Due to various technological developments, new communication channels are emerging, such as different types of social media and webchat. This leads to changing consumer desires; they want to choose the channel through which they contact organisations. Call centres take these wishes seriously and strive to cater to them as effectively as possible. Below are some facts highlighted from the Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report.
What are the consumers' needs?
To determine whether call centres truly meet consumer needs, their preferences were first researched. For example, Generation Y, born between 1980 and 2000, prefers different forms of communication than the phone call. This generation has grown up with mobile phones, computers, and social media. Therefore, they prefer to make contact via email or SMS (42.3%), social media (36.4%), or through apps (31.9%). Even the older generation, born between 1960 and 1989, increasingly favours these communication methods. This results in the gap between phone calls, emails, texts, and social media becoming smaller. In contrast, the generation before 1944 and the Baby Boomers, born between 1945 and 1960, prefer to contact an organisation by phone; 55.6% and 59.6% respectively. Therefore, various contact forms need to be available for these different generations.
What do call centres offer?
Research shows that call centres offer various self-service options, for instance through websites. This allows Generation Y to, for example, avoid phone calls. Half of the call centres themselves prioritise reducing the number of calls with consumers. Of course, there are also other contact options available. Currently, consumers can contact 32.2% of companies through social media. 28.6% have a contact channel via SMS. And 19.8% of organisations offer smartphone app access. European call centres have also widely adopted webchat as a communication tool, with 63.2% of organisations providing this channel compared to 27.9% worldwide. In this regard, Europe leads in the development of webchat solutions.
The shift towards contact centres
Consumers enjoy seamlessly switching between these different channels. They expect this to happen effortlessly, without having to repeat their information or retrace steps. Call centres must unobtrusively meet this expectation. The research also shows that 82% of organisations are beginning to see customer service as a distinctive service to acquire loyal customers. It is therefore important that the call centre becomes an extension of the organisation. This can be easily outsourced to specialists, allowing organisations to focus on their core business while customer contacts are professionally handled through various channels. Can we then conclude that traditional call centres are gradually transforming into contact centres where an omnichannel customer experience is paramount?
