What is an omnichannel contact center & do you need one?

An omnichannel contact center is cloud-based software that connects data from multiple channels to manage customer interactions. These channels may include email, chat, phone, text (SMS), and social media. Omnichannel contact center software integrates with all these channels and pulls the customer interaction data into a single interface to provide seamless customer experiences across all mediums.

By connecting all of the information in a single place, customer service agents can see previous interactions with the customer on various channels, such as a conversation that started on chat but got moved to phone. As a result, brands can offer seamless channel-switching capabilities for customers, and agents can provide personalized customer experiences.

Multichannel contact centers use multiple communication channels without integration. This means that if a customer wants to switch between channels, they would have to start their conversation over again. Omnichannel contact centers are multichannel centers with integration. They connect customer interactions across channels into a unified platform. This makes it easier for customers to switch channels and helps agents deliver positive, personalized experiences by allowing them to access all the data they need in one place.

According to Loyalty360, businesses that have adopted omnichannel contact centers into their customer service strategy saw a 91% growth year-over-year in customer retention rates compared to companies that haven’t. Here are five reasons why using an omnichannel contact center can be a game changer for your organization:

1. More seamless experiences for customer journeys

An omnichannel solution allows effortless transitions between channels, so customers can start interacting on one channel and easily move to another as they please. This is valuable for existing customers in need of support, and for potential new customers who may inquire about an offering on one channel but move to another to continue their journey.

Example: Shopify offers omnichannel commerce capabilities so brands can provide seamless shopping experiences across multiple channels like websites, social media, apps, and in-store for customers. For example, they mention their customer-sustainable shoe and clothing company Allbirds uses their omnichannel capabilities to create an “endless aisle” in physical stores. Customers can come into brick-and-mortar locations, but shop for products that aren’t available in the store. The brand allows customers to learn about the products in the store with an option to buy and have items shipped to their home seamlessly by bridging online and retail customer experiences.

2. Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty

An omnichannel contact center emphasizes personalized customer communication, as agents can look at prior interaction data on different channels and use that context to provide more meaningful responses. This helps customers feel seen and valued, increasing their satisfaction and loyalty.

Example: Mediacom uses an omnichannel approach to integrate customer service channels and provide personalized responses. In the example below, the company responds to a frustrated customer by noting that they’ve escalated the issue to the field team. It ends with a personal remark that they enjoy the user’s content. In a follow-up response, the company notes that they have someone on the way to the customer’s location to resolve the issue, indicating they are using an omnichannel approach to coordinate support internally.

3. Improved agent efficiency and productivity

An omnichannel contact center organizes customer information in a unified platform, making it easier for both customers and agents. This helps agents work more efficiently, as they don’t have to spend time switching between channels to see prior interactions when talking with customers. It also means that customers enjoy faster response times, which can boost satisfaction.

Example: Jawwy from STC (Saudi Telecom Company) transitioned to 100% digital customer care using an omnichannel contact center solution to migrate all digital customer interactions into a unified support queue. This has increased their efficiency and allowed them to respond to 90% of social media requests within 10 minutes even with a 20% reduction in support agents. Perhaps most impressive, is that the company has maintained an 87% CSAT on social media channels.

4. Supports data-driven decision making

Analyzing data from multiple channel sources can be difficult and time-consuming. An omnichannel solution collects and synchronizes data from all of your customer service channels in an easy format to understand, such as a unified dashboard or performance report. By having all of the data organized in a format that’s fast and easy to interpret, it’s easier to pull insights that support strategic decisions.

Example: GTB (Ford’s advertising agency) uses omnichannel dashboards to get more insight about their social media performance between different posts and networks. Intuitive dashboards make it easy to compare the performance of a post on one network compared to another or the cumulative performance of the post across all networks. This could also be beneficial if you post about an issue with your service then collect all the customer responses across channels to get more context and figure out the cause and scale of the issue.

Here are the key features brands should look for in an omnichannel contact center:

• Native channel support: The omnichannel contact center solution should natively support your most important channels, such as phone, video, chat, SMS, email, etc.

