Is on-screen clutter getting in the way of good CX?

5 Ways to deliver a super-connected agent and customer experience

White paper

puzzel.com

ContentsExecutive Overview

A clear line of sight – it’s time to tidy the desktop

Easy switching between customer enquiries

Extend social media capabilities

Integration with partner systems for vital information

Future proofing for an omni-channel experience

The 10 Key benefits of new agent applications

Conclusion

5 Ways to all-round connectivity:

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Executive Overview

Technology is a wonderful thing. By automating business processes and providing a clearer view of what really matters, it certainly makes life easier. However, just as the advent of electronic communications failed to deliver on the promise of the paperless office, administration remains a major barrier to delivering good customer service in contact centres.

In fact, recent research by Call Centre Helper1 in the UK highlighted that contact centres waste over 40% of their time handling administrative tasks instead of servicing customers. Much of this time is spent by agents switching between screens and on post contact wrap-up, including updating different enterprise systems. The same research showed that less than 10% of contact centres integrate their customer communication channels.

In light of the above, it appears that contact centres have little hope of supporting what Customer Contact Week Digital2 calls the ‘connected customer’ who is ‘well informed and practical, values personalisation, expects immediate results and wants authenticity’. The latest findings from this global online community and research hub for contact centre professionals reveal that only 20 percent of businesses allow their customers to move between channels without repeating themselves and yet 50% of customers always need to repeat themselves.What this really means is that today’s ‘connected customer’ needs a ‘connected contact centre’ to match, where the aim is to create a 360-degree view of the customer to predict and anticipate their needs. The first step is to focus on creating a better and far simpler agent experience by getting rid of desktop clutter. The next step is to take a fresh look at the humble agent interface.

Amazingly, the agent interface is often over-looked and yet it offers the perfect de-cluttering solution when supported by the right technology. Recent advancements in agent applications are easily accessible, crystal clear and simple to use. They also help agents to clean up their messy screens to produce a single contextual view of customer interactions by bringing together all channels and systems into one place.

This white paper outlines 5 ways to create a connected and vastly improved CX using the latest agent desktop applications.

A clear line of sight – it’s time to tidy the desktop 1Take a look at the typical office worker, who do you trust? The one with neat stacks of files on their desk or their colleague with so many post-it notes and pieces of paper scattered everywhere that they can’t even find their keyboard? Rightly or wrongly, people with messy desks appear to be disorganised and as a result, less productive. The same applies to the agent desktop – how can you rely on agents to focus 100% on the customer if their screens are full of pop-ups and a multitude of different applications?

Clutter is also damaging to both agent and business performance. How are agents supposed to stay confident and motivated to deliver excellent CX when they have to flick between countless screens to answer customer enquiries? Think of the revenues lost by agents wasting valuable call time cutting and pasting bits of information from a myriad of spreadsheets to answer calls while other customers are left waiting in the queue!

For faster set-up and to ensure your agents are up and running in no-time with minimal training and effort, look for a vendor that offers a collection of ready-made widgets.

1. They remove on-screen clutter by supporting direct integration between enterprise systems and agent screens through widgets. Customisable and flexible, widgets allow every agent to be presented with the information and functionality most relevant to them in any given situation without switching screens or resorting to pop-ups. This provides a single view of customer conversations that increases agent confidence, empowering employees to provide a highly personalised and satisfying customer experience at all times.

2. Through integration and automation, the latest agent applications guide advisors through the work process to ensure they perform efficiently. They are flexible and practical to work with and make activity and performance visible at the individual, team and corporate level with rich, real-time and historical information displays.

A tidy desktop equals a tidy mind and a clear view of customer interactions, essential to delivering great CX. It’s time for a good clear-out. Fortunately, the latest agent applications offer the perfect solution in two ways:

The perfect solution is out there

Customers having to repeat themselves remains one of the biggest bugbears in contact centres, so it should come as no surprise that research by Accenture that was published by SuperOffice3 found that 89% of customers get frustrated because they need to repeat their issues to multiple representatives. What is more frustrating is that technology does not necessarily make the situation any easier. Think of the number of times you have gone through a 5-step IVR menu only to be asked the same questions when you reach a live agent.

