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Contact Centers of today face multiple challenges which disrupt their operations, making them less efficient and more burdensome to run. Fortunately, the latest technologies can help them address the problems they face. It’s time customer-facing teams adopt the latest technologies to address prevailing issues.
In the fast-paced business world of today, customer service has never been as critical for organizations as they face increased competition, stringent regulations, and technology adoption. In a bid to stand out among the competition, organizations are seeking to ensure better customer service through their most promising channel – the Contact Center.
As per Statista, the BPO/Contact Center industry has experienced volatility since the beginning of the millennium. The market size touched $36 bn in 2004 and then drastically fell to $22 bn in 2010, before hitting a peak of $36.5 bn in 2012. The year 2017 saw the value hit $24.6 billion and as per reports, the industry is looking at an upward trend by 2021.
The industry faces problems and challenges. Let’s take a look at some of the top issues faced by Contact Centers globally.
Increasing Customer Expectations
Undoubtedly a big challenge, meeting customer expectations is becoming more difficult. Today’s customers are smarter, more knowledgeable and are time constrained. Fulfilling the demands of these customers has become an arduous task, as dissatisfied customers pose an increasing risk to contact centers.
Higher Attrition Rates
Hectic work schedules and challenging circumstances put a heavy strain on Call Center executives. Moreover, a lack of understanding customer issues and how to solve their problems is putting pressure on executives who are caught off guard. The resulting employee attrition puts management under great pressure to handle customers on the one hand, and employees on the other.
Laws and Regulations
Insurance companies, Banks, and other Financial Institutions are often hit with fraud, both from internal and external sources. In addition, local compliance and regulations put heavy pressure on Contact Centers to eliminate fraud while adhering to compliance and regulations. The challenge is to ensure that no agent breaks the rules and norms laid down by respective governments as this can have a negative impact not only financially, but also on the reputation and brand.
Multiple Communication Channels
Social Media penetration has opened more channels of communication and has made it easier for customers to speak up about issues. Email and text communication adds additional pressure. Social media reviews spread like wildfire, complicating situations and making it difficult to address issues. These channels of communication divide the energies and focus of Contact Centers.
Technological Adoption
The call center of 2018 is very different than the call center of 2000 – higher contact volumes, multiple demands, complex issues, internet shutdowns, and impatient and demanding customers are disrupting Contact Center operations. This makes it even more difficult for management to streamline operations and cultivate efficiencies. Technological adoption is vital to curtail these issues, and yet implementation can feel daunting.
Speech Analytics with its ability to analyze 100% of interactions and provide valuable customer and business insights is helping Contact Centers solve these challenges and achieve higher operational efficiency while building better customer relationships.
To know more about how Speech Analytics helps contact centers achieve operational efficiency, click Speech Analytics for Contact Centers & BPOs – Revitalizing Customer Experience for the whitepaper.