What is an Omni-Channel Call Center (and Why Does It Matter to Your Business)?
Customers have made their communication expectations clear across industries: They want to interact with companies via the channels that they use the most in their daily lives and which they’re most comfortable with, whether that is a phone call, mobile app, email, social media or webchat. Companies have responded by quickly adding more contact channels to accommodate customers’ preferences. The challenge, though, is to ensure that new and traditional channels are linked together in a way that allows customers to seamlessly switch from one to another and pick up where they left off. It’s one of the key differences between providing a multi-channel vs. omni-channel service experience.
How Multi-channel and Omni-Channel Call Centers Differ
Multi-channel or omni-channel… both provide a variety of access points for customers, right? While that is true, and many use the terms interchangeably, there is a critical distinction between the way that multi-channel and omni-channel contact centers operate and the value that they provide to the business. The meaning of the root words provides the key.
Multi = More Than One
Many call centers have offered multi-channel support for years by providing phone and email access, and more recently, by adding digital channels like chat, SMS and social media. But while multi-channel contact centers offer a variety of channels through which customers can communicate, each one may be managed on a separate system and often by specialized teams. As a result, each channel operates in a silo and lacks insight into the customer’s activity on the other channels. When customers attempt to switch channels, they must begin all over again. The majority of consumers (89%) say that having to repeat their questions to multiple customer service reps is a frustrating experience, according to a survey by Accenture.
Omni = In All Ways or Places
“Omni,” on the other hand, means in all ways or places. Therefore, when we refer to an omni-channel experience, we’re talking about one that is unified across all of the channels and devices that the customer uses to interact with a company. Unlike a multi-channel call center in which each channel may function in isolation, an omni-channel call center has integrated systems in place to ensure that the customer’s information, history and interaction activity is connected on the back end. This provides the call center with a holistic view of the customer’s entire journey.
Comparison of Call Center Models
| Feature | Omnichannel contact center | Multichannel contact center |
|---|---|---|
| Integration | Seamless integration across all channels | Separate, siloed channels without integration |
| Customer experience | Consistent and unified across all channels | Disjointed; customers may need to repeat information |
| Contextual awareness | Single view of customer’s full interaction history | Interaction history often limited to the specific channel |
| Data management | Centralized customer data repository | Data may be fragmented or siloed across channels |
| Operational efficiency | Higher due to unified systems and processes | Lower due to lack of integration |
Benefits of an Omni-Channel Contact Center
Adopting an omnichannel contact center solution provides myriad benefits. Having the capability to deliver consistency across service channels translates into more loyal customers. According to Aberdeen Group, companies that provide a consistent service quality across multiple channels retain 89% of their customers, whereas companies that do not ensure a consistent quality are only able to retain 33%. In addition to providing a customer experience that is seamless, unified and personalized, omni-channel call center systems are able to collect valuable customer, channel activity and transaction data across touchpoints that can be aggregated and analyzed to improve customer engagement, staff training and internal processes.
Key Features and Software Solutions
An omnichannel contact center integrates multiple communication channels into a single, unified platform. To help companies provide excellent call center experience to their customer, modern software offers the following features:
- Unified Interface: A single platform to manage all communication channels, ensuring a consistent and seamless customer experience.
- AI Agents for Support Teams: Real-time insights, next-best actions & summaries so agents respond faster & better.
- Self-Serve: Resolve customer queries instantly without any human intervention and free up agent capacity by 60%.
- Advanced Ticketing: Smart routing, Customer 360, and more to create delightful experiences across channels.
- CRM Integrations: Advanced integration patterns for your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, as well as embedded CRM application.
Staffing and Efficiency
In an omni-channel call center environment, frontline agents have access to more detailed, real-time information, which greatly increases their call-handling efficiency and performance. This flexibility ensures their needs are met efficiently and builds a stronger connection with the business. One of the efficient ways to build and implement a rigorous process for your agents is to ensure tight integration of tools like chat, CRMs, and telecommunications without any hassle, ensuring streamlined processes and amplifying agent effectiveness.