All customers want is for brands to recognise them when they call and to give them consistent levels of service, whatever the channel. The latest agent solutions integrate with major CRM applications, giving agents a single view of customer conversations. From contact information, activity history and complete case notes, agents can focus on interactions for the first-time fix variety, with minimal subsequent follow-up calls.

Most importantly, agents no longer have to switch between applications to get customers the answers they need. The superior functionality of today’s agent applications means that each customer interaction is handled via a separate tab which is opened automatically. This provides easy switching between channels and customer enquiries, whatever the channel while allowing agents to deal with multiple simultaneous interactions at any one time.

Agents can even customise their screens and highlight the functionality tabs they use most frequently such as queue overview, queue details and personal queues as well as identity and verification tabs for specific partners or customers.

The good news is that against such negative findings positive customer journeys are a beacon of success. A good customer journey is where the contact centre makes the customer feel valued because the agent knows exactly who they are, what they have bought in the past and what they might wish to try in the future.

Customers of a well known multi-channel clothes retailer where in their own words ‘style meets joy’ and ‘charm comes as standard’, will recognise great CX. Whether shopping using their catalogue or online, customers are made to special every time even if the contact is for simple product information through to placing a new order or to arranging returns as a result of trying on clothes in the comfort of their own home. The whole process is seamless.

When good CX stands out like a beacon of light

Easy switching between customer enquiries 2

Extend social media capabilities3In the words of social media management experts Sprout Social4, “Any customer, regardless of money or status, has the opportunity to take a brand to task with 140 characters.” This is what the company calls the new ‘call-out culture’. They have discovered that 81% of consumers say social media has increased the accountability for business with 46% of people using social media to call-out brands (rising to 56% for Millennials) while 55% of consumers admit calling out brands on social media to get a resolution or response.

The viral nature of Facebook and Twitter has the power to make or break corporate reputations, a compelling business case for contact centres looking to extend their social media capabilities. The good news is the latest agent applications enable contact centres to become more flexible and responsive by providing a far greater choice of social media communication options for customers. For example, they link directly to the latest WhatsApp Messenger and consumer review website Trustpilot.com. They can also scale readily to add new channels rapidly as they appear on the social media networking scene.

Investing in social media also makes it easier to monitor social media conversations, both good and bad, as they happen and to respond swiftly to negative feedback before it goes viral and does untold damage.

• The consumer electronics giant was forced to end production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in October of 2016 after faulty devices began exploding across the globe • As pictures and stories of the damaged phones swarmed social newsfeeds, the company’s reputation was called into question • After the recall, Samsung went into full-blown crisis management mode. It released full- page newspaper ads owning up and apologising for the issue, then launched a series of TV ads featuring engineers discussing the safety and quality testing of their latest product releases • Their commitment to transparency was so great that they even released the results of their investigation into the faulty devices, detailing their newly-instated safety measures to prevent future problems • Despite the initial drop in sales, Samsung’s comprehensive response led to their highest third quarter profits in three years.

Get the Samsung factor

Embrace the new call-out culture and get the Samsung factor. Start by de-cluttering the agent desktop and linking the widest possible range of social media communication options to the same interface. Just be sure your preferred agent application has enough flexibility to allow an open-door policy to new social media channels in the future.

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Certainly, a negative customer experience shared with a potentially global audience can be damaging for a brand’s reputation—but there is a silver lining. After a call-out, all eyes are on your brand. Because even though a portion of a customer’s intention is to simply air frustrations, a majority of people want to see what type of response, if any, the brand will provide.

Smart organisations use negative social media publicity and turn it into a proactive and positive business opportunity. Follow the lead of Samsung, a real-life success story in how to take back control of a bad social media conversation.

Turning negatives into positives

Integration with partner systems for vital information4Behind the scenes, contact centre solutions work hard to connect seamlessly with important CRM knowledgebases and partner systems to enable critical functionality such as email and ticketing. This cuts down on desktop clutter, provides a holistic view of the customer and helps agents to deliver a super-connected service at every stage of the customer journey. Easy access to critical customer data and contact history allows a more personalised response and greater customer satisfaction, while an integrated clear view of customer interactions aids decision-making and allows proactive management of response times.

Modern agent applications link effortlessly to selected third parties and knowledgebases to accelerate an agent’s ability to improve CX all in one place:

1. Information on orders, stock availability and delivery times are instantly available.

2. Security - for contact centres handling personal or sensitive data, particularly with regard to payments, integration with Payment Service Providers (PSPs) means agents can switch freely between applications without having to make changes to other payment integrations, saving time and boosting security levels.

