Make customer service easier.

Tools for voice integration, call monitoring and automation.

What is a contact center?

The contact center is the central point for an organization to manage all customer interactions across various channels. Their main purpose is to provide customers with efficient and effective technical support, customer service and sales assistance.

A contact center typically includes one or more call centers but may also include other types of customer contact channels, including email, webchat, and social media interactions. Additionally, organizations often integrate contact centers with their customer relationship management (CRM) strategies.
The importance of the contact center is growing day by day as customers increasingly expect organizations to be able to consistently get service through a variety of channels, not just over the phone. Contact centers employ an omnichannel approach that enables them to improve customer service, increase efficiency, and gain greater insight into customer behavior and needs, resulting in a better customer experience.

How does the contact center work?

Typically, contact centers include agents who handle omnichannel customer support, including phone, email, chat, Voice over IP (VoIP), and website support. A contact center is similar to a call center, but instead of just handling calls, customers are reached through their preferred channels.

Key features of the contact center include:

• Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) systems that enable contact center agents to increase the number of calls received while maintaining a positive customer experience (CX).
• Real-time reporting enables contact centers to observe and analyze agent performance and customer satisfaction in real-time across the various channels used.
• Customer service - Inbound and outbound phone support, chat, ticket and email support.
• Ticket creation - Easily create a ticket that tracks all customer phone calls and allows for quick follow ups.
• Call recording - Attach recorded conversations to each ticket automatically for easy reference.
• Interactive Voice Response- Ensure customers always reach the right agent at the right time with automatic call routing.

What are the benefits of a contact center?

• Saves time and money.

Contact centers allow customers to self-service and resolve their issues through two-way, keyword-driven instant messaging, text messaging, or communication with chatbots. This self-service reduces the time agents spend on the phone, reduces customer wait times and lowers overall costs.

• Better customer information.

Contact centers can enhance customer profiles. When customers interact with a call center or contact center, they share information about their personal preferences and behaviors, which agents can collect and use in future interactions to improve CX. Organizations can also integrate CRM software with contact centers to collect more customer data and conduct effective analysis.

• Improve CX.

Call center agents can collect data through calls, but the digital channels used by contact centers make the process easier and more efficient. Contact center software collects customer data from each channel used and compiles it into a customer profile. Since most contact center customers interact using multiple channels, the center collects more data. More data can allow contact centers to tailor CX to benefit specific callers and better route calls and other communications.

• Better use of interactive voice response systems.

Call centers use IVR as automated digital assistants that operate on the phone with voice prompts and keyboard input. IVRs in call centers often struggle to reach live agents and resolve issues effectively. However, contact centers take CX into account when creating IVRs. Contact center managers design IVRs to predict caller intent and direct callers to the most suitable agent. Other times, the IVR can resolve customer inquiries and issues without involving a live agent.