When most people think of a contact centre they think of rows and rows of staff sitting in an office answering calls. But it’s time this archaic and inefficient view had an overhaul. A contact centre should not be a phone bank that merely waits for people to phone in with a complaint, it should be a driving force of customer service, with call agents focused on consumer engagement.
Cloud technology has enabled many things for companies at every point in the business life cycle, and cloud contact centres are no exception. A recent Frost & Sullivan report* highlighted the future of the local cloud contact centre solutions market, and looked at how cloud technology can help businesses to speak to their customers in a productive and timely way. Below are just three key reasons as to why any company with a contact centre should look to implement a cloud solution.
Reduce costs
Often the upfront fees of setting up a contact centre can be overwhelming for a small-medium sized business owner, however, they can be a necessity when setting up a standard call centre. The primary benefit of the cloud-based solution is that it is incredibly easy to set up and requires minimal infrastructure, hardware and software. This is because cloud contact centres are decentralised and don’t require a specific location. With 70% of Australia’s 2.1 million SMBs using cloud technology, but only 20% using paid services, there is a huge opportunity for SMBs to tap into this growth area and contact their customers more consistently and effectively.
Reduce and manage risks
One key benefit of using cloud-based technology is that your information isn’t stored in one place. This can help businesses to manage risk if something goes wrong and let people know about the situation instantly. There’s nothing worse for a corporation than if there is a disaster, such as a flood, or even something smaller, like a power outage or office move and your communication is down. By having decentralised cloud storage, like a cloud contact centre solution, you can access your database remotely and keep your customers informed in a timely manner at a lower cost than a traditional solution.
Flexibility in adding agents
It’s no secret that business is unpredictable and having to plan for your customer interaction is a difficult task for any owner, especially for those that have a seasonal sales cycle. Both underestimating and overestimating resources have their own implications and neither is efficient. Underestimating resources can require increased workloads and potential for agitated customers due to significant wait times while overestimating resources can result in unnecessary costs. Cloud contact centre solutions give businesses the ability to scale up and down instantly, alleviating this issue. This ability is an integral part of why a cloud contact centre is incredibly important in the digital age, as businesses rarely have a complete line of sight in the modern dynamic business environment.
Many businesses have been slow to adopt cloud contact centres, however in order to maintain premium customer service it’s time to change. Digital disruption is upon us; and in an aspect of business as important as customer service, businesses can’t afford to ignore solutions that will make them more efficient. Through implementing a number of simple strategies, such as a cloud contact centre, a business can become more flexible in their customer service mix and help to encourage business growth.
*Cloud Contact Centre, A Disruptive Force in the Contact Centre Industry: Frost & Sullivan 2015