloud-based contact centers are more likely to utilize integration with other key technology components to improve overall experience and solidify reporting. For example, cloud-based centers are 27% more likely to be integrated with CRM systems, allowing for a more unified view of data.

Unification of data is a key component in determining customer experience. By understanding the different points at which a customer interacts with your organization, your team is better equipped to adjust and improve that experience. Without integration, your organization must either manually cobble together reports or you simply do not know where customer experience is working – and just as important – where it is falling down and in need of adjustment.

Cloud-based technology is simply easier to integrate. It is in the integration of systems that a holistic picture is formed, ensuring that customer experiences are easily managed, agents are given tools to succeed, and management can track important business performance metrics for success.