• Integration capabilities: The solution should integrate with any third-party tools and APIs your brand uses for customer experiences.

• Configurable routing: Omnichannel contact centers should provide tools to help your agents resolve issues more efficiently, such as AI virtual assistants designed to offer data-driven solutions, such as recommended next steps or suggested replies to customers.

• Agent productivity tools: Omnichannel contact centers should provide tools to help your agents resolve issues more efficiently such as AI virtual assistants designed to offer data-driven solutions like recommended next steps or suggested replies to customers.

• Call transcription: Transcribing voice conversations can be tedious and time-consuming, so any solution you consider should offer this feature so your agents can use their time for better purposes.

• Real-time data collection: Choose a solution that allows you to track customer interaction data in real time and visualize it through dashboards and reports. This can help you spot trends, like an influx of tickets for a specific issue, so you can step in to provide a fix. You can also use real-time insights to monitor agent performance against KPIs.

• Intuitive interface: The solution should be easy to learn and feature a straightforward interface, even for new agents or people from other teams who may want to access customer insights.

• Visibility for managers: Managers should be able to view interactions so they can step in when they feel it's necessary or use the conversations as learning examples for future training.

Integrating an omnichannel contact center as part of your customer service strategy is a major shift. When deploying this type of solution, here are some best practices to help you roll it out successfully:

1. Create a customer journey map

Consider your current and ideal customer journey by identifying expectations, behaviors, preferences, and points of difficulty. Doing so will give you a map for aligning your omnichannel contact center strategy with how you want your customers to engage with your brand.

2. Establish your brand voice

When using an omnichannel solution, you must ensure your brand voice is clearly established. This ensures consistent messaging and that your voice doesn’t differ between each of your communication channels or even individual agents. Be consistent about your visual elements, tone of voice, and messaging to reinforce your brand’s identity and improve recognition.

3. Automate as much as possible

Automating customer service processes helps to save time, reduce human error, and create opportunities for new projects. Whether it’s automating your email follow-ups or using AI-powered chatbots, automating as much as possible will save you time and create a consistent, convenient customer experience. Furthermore, automating also gives agents more time to focus on unique requests that require hands-on support.

4. Utilize analytics to improve

Once you implement an omnichannel contact center solution, you should routinely check analytics for your customer service channels and agents to look for areas of improvement. For example, a longer resolution time for phone inquiries could suggest that you provide better training or update routing rules to direct customers toward more efficient channels. You should consistently look for ways to improve customer experiences and agent effectiveness using the insights offered by an omnichannel contact center solution.

5. Get agent feedback

In addition to managers checking in on performance through dashboards, it’s also a good idea to request feedback from customer service agents on areas you could improve. Agents can give valuable feedback on their experiences that might not be visible through analytics or get lost in the mix of data. For example, agents might be able to suggest a refinement to their dashboards based on the information they use most often, or they can speak to notable customer interactions they’ve had recently.

Omnichannel contact centers were created to exceed typical customer expectations and enhance the customer experience. Businesses have the ability to improve their customer satisfaction by integrating their channels, centralizing data, and empowering their agents with an automated, unified tool. Omnichannel support is the way to go when it comes to delivering seamless, personalized customer service journeys that align with your business’s goals.

Khoros Service helps brands deliver the best omnichannel experience. We utilize highly-intelligent software with features that include:

• Intiuituive omnichannel agent desktop

• Point and click AI-driven quick responses

• Unified analytics reporting

• End-to-end customer service insights

• Automated channel workflows (chat, messaging, SMS, social/reviews, community, email, and voice)

• Automated routines, queues, and tagging

• Conversational AI builder software

• Bots that can prioritize and route based on sentiment, intent, and context

• Seamless hand-offs to agents powered by omnichannel connection

Khoros gives your brand everything you need to modernize your contact center with omnichannel capabilities. Request a demo today to learn about our omnichannel capabilities and see how our solution can help you improve the customer experience!