The benefits of offering multiple customer contact channels
The massive increase in digital and mobile use has changed the way brands and their customers communicate forever. And today’s discerning online customers want it all! They want personalised interaction with a customer service agent, as well as the convenience of 24/7 access to brand information and services.
In short, a traditional contact centre, with just voice or email support, no longer cuts it on its own. Multi-channel contact centres that offer support via voice, chat, text, email, social media, and mobile apps are fast becoming the only acceptable norm.
If that sounds like a hassle, here are some compelling benefits of multiple contact channels to help convince you!
Better engagement with your customers
It’s really quite obvious: the better equipped you are to accommodate customers’ channel-hopping, the better your interaction with them will be. This is particularly relevant for younger customers, who switch devices frequently.
Bear in mind that different channels have their own functions, and you need to establish effective customer engagement across all of them. This can only be done via a multi-channel customer support centre.
Build a single cohesive view of your customer
Perhaps the greatest benefit of multiple customer contact channels is that all customer information is streamed to a single place. This means that though the customer might hop from a social media site, to FAQs, to live-chat or voice support, you still have a single record for that customer and their interaction with your business. All this information is immediately accessible to the customer care agent dealing with them.
Related content: What is customer intelligence, and how can you use it to grow your business?
Give more effective, faster customer support
Today’s customers are impatient! They expect instant gratification. By being instantly available at all customer touchpoints, businesses can gratify that expectation, and also resolve many customer problems or issues proactively before they escalate.
By having immediate access to customer info, agents can give informed and intelligent instant support across all channels.
Craft more successful marketing promotions
These days, marketing campaigns and promotions need to have a multi-channel scope to reach as wide an audience as possible. As customers channel-hop, their browsing, comments, or questions can be tracked and managed.
This enables customer support agents to be proactive by answering customer questions online and directing the interaction in the right direction. Should the customer contact the business, the agents are already informed about the services and products that the customer previously showed an interest in.
Maximise up-selling and cross-selling opportunities
Having access to customers’ browsing and buying history and interests, customer support agents are in a much stronger position. Not only are they able to offer better advice, but they are also better able to make relevant suggestions about other products/services that might appeal to that customer.
Being armed with information about customers will ensure that their suggestions are realistic and relevant to the client’s needs. Because of this, customers are much more likely to react positively.
Agents are empowered to maximise their own performance
As the saying goes, knowledge is power! Having access to customer information garnered from multiple channels empowers agents to do their job well and with confidence. They are better able to multitask and move speedily across multiple channels – just like your customers do.
Improved contact centre analytics
Having easy access to customer information and history ensures more accurate and dependable customer analytics. This data can be fed back to management and the marketing department to help with strategical planning. This enables businesses to adjust and ‘tweak’ their services, products, and marketing/sales tactics, based on accurate information about the expectations of their target customers.
Build a positive and attractive brand image
Your customers should see you as an approachable, caring, responsible, and customer-first organisation. In order to build this all-important image, you have to be available on all the communication platforms that your customers frequent.
The easier you are to speak to, the more likely customers are to engage with you – opening the door to new or repeat business. And that, after all, is what it’s about.
Okay, I’m convinced! What now?
The biggest challenge in offering multiple customer contact channels is to ensure that these channels are seamlessly integrated to present a unified and cohesive image of the business. For many businesses this is a thorny and problematic issue.
So, what to do?
Outsourcing all these vital support services to a dedicated customer support provider like the Digital Customer Care Company is the simplest solution. Partnering with us will give your business instant access to our skilled and experienced staff, as well as our cutting-edge multi-channel support infrastructure and software.
We have many customers across various industries and welcome any new challenge!
If you’re looking for a reputable, experienced, and cost-effective multi-channel contact centre service provider with a proven track record, look no further. Contact us today and start engaging with your customers like never before.
