Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions 

Communicating with customers is easier than ever with omnichannel contact center solutions. Take the conversation from email to chat to phone call, all while keeping the details of the conversation saved from channel to channel. Better communication leads to higher customer satisfaction, which in turn is one of the best ways to retain customers. 

Whether you’re new to omnichannel contact centers or you want to upgrade your current software, read on to learn everything you need to know about omnichannel contact center solutions.  

What is an Omnichannel Contact Center?

An omnichannel contact center is kind of like an upgraded call center. Where a call center communicates with customers solely via phone, an omnichannel contact center uses multiple channels, such as voice, email, SMS, chat, and video call. Customers can reach agents in their preferred way to make purchases as well as solve issues.  

With all the channels of communication available, you might worry that customers will get lost from channel to channel. But the best part about omnichannel contact center solutions is the seamless way customer information is passed from channel to channel. That means if the customer asks a question via email, then continues the conversation over chat, notes from the first interaction will automatically be included with the second. Agents are able to review the entire conversation history, allowing them to help the customer more quickly. 

The most important channels for your company will be unique to your customer base. For example, if your target demographic is millennials, your base may reach you mainly via social media or web chat. Some of the most common channels included in an omnichannel contact center include:

• Live web chat messaging
• SMS messaging
• Email
• Voice 
• Web conferencing
• Messaging through social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Virtual faxing

Multichannel vs Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions 

Wondering how multichannel contact centers differ from omnichannel contact centers? Like an omnichannel contact center, a multichannel contact center uses multiple channels to communicate with customers. The major difference is that communications are not integrated in a multichannel contact center. 

This means that if a customer calls one day, then uses the web chat feature the next day, the history of the conversation is not connected. The customer will likely have to explain their issue again and again until the problem is resolved. For most customers, repeating themselves multiple times is a major annoyance and leads to more negative experiences. 

Another issue with multichannel contact centers is how inefficient the agents are working. One agent may have figured out how to help the customer, but because that information isn’t connected with the new channel, the new agent helping the customer cannot access the solution. 

Because omnichannel contact centers integrate all forms of communication, precious employee time and effort aren’t wasted. Customers are helped more quickly and leave with a more positive experience. 

How Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions Benefit Businesses 

When trying to decide whether or not to upgrade to an omnichannel contact center, you’re probably wondering what the benefits are for you. 

One of the first things to know is that customers absolutely love omnichannel contact centers. With all your communication channels in one place, customers can easily communicate with you in their preferred way. According to research by Aberdeen Group, companies that upgraded to an omnichannel contact center saw a 91% increase in customer retention. 

Some of the top benefits of omnichannel contact centers include:

• Higher customer retention rates
• Higher customer satisfaction
• Faster resolution of customer issues 
• Improved customer personalization
• Remote workforce optimization
• Better collection of data for analytics

Key Features of Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions

When shopping around for omnichannel contact center solutions, you’ll want to look for some of these key features:

• Omnichannel routing: Just like call routing, omnichannel routing lets administrators set up rules for how communications are distributed across all channels. Well-managed routing takes customers to the right department the first time. For example, a customer with a query about a product will be sent to an agent in the sales department, while a customer with an IT problem would be sent to an IT agent. Routing options typically include skills-based, round-robin, most idle, etc. 
• Unified interface: A unified interface allows agents to seamlessly move from channel to channel and access relevant customer information. 
• Customer insights: Access to customer insights help your agents provide customers a more personalized experience. Some of the most useful insights for your agents include customer info, interaction history, and account value metrics. 
• Analytics and reporting: Gathering data across the entire customer journey gives you access to important insights, such as where customers are coming from and preferred channels. You want to choose a contact center solution with strong analytics and customizable reports. 
• Workforce management and reporting: Workforce analytics and management help you manage your team more efficiently. Workforce management tools can be used to better distribute the workload, streamline agent scheduling, monitor current activity, and predict future trends. 

Best Providers of Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions 

With so many providers to consider, it can be difficult deciding which one is right for you. We’ve gathered our top picks for omnichannel contact center providers to help you determine the right fit for you. 

• Nextiva

As our top pick, Nextiva has it all. Seamless communication across all channels, powerful analytics, and built-in CRM. With an intuitive interface, your agents will easily switch between channels. Nextiva is also incredibly reliable, with the industry’s highest uptime of 99.999% and encryption features to keep your data secure. 

• Five9

Five9 is another highly reliable omnichannel contact center provider. Pricing is based on the number of seats, usage, and features, so you only pay for what you need. With an easy-to-use user interface and rapid deployment, you’ll be up and running quickly. Five9 supports voice, SMS, video calls, social media messaging, web chat, and email. Plus, speech analytics, workforce management tools, and multi-channel IVR, help you automate more processes and work more efficiently. 

• NICE CXone

NICE CXone is one of the leading Contact centers as a Service provider, with seamless self-service and agent-assisted options for customers and prebuilt CRM integrations. It’s a great option for both small to medium businesses and enterprise-level companies. 

• Talkdesk

If you’re in an industry with a high daily call volume, Talkdesk is a really great choice for you. Talkdesk is an end-to-end omnichannel contact center solution that will help you create a seamless experience across the customer journey. In addition to being incredibly reliable and scalable, Talkdesk also utilizes a number of security protocols to keep your data safe. 

• 8×8

With unlimited calls in the US and Canada, 8×8 is perfect for enterprise-level companies with high call volume. 

Best Practices for Your Omnichannel Contact Center

Employing these best practices will help you optimize your omnichannel contact center for the best customer experience. 

• Identify and focus on top communication channels: Although your omnichannel contact center lets you communicate with customers across a variety of channels, you still need to make sure you know which channel is your customer’s preferred channel. This will help you staff the right amount of agents to handle communications and allocate resources appropriately.
• Improve self-service options: Did you know that most customer service interactions start with self-service? From FAQs to interactive IVR menus, improving your self-service options will help customers help themselves effectively. That way, only those who actually need an agent will be contacting your contact center. 
• Remember to use social media: Roughly half of all consumers use Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms for customer service. Unfortunately, social media messaging is typically the most neglected channel. Make sure you’re utilizing automated responses to supply links to your FAQ/customer knowledge database. Additionally, you’ll make sure you assign agents to regularly check social media so customer messages don’t get lost.  
• Schedule automatic customer and agent reports: Most omnichannel contact center solutions offer analytics and reporting. But if you’re not using the reporting features, they do you no good. Automatic reports delivered to your inbox help you keep track of KPIs, such as hold time, first call resolution rate, call length, and more.  
• Optimize your IVR menu: Customers prefer speaking with a human agent. Long, complicated IVR menus are frustrating. Make sure your menu is short, and to the point so that customers can easily reach a live agent in the right department. Set up warm-transfers, where customers supply information about why they’re calling before being connected to an agent. 
• Map the full customer journey: Mapping the full customer journey entails tracking each interaction a customer has across the variety of channels your company uses. This helps you better serve your customers by understanding their behavior and preferences as well as where you need to improve. 

The Right Omnichannel Contact Center Solution for You

The right omnichannel contact center solution can make all the difference in providing a better customer experience. You want seamless integration across channels, a variety of features, and a high degree of reliability. 

If you need help finding the perfect omnichannel contact center solution, you can count on OneStop Communications. We work with the nation’s top providers to get you the best service possible. Click here to get your free quote. We serve the entire southwest including Atlanta, Miami, Birmingham, Orlando, and more.  

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