What is an Omnichannel Cloud Contact Center?

When customers have a question about a product there are many channels they can use to contact a company. Popular options include a phone call, LINE, Facebook Messenger and the chat feature on the official business website. In the post-pandemic era, customer behavior has changed significantly.

When customers have a question about a product there are many channels they can use to contact a company. Popular options include a phone call, LINE, Facebook Messenger and the chat feature on the official business website. In the post-pandemic era, customer behavior has changed significantly. In the past, consumers might have only contacted businesses through a single channel, such as phone or email. Today customers can interact with businesses through multiple channels, including social media, instant messaging, chatbots, and more. According to the analysis and observations of Omer Minkara, Research Director at Aberdeen Group, most businesses use an average of four channels to communicate with customers, and 40% to 45% of businesses report that their current challenge is providing customers with a "consistent experience" across these different channels. 

To meet customer demands, businesses are adopting omni-channel customer contact centers to manage the omni-channel customer experience. An omni-channel contact center is centered around a customer database and integrates communication channels such as phone, chat, LINE, Facebook, and other social media. This allows businesses to provide a consistent service experience for consumers through a single platform.

What is omni-channel communication? How does it differ from multi-channel communication?

Most businesses offer multiple communication channels for customers to reach out, but does this mean they are adopting omni-channel? If there is no information integration between channels, it can only be considered multi-channel, not omni-channel.

Multi-channel communication refers to businesses providing various channels for consumers to receive service, but these channels typically operate independently. Consumers may need to switch between different channels to complete a task. Additionally, information between different channels is not consolidated, meaning that customer contact records on one channel cannot connect to another. Customer service representatives or staff may not have visibility into past contact information, customer preferences, or characteristics in real-time, which results in customers frequently having to repeat the same information. This fragmented communication can lead to customer frustration and fails to create a positive communication experience. 

In contrast to multi-channel, omni-channel communication emphasizes consistent customer experience. By integrating various communication channels, it provides consumers with a seamless service experience. Customers can choose their preferred and most convenient channel to communicate, allowing them to continue previous conversations at any time. 

Why your omni-channel contact center still needs voice and phone calls?

Although text-based communication channels like LINE and Chat are becoming increasingly popular, voice and phone services remain essential when handling urgent matters, complex issues, or to provide highly personalized service. This direct communication method allows for rapid problem resolution and offers a deeper level of customer care. According to a survey by Forrester Research, 66% of consumers indicate that when faced with urgent needs, they still prefer to contact businesses via phone. 

In other words, an omni-channel contact center which only provides text services without voice is like a puzzle missing a piece; it cannot fully provide an omni-channel customer experience. Rather than choosing between text and voice, it is better to let them complement each other. By flexibly combining voice and text services, businesses can gain a comprehensive understanding of customer needs and intentions.

Ways an omni-channel contact center can help your businesses improve 

Integrate fragmented Information and channels

To achieve a consistent customer experience, data integration is at the heart of an omni-channel system. By integrating important information that has been scattered across various communication channels and social media accounts, businesses can gain a comprehensive understanding of their customers’ needs while simultaneously enhancing the efficiency of customer service representatives. 

In a traditional multi-channel communication setup, different channels may be managed by personnel from different departments. For instance, the customer service team might handle phone inquiries, while marketing staff manage LINE communities or website chats. Without consolidated information, customer service representatives may be unaware that an irate customer on the phone has already expressed their complaints on LINE or Facebook. These situations waste time and require additional efforts to calm the customer. The brand's image is harmed, customer experience is negatively impacted, and employee efficiency and morale are lowered.

An omni-channel contact center is customer-centric, with a customer database at its core which connects various communication channels externally. A cloud-based omni-channel contact center can easily integrate with third-party CRM, CDP, ERP, or POS member systems through APIs, allowing information to flow seamlessly across various external communication channels. This creates a 360-degree communication environment without blind spots, saving valuable time for both customers and employees. With a complete customer database, the omni-channel contact center can leverage AI technology to create an "AI assistant" that quickly and accurately provides suggested responses, purchase history and reference information based on customer inquiries. It can even analyze customer emotions through voice and semantic recognition technologies, significantly enhancing the efficiency of customer service and sales personnel.

EVOX easily manages customer information from different channels through an all-in-one interface.

Easily build transparent team management on-line

Traditionally, vendors provide management of on-premises communication systems, making it difficult for businesses to implement flexible management. When personnel changes occur, or when adjustments to contact information or recordings are needed, companies typically submit requests to the vendor. Even if an in-house employee can make changes the admin systems are on-premises and managers or IT personnel can’t make changes remotely. 

In contrast, cloud contact centers can provide a user-friendly (no programming code) online admin that returns management control to users. Authorized administrators can log in anytime, anywhere, to add or remove employee users, view communication records, or download recording files. Additionally, cloud contact centers often provide real-time analytics and reports, allowing managers to monitor team performance such as service efficiency across various channels, conversation statuses, customer satisfaction, and anomaly detection. AI technology can also be employed to quickly analyze recordings and identify key information in conversations, aiding businesses in making more informed decisions. 

Conclusion: The revolutionary new customer experience led by omni-channel

With the rise of omni-channel contact centers for business communication, companies now have an unprecedented opportunity to revolutionize customer experience. By integrating voice, text, and digital channels, businesses will gain deeper insights into customer needs and achieve more transparent and rational team management. This integration will also allow them to leverage AI and other innovative technologies to create greater economic value. As omni-channel communication becomes mainstream, customer service teams will evolve accordingly; by consolidating various channels previously managed by different departments, the business can transform external communication agents into unified omni-channel customer service representatives.