research

regaliJanuary2019

TheCXOGuide

DigitalTransformationinContactCenters

Introduction

Today,thebattleforsurvivalinthecorporateworldismorecompetitivethaneverbefore.Thebattleground?Deliveringwinningcustomerexperiences(CX).Accordingtothe‘2017GartnerCustomerExperienceinMarketing’survey,morethantwo-thirdsofmarketerssaytheircompaniescompetemostlyonthebasisofCX,andintwoyears’time,81%expectthattheywillcompeteentirelyonthebasisofCX.1

Onecannotdiscusscustomerexperiencewithouttalkingaboutcontactcenters.Contactcentersareinvariablythefirstlineofcontactthatacustomerhaswithabusiness;it’salsooftentheonlyinterfacethattheyhavewithanenterprise.Theimpetustocreateafavorableandlastingimpressionwiththecustomerhaspropelledthecontactcenterindustrytoreinventitselfandtoseeknewerandbiggeropportunities.Whichexplainsitsphenomenalgrowthovertheyears.Fromanicheindustryinthe1980stoanestimated$407.1billionby2022,2callcenters,nowcalledcontactcenters,havecomealongway.

Theearliestknowninstanceofacustomerservicecomplaint

datesbackto1750B.C.!Theclaytablet,onwhichthecomplaintregardingqualityofcopperwasinscribed,isnowondisplayattheBritishMuseum.

2DigitalTransformationinContactCenters

Figure-1

Customerexperienceisdrivinginnovationwithintheserviceindustry

Whatarethemaindriversofgrowthwithinyourcontactcenter(s)?

Customerexperience/expectations

20152017

71%88%

Growthofbusiness

78%43%

Improvementofservice

57%73%

Expansioninscopeofservice/products

59%36%

Increasedstrategicimportance

49%35%

Expansionofoperationalfootprint

33%16%

Competitivepressure

24%29%

Source:‘GlobalContactCenterSurvey2017’-Deloitte3

Around2015,contactcenterswerehitbyasweepingwaveofdigitization.Thewarcryto‘godigitalordie’resonatedascontactcentersfoundthemselvesunabletocopewithchangingtidesandmovinggoalposts.Thecompetitionwasintense.Productsfeaturesnolongerservedasthebasisfordifferentiation.Customerexpectationsanddemandswererapidlyevolving,evenascustomerbehaviorunderwentametamorphosis.Thesocialmediaexplosionmeantthatcustomerswerespendingmoretimeonline,liking,sharing,recommendingproductsandswappingstoriesaboutbrands.Rapidadvancementsindigitaltechnology,intheareasofartificialintelligence(AI),bigdata,analytics,InternetofThings(IoT)andothers,anditsadoptionbyindividualsandcorporates,pavedthewayformassiveadvancementsinthecontactcenterindustry,probablymorethaninanyother.

Theindustrytransitionedfromthecallcentersofthe80stothemoderncontactcentersoftoday.From‘voice-only’toomnichannel,fromlinearprocessestomulti-prongedapproaches,fromsimple,script-basedconversationstoanalytics-

DigitalTransformationinContactCenters3

driven,personalizedconversations.Theindustryhasseentheintroductionofprocessautomation,voicerecognition,biometricauthentication,customerjourneyanalysisandpredictiveanalyticsamongotherinnovations.

Impactofdigitaltechnologyoncontactcenters

Traditionally,callcentersservedonlyonepurpose—tobeatroubleshooting,‘phone-inonly’servicethatcustomerswouldusetoconnecttothebusiness.Today,customerservicesitsatthetablealongsidemarketingandsales,asbusinessestryandcreatebranddifferentiationbasedoncustomerexperience.ItissaidthatamoderateincreaseinCXgeneratesanaveragerevenueincreaseof$823millionoverthreeyearsforacompanywith$1billioninannualrevenues.4Thisiswherethecontactcentercomesin—itisatremendousdriverofbusiness

growth.Microsoft’s‘GlobalStateofMultichannelCustomerService’reportstatesthat60%ofconsumershavehigherexpectationsforcustomerservicenowthantheydidjustoneyearago.5

Inthecurrentcompetitiveenvironment,customerexperiencedefinesthebrand.Notadvertising.Notwhatthecompanysaysontheirwebsite.In2017,UnitedAirlineslostover$1.4billioninvalueovernightwhenapassenger’sexperiencewentviralonsocialmedia.6Customersdefinehowthebrandisperceived.Weliveinanintegratedandconnectedworldwhereeverycustomertouchpointisasimportantasthenext.Withsomanypotentialtouchpoints,companiesarerisingtothechallengebyembracingdigitaltechnologies.Anddigitizationenablescontactcenterstoraisethebaroncustomerexperience.

