A new year always brings with it the anticipation of new things, and for businesses this is no different. Businesses have to keep up with these changes in order to stay competitive especially since we live in an ever-changing world where technology is constantly evolving. These constant changes provide challenges for all aspects of business, but particularly the Contact Center.
So what are some of the changes that Contact Centers can anticipate in 2014 and beyond? While there are many that we can anticipate, let’s take a look at what are likely to be the top four.
One of the biggest anticipated changes coming is the use of Voice Biometrics. Voice Biometrics verifies a customer’s identity through unique patterns in their voice and this is proving to be a useful tool in call centers that have experienced fraud and abuse. Not only is the voice a stronger form of identification than the more traditional security questions, but it is also a huge cost saver. According to a recent article released by VoiceTrust.com, U.S. call centers spend over $12 billion each year verifying the identity of their customers. By authenticating a customer’s voice, companies can avoid the traditional security questions and account information saving time and money.
A second major change in the contact center for 2014 is Cloud Migration. Expect huge growth in this area in the New Year, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses. Cloud-based infrastructure greatly reduces upfront costs for businesses by offering an affordable monthly payment model. Additionally, the cloud based system functions more efficiently now than compared to its infancy, eliminating the functionality gap between on-site and cloud-based hosting.
A third change that we can expect to see this year is in the area of Social Media. Twitter and Facebook are rapidly changing the way customers and contact centers communicate. If they haven’t already, call centers across the globe would be wise to adopt these social platforms in 2014. Social media can make or break any business and if call centers are not ahead of the social media curve with both of these platforms, they could stand to lose a lot in the year ahead. Twitter and Facebook are excellent tools for monitoring customer satisfaction, but if your business is lagging behind in this area, one negative tweet or Facebook entry from a dissatisfied customer can mean huge losses for your business, not just in sales but in the ever-important area of Public Relations.
This leads to the fourth major change we can expect in 2014 which is The Voice of the Customer. Contact centers are being much more proactive in gaining customer feedback as a means of improving customer relations and over-all satisfaction. This feedback can be gained through many channels, not the least of which is Social Media.
While these are certainly not all of the changes Contact Centers can expect in 2014, these are definitely the top four that all businesses, who rely on contact centers, should be ready to move forward with in the New Year.