3. What is more, today’s agent screens support multiple social media channel feeds including WhatsApp Messenger and consumer review website Trustpilot.com. This instant access allows agents to discuss products and handle enquiries at the same time as talking to the customer – similar to taking a friend shopping.

One agent application - 3 major benefits

Future proofing for an omnichannel experience5Adaptability is a critical success factor for contact centres today and team leaders should hire carefully, selecting agents who are versatile, quick-thinking and dynamic. Only then can contact centres truly thrive (rather than merely survive) in an environment where consumer demands and communications channels are changing at break-neck speed. Our final piece of advice in this white paper is to give agents the best chance of success by working with a vendor who shares a forward-looking approach to product development.

The best agent applications have been developed with the future in mind as customer expectations increasingly demand a sophisticated, seamless service from contact centres – whatever the channel. Look for technology that is designed to support a variety of customer communication channels, systems and advances in Softphone today now and with tomorrow’s innovations in mind.

Many agent applications are not fit for purpose because they are not designed with the agent in mind. For example, screen navigation is often slower than the agent-to-customer dialogue, so the agent does not enter data directly and instead uses paper and pen, and fills in data afterwards.

Screens should be dynamic and change almost on a weekly basis to meet customer and business demand.

1. Modern and user-friendly interfaces help with on-boarding and training due to easy recognition

2. Agents are presented with the information and functionality most relevant to them from one unified user interface to provide a more personalised and effective customer interaction

3. Easy switching between customer enquiries, whatever the channel, to allow agents to deal with multiple simultaneous interactions at any one time

4. Intuitive desktop applications designed from the agent’s perspective using widgets to interface with important tools and enterprise systems

5. Improved customer experience as a result of more confident, motivated and empowered agents

6. Seamless integration and customisation using a collection of ready-made widgets for fast set-up and training

7. Access to useful partner widgets for greater systems integration

8. Improved inclusivity through support for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 that make Internet content more accessible to people with disabilities including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities

9. A new, stable and future-proof Softphone solution

10. A new and future-proof social media solution with expanded channel options to keep updated and in control.

The 10 Key benefits of new agent desktop applications

Here are the top 10 benefits of the latest agent applications:

Why let on-screen clutter get in the way of good CX? The answer is closer than you might think. Begin with a positive mindset. Decluttering the agent desktop is a great place to start leading to a tidy mind and even tidier profits. Next, harness the power of omni-channel and social media with technology that brings together all the tools and information agents need in a single, flexible and user-friendly interface. Finally, deploy the latest agent applications and follow the five-point plan outlined in this white paper to deliver a super-connected agent experience and improve CX now and in the future. For more information, visit www.puzzel.com

Conclusion

References

1. Call Centre Helper – “What contact centres are doing right now (2018 edition)” https://www.callcentrehelper.com/survey-report-what-contact-centres-are-doing-right-now-2018-edition-135068.htm

2. Customer Contact Week Digital in conjunction with Customer Management Practice – “How to choose an omnichannel provider” (author: Kindra Cooper) https://www.customercontactweekdigital.com/customer-experience/whitepapers/how-to-choose-an-omnichannel-provider

3. SuperOffice 12th April 2019 – “37 Customer Experience strategies you need to know for 2019” - https://www.superoffice.com/blog/customer-experience-statistics/

4. Sprout Social https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/q3-2017/ - The Q3 2017 Sprout Social Index “Call-out culture: people, brands and the social media struggle.”

Puzzel is an omni-channel, cloud contact centre solution with the flexibility and scalability to support smaller enterprises and global corporations. Voice, e-mail, SMS, web-chat and

social media channels are all managed in a single, easy-to-use application. Advanced widget integration enables agents

to handle multiple customer interactions across different channels all from the same screen, to provide a complete

omni-channel customer experience.

With over 20 years of pure cloud experience Puzzel was named as a Challenger in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Contact

Center as a Service report3 for the fourth consecutive year. The report highlighted the company’s strong growth, functional capabilities, strengths in standards and compliance, customer service and support. Puzzel is a complete customer interaction

solution with a proven track-record in multi-channel solutions.

For more information please visit www.puzzel.com

About Puzzel