Alongside AI, automation is quickly emerging as one of the most valuable technologies for the contact center. While it might not be possible to automate excellent customer experiences fully, the right tools can make a massive difference to a company’s success.
After all, contact center agents are dealing with an ever-evolving range of challenges in today’s world, from increased contact channels to complex workflows and rising customer expectations. Automation tools can give businesses a serious edge. They drive improvements in productivity and efficiency, improve employee experiences, and pave the way for higher customer satisfaction rates.
Here are some of the automation trends worth watching in the coming year.
1. Automation Aligns Crucial Tools
90% of customer service leaders agree that customers have higher expectations than ever since the pandemic. Customers want engaging, personalized, and convenient experiences on various channels, and they want them fast.
Automation technology can help bridge the gaps between disparate systems agents use to deliver exceptional service, boosting productivity and business results. With automated solutions, companies can rapidly surface CRM data in a contact center platform or on a wallboard to inform employees. They can also align their UCaaS and CCaaS tools to boost internal collaboration.
2. Advanced Self-Service Tools
Today’s customers want access to immediate service, even if that means forgoing a conversation with an agent. To create the intuitive self-service experiences today’s buyers are looking for, companies need a combination of automation and AI.
Used together, AI and automation allow companies to create powerful bots and virtual assistants to guide customers through various interactions. These tools can automatically process payments, help customers find knowledge base articles, and troubleshoot problems. Plus, the rise of generative AI means these bots are growing more intuitive, creative, and impactful all the time.
3. Improved Call Routing
Companies have been investing in basic levels of automation for their call-routing strategies for years. Intuitive tools ensure companies can direct customers to agents based on factors like their availability or their focus area. However, the combination of AI and automation in the contact center landscape is taking routing possibilities to the next level.
With AI algorithms, automated systems can now examine a customer’s previous interactions, purchase history, preferences, and other factors to help determine which agent will be best suited to handle their call. Plus, the same tools can automatically deliver call-handling insights to supervisors, ensuring they can schedule team members effectively in the future.
4. Collecting Insights Automatically
Data is an essential resource for every contact center. It helps companies track the performance of their teams, understand the needs of their customers, and create more compelling buyer journeys. However, collecting and using data effectively can be difficult when relying on manual processes. That’s where automation comes in.
Automated tools can consistently track important metrics and KPIs in the contact center, helping companies monitor everything from average handling times to CSAT rates. Plus, some devices can even automatically deliver up-to-date data to employee dashboards and wallboards, helping to keep employees motivated and aligned.
5. Improving Compliance with Automation
Finally, automation solutions in the contact center are helping companies to adhere to changing regulatory guidelines and compliance requirements. Automated tools can monitor employee adherence to certain communication standards and alert supervisors and managers if a problem occurs. They can also automatically record crucial conversations.
Some automated tools can also remove personally identifiable or sensitive information from recordings according to policies set by a business. This helps to minimize the risks associated with data management in the contact center.
The Future of Contact Center Automation
Automation is having a significant impact on virtually every aspect of the contact center. It’s making employees more productive and efficient and helping organizations to deliver more powerful experiences to their customers.
Fortunately, unlocking the benefits of contact center automation doesn’t have to be as complex as it seems. With support from Geomant, companies can start experimenting with a host of automation trends, from automated wallboards to powerful self-service chatbots.
Contact Geomant today to learn more about how you can embrace the power of automation for your contact center.