If call centers do not evolve, they will be quickly overwhelmed.
Call them as you like, but if call centers or contact centers continue to function as if they were still in 1999, they may well disappear within a decade. The radical transformations that are currently under way will make call centers as we know them today become things of the past.
The first call centers appeared in the United States in the mid-1960s. Software and technology developments led to the boom in call centers in the 1970s and 1980s, while in the early 2000s emerge the era of offshore call centers.
It is estimated that about 1 million people work in contact centers in the UK, but although this mode of organization has been at the heart of the economy for over 50 years it will not be able to survive in its current form. A new power is being built. Social networks, cloud computing and ever more sophisticated software change the approach of companies in terms of customer care. And often for the better.
Here are some signs that the knell is ringing for the traditional call center.
An outdated model
The future will consist more than ever in increasing contact with the customer, but not in the way it was understood until then and this will have an impact on the traditional contact centers. Just as we do not go to our branches anymore, but prefer to carry out our transactions online, the same thing should happen for the majority of contacts with the company, even the most complex ones.
Customer service will no longer be delivered by a dedicated and isolated department as has been the case before. It’s an outdated model inherited from the 20th century and needs of the industrial age. It is no longer a question of reorganizing the contact center, but of setting up a totally new organization.
The brand now plays its reputation with each contact
The idea behind the principle of brand personality is relatively simple and expresses the fact that the company must embody the brand values rather than using it. This is almost impossible for traditional contact centers unless they change their approach, way of thinking and technology.
In theory this is certainly not an insurmountable challenge, but it requires a radical change of practices so that it works in reality.
The search for authenticity
Today is not easily deceived customers always better informed and it requires more than a script and made answers to establish a genuine relationship. Consultants in the contact center need solutions that allow them to immediately carry the message corresponding to the company they represent. And this, without appropriate technological tools and training to the values and personality of the brand, is a challenge.
Of course, the training of employees is essential. If, during his interactions with the contact center, the client is exposed to a discourse that does not correspond to the personality of the brand, the competitive strategy of the company is jeopardized.
The future of the customer experience
The good news is that this customer experience revolution could take another decade before being a reality. But do not delude yourself, times are changing and it is the most visionary contact centers that will survive in this new era.
It is not simply a question of providing customers with more channels of communication. This has been the trend in recent years where companies have been offered, in addition to the phone, new channels of interaction such as email, web chat or instant messaging.
Even if it offers several communication channels, it is always to respond to customer requests . This involves fetching information that is often dispersed within the company. And this without losing sight of the needs and expectations of customers.
The future lies in the building of integrated, intelligent communication networks that span the entire enterprise and enable us to develop more effective interactions with customers, anticipate their needs and promote their real commitment.
We are moving towards a much more predictive model of managing the customer journey where the company would have at its disposal, in real time, all the information that concerns a customer at each point of its journey. It is not just a view of the mind, but rather a description of what will happen in the next 5 or 10 years.
Companies that set up technology platforms that intelligently manage information for each customer journey and every situation, and that can be accessed easily from anywhere in the business, will be the ones that will develop. It is a world where technology will promote authentic behaviors and where customers will look beyond price to evaluate the company first on its customer service.
In the end, the contact center in its current form must necessarily evolve or risk disappearing. Only time will tell if there is a viable model of the contact center that can be revived in the next few years.