Cost center today, CX innovator tomorrow

The successful contact centers of tomorrow will no longer be cost centers whose main function is customer support. Instead, they will become customer service experience innovators whose focus will be to improve loyalty and drive new revenue. Transforming this part of an established business however, will require overcoming significant obstacles presented by the realities of running today’s contact centers, and the challenges faced by the executives in charge. The good news is that it can be done. With a will to change, the right technology and integrated predictive analytic solutions, tomorrow’s contact centers will provide cutting-edge support and achieve the next level of customer experience – one that will become the new norm. 

In order to transform, companies will need to rethink their paradigms, such as:

• Changing our mindset - thinking customers, not just interactions. This requires optimizing at the customer level and determining the right channel, the right workforce, and the right content for each interaction. This mindset will not only improve the economics of the business but enable contact center executives to attain the balance they constantly struggle with, between reducing cost to serve and improving the topline, while ensuring an outstanding customer experience
   
• Driving seamless customer experiences throughout the customer’s journey across channels—solving the technology challenge without reinventing the wheel. This requires rethinking the technology paradigm so that it effectively leverages all of the channel specific investments in technology the business has already made and focuses on data ingestion, analysis and action as opposed to one or the other
   
• Leveraging operational predictive analytic solutions to transform the experience and drive key business metrics. This requires rethinking the analytic paradigm from one that focuses less on reporting and reactive rear view mirror responses to one that is forward looking, driven by predictive analytics designed to positively impact the business
   
• Making voice of the customer (VOC) actionable. This requires rethinking the VOC paradigm from surveys, perception data, and ad hoc reactive analyses to using broader data sources which include both structured and unstructured data, as well as real time data ingestion and ongoing active pattern recognition

As contact center executives prepare for the future, they should be making decisions that are driven by the belief that contact centers are ready to lead a paradigm shift and drive transformative customer experiences for companies and customers.