Thereisnosuchthingasasteadystateanymore.Thereisaperiod

ofintensechangefollowedbyaphaseofstability,followedbyanoth-

erperiodofintensechange.Themostdifficultthingishelpingpeople

overcomeresistancetochangewhentheyareusedtobusiness,asusual,

lastingfortenyears.

BradClay,ChiefInformationandComplianceOfficer,LexmarkInternational7

4DigitalTransformationinContactCenters

Deepercustomerinsights

Thereare2.5quintillionbytesofdatacreatedeachday.Thelasttwoyearsalonehasseen90%ofdatabeinggenerated.8Usingbigdataandanalytics,contactcentersandbusinessesingeneral,areabletominethisdataandderivedeeperinsightsaboutcustomersandtheirbuyinghabits.Itisafactthatbrandswithdeeperinsightsofferbettercustomerexperiences.AccordingtoForrester,“Businessesthatuseartificialintelligence(AI),bigdataandtheInternetofThings(IoT)technologiestouncovernewbusinessinsightswillsteal$1.2trillionperannumfromtheirlessinformedpeersby2020.”9

Deeperinsightsalsoenablecontactcenterstomatchcustomerswithcross-sellingandupsellingopportunities.Withaccesstobetterandmoreaccuratedataaboutthecustomer,agentsincontactcenterscanpredictwhatcustomerswillneed,andwhentheywillneedit.Ifeverycontactcenteragentwasabletocross-sellaserviceorproductto10%ofthecustomerstheyinteractedwithinamonth,imaginetherevenuethatwillflowintothecompany.Thisisn’thardtoimagine.AccordingtoMarketingMetrics,thechancesofclosingasalewithanexistingcustomerareashighas60to70%,whilewithanewprospect,it’sdownto5to20%.10Couplethatwithintelligentinsights,andyoucouldexpectsuccessratestobeinchingupevenhigher.

Deeperinsightsalsoimproveoverallcustomerexperienceascustomersreceiveinformationaboutproductsandservicesthattheyrequireaswhentheydoandarenotbeharassedbyirrelevantsalespitchesatinappropriatetimes.

Withsocialmediaintegration,contactcenterscandevelopbetterandmorecompletecustomerpersonas,whichinturnhelpbusinessescreatespecificandtargetedmessagingthatyieldbetterresults.Proactivecustomersupport,throughmonitoringofsocialmediachannels,helpscontactcenterspreemptcustomerdissatisfactionandchurn.

Thephrase‘toputsomeoneonhold’wastheresultofAlexanderGrahamBellhandingoverhistelephonedevicetohispartner,

Mr.Watson,andsaying,“here,holdthis”.

DigitalTransformationinContactCenters5

Optimizationofprocesses

Withtheavailabilityofmoredata,businessescanuseanalyticstodeterminepatternsandtrendswhichcanhelpinmakingtheirmulti-tieredbusinessprocessesmoreefficientandreliable.Oneofthekeychallengesthatcontactcentersfaceisthefactthatagentshavetomultitaskwhileinteractingwithcustomers.Ifprocessesarenotoptimized,itiseasyforthemtooverlookanessentialstepintheprocess,ortomisssomethingimportantthatthecustomerhassaidinthecourseoftheconversation.

Figure-2

Numberofapplicationsthatanagentusesduringacallwithacustomer

Howmanyapplicationsdoesanagentusewithinacall?(bycontactcentersize)

4%

20%

10%

35%

21%

10%

12%

30%

24%

21%

9%4%

8%

24%

18%

22%

16%

12%

7%

23%

16%

28%

17%

9%

Morethan5

FiveFourThreeTwoOne

SmallMediumLargeAverage

Source:‘TheUSContactCenterDecision-Makers’Guide2016’-ContactBabel11

AnotherwaythatcontactcentersimproveefficiencywithtechnologyistohavechatbotsdealwithTier1issues.Withtheadvancementofmachinelearning(ML)andartificialintelligence(AI),businessesusechatbotsandintelligentIVRstohelpcustomersnavigatethelabyrinthofcustomersupportwithouttheinvolvementofhumanagents.Mundaneandrepetitivecustomersupportrequestsarehandledbymachