9 ways the best cloud contact center software can help improve customer experience

Organizations that use the best cloud contact center software know that it's not just a tool to keep the calls rolling through and manage labor costs. Sure, it can do those tasks well, but so can most contact center solutions. What really sets the best cloud contact center software apart from the rest of the pack is its ability to enhance the customer experience. Features like omnichannel routing, self-service tools, intelligent analytics, and more, provide companies with the ability to offer their customers unique, personalized interactions that can increase satisfaction and loyalty.

Here are 9 examples of how the best cloud contact center software can improve customer experience.

1. Channel choice

It's no secret consumers value choice. Just look at how many ice cream flavors there are! This desire for options also extends to how customers and businesses interact. In today's digital world, people want communication options, like text (SMS) and email, that mirror their everyday lifestyles. Organizations can meet these consumer expectations if they're using the right software. The result is a better customer experience.

2. Seamless omnichannel experiences

Good agents are vested in their performance and want to know if they are hitting KPI targets. The best cloud call center software includes agent dashboards that make this data available on the agent desktop. It brings transparency to results and empowers agents to take control of their performance.

The best cloud contact center software takes channel choice one step further by integrating all the channels so customers can have seamless omnichannel experiences. This means that customers can move across channels within the same interaction without having to repeat themselves or start from scratch. For example, if a customer is texting with an agent about a product issue and decides that a phone conversation would be a better way to provide the details, all is not lost - the phone agent will be able to see a transcript of the text conversation. This eliminates the experience-killing phenomenon of having to start over.

Here's another resource about omnichannel:

• 7 Steps to Deliver Digital-first Omnichannel Experiences

3. Self-service

Part of the channel choice that consumers value includes the option to solve their own problems. Customers don't always want to interact with agents, especially when they have a simple issue. The best cloud contact center software includes self-service capabilities. For example, when a customer uses an interactive voice response (IVR) system, they might be able to check how much they owe on their utility bill and then pay the balance, no agent required. However, if the customer decides he needs agent assistance, the IVR can painlessly transfer him so he can continue on his optimized journey.

Check out these additional resources about self-service:

• Contact Center Self-Service: How Valvoline Drives Customer Acquisition & Retention
• NICE CXone with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Self-Service Bots and IVR

4. 24/7 service

These self-service capabilities also enable organizations to provide 24/7 support, so customers can receive help even when the contact center is closed for the day. Life still happens after hours, and automation tools are a solution that can enhance the customer experience by providing convenient coverage. In addition to IVRs, chatbots can provide 24/7 support for certain transactions. Even if they can't solve a customer's complex problem, chatbots can let them know that they'll receive a call from an agent first thing in the morning, providing the customer with some peace of mind.

5. Being matched to the best agent

An agent can make or break a specific customer experience, so matching every customer and contact to the best available agent is critical. "Best" doesn't mean the most tenured or the friendliest agent. Rather, it's about proficiency with specific skills. The best cloud contact center software uses intelligent, skills-based routing so that, for example, a Spanish speaking customer with a policy question is matched to a Spanish speaking policy expert.

6. Less time waiting in queue

"I like to wait a long time in queue," said nobody ever. People really don't like to wait for very long when trying to get help, and the best cloud contact center software makes sure they don't have to. Best-in-class workforce management solutions improve the accuracy of volume forecasting and then use that information to build optimized agent schedules. Sufficient staffing translates to lower wait times. What if there just aren't enough agents to cover demand? Good software can offer customers in queue the option to receive a callback.

Learn more about forecasting and scheduling:

• Forecasting with Artificial Intelligence
• Workforce management best practices for the work-from-home contact center
• NICE CXone Workforce Management

7. Letting customers speak their minds

People want to be heard, and that especially includes customers. After all, if they're paying a company for a product or service, the least that business can do is give them a way to provide feedback. When contact center software includes customer survey capabilities, surveys can be administered automatically in the relevant channel and the results analyzed to identify problem areas and customers that require follow up.

8. Continuous refinement of the customer experience

Surveys are a valuable input to improving customer experience, but the best cloud contact center software can kick it up a notch using interaction analytics. This capability allows organizations to analyze 100% of its contacts and identify things like contact drivers, customer sentiment, and compliance violations. This provides organizations with actionable information they can use to improve customer experience as well as a way to measure results of the improvements on the back end.

For more information about interaction analytics, review these resources:

• Surveys and Interaction Analytics: The Perfect Voice of the Customer Pair
• NICE CXone Interaction Analytics Datasheet
• Work-from-Home Contact Center: See the Full Picture with Interaction Analytics

9. Personalized experiences

Customers appreciate it when a business knows them. It's especially important that agents have easy access to customers' contact and purchase histories. This allows them to acknowledge each customer's relationship with the organization and personalize the contact. The best cloud contact center software displays all customer interaction history in an intuitive customer card for agents, including information like customer sentiment and social influencer status, and also easily integrates with customer relationship management (CRM) systems to put holistic customer experience data at the agents' fingertips.