Stop juggling contact center channels with omnichannel cloud management
Omnichannel cloud contact centers like Amazon Connect provide hosted customer service functions that handle customer contact from multiple communication channels at the same time without skipping a beat. No more having to manage each communication channel separately and merging records manually. Omnichannel cloud services do both the tracking and customer management work for you while keeping customers constantly in the loop on single or multiple channels simultaneously.
This guide provides tips on using omnichannel cloud services to manage multiple, personalized customer communication channels for improved customer experiences.
What is seamless channel management?
Seamless channel management relies on omnichannel cloud services. An omnichannel cloud customer service or contact center includes cloud-based software that manages customer interactions from multiple channels. Channels include SMS, email, chat, phone, and social media. Omnichannel cloud services not only manage channel communication but also track customer use data and customer experience analytics.
Omnichannel cloud services integrate functions into a single seamless experience that provides seamless management and customer tracking regardless of variances in channel contact points. For example, if a customer uses a chat function to communicate an issue with an order, then later emails or texts the agent or another contact method for service, all of the responses and messages are tracked together. No need to manually merge records or customer data, the omnichannel cloud manages it for you. Customer service agents save time and handle more service calls or contacts in a reliable, consistent, and organized manner.
Customers love organized and reliable communication. They want consistent answers without having to repeat their issue or story over and over again using different communication channels. By storing customer history, omnichannel management provides the background data that enables personalized and customized customer communication. Personalized communication builds customer trust and loyalty in conjunction with customer experience.
What tasks do multiple channel contact systems perform?
Omnichannel cloud contact center systems perform a variety of integrated tasks that allow businesses to create internal and external business value. Internal and external business value comes from improving the employee experience, customer experience, and customer data analytics while saving both time and money.
The key to an effective omnichannel cloud contact system is integrated software functionality.
Key software functionality includes:
- ACD – Automatic Call Distributor or Intelligent Routing: ACD routes channel contacts of all types to agents based on channel or agent expertise.
- Workforce Management Systems: Forecast channel volume and provide accurate agent scheduling to handle various channel volumes.
- Agent-facing tools: Provide agents with customer data, including all communication history and outcomes.
- Seamless Channel Management: Cloud services that combine data from all channels and respond accurately to all channel types.
- Constant Data Gathering: Omnichannel service interactions follow the customer through their entire customer journey, tracking data constantly.
- Integrated, single-tool desktop applications: Agents use a single tool that provides accurate and fast access to customer data.
Omnichannel cloud services also provide CRM tool integration to keep customer data synched and accessible in a single location. All customer history regardless of communication channels used is merged into a single customer record. Custom API integration typically provides additional customization that creates a personalized customer experience.
Omnichannel cloud services also manage customer experience and data coming from different access points like websites, mobile apps, and social media accounts. Regardless of the path the customer follows, their data and information remain accessible in a single source.
Customers love options, so having as many contact options as possible makes business sense. Mobile apps are quickly taking the front seat from web applications but having both remains key. Same with social media: There is more than one social media avenue for customers to connect with a business – keep all paths leading to a single, unified customer experience with omnichannel management.
Benefits of customer and contact center management
There are multi-faceted benefits to managing customer service and contact centers with omnichannel cloud services. Each benefit builds the business by improving new customer attraction rates, building customer loyalty and trust, and supporting customer retention. Omnichannel cloud services management supports business sustainability by personalizing and improving the overall customer experience.
By building effective customer management systems, a business’s brand reputation improves. Customers come to know the business as organized, reliable, on top of technology, and highly responsive. Customers want to be known, recognized, and treated in a consistently positive manner. Effective and personalized customer communication generates additional business revenue.
Other benefits of using omnichannel cloud management services include:
- Reduced customer service operating costs
- Improved customer service agent productivity
- Always-on technology improves business growth
The link between improved customer relationships and omnichannel cloud services
Business scalability, sustainability, and profit revolve around customer experience. Seamless channel management grows the customer experience in a positive direction. Seamless management provides better organization by using integrated software functions that enable an always-connected experience for agents and customers. The benefits include new customer growth as well as existing customer retention through improved and personalized customer experiences.
Organizing and collecting customer data is essential to creating a consistent and personalized message to customers. Omnichannel does it all by keeping customer data in a single, accessible location regardless of what communication channels are used. Build a stronger brand and sustainable business by providing organized, personalized, and consistent customer experiences.
AWS provides tools for omnichannel cloud services and CloudHesive provides the expertise needed for support, assistance, and best AWS product practices.
CloudHesive provides support and deep expertise in using the Amazon Web Services cloud for the best business advantage. As an Amazon Managed Services partner and Amazon Premier Partner, CloudHesive helps businesses take full advantage of all the features AWS offers including omnichannel cloud service management for customer service and contact centers. See what other customers have to say in case studies available from CloudHesive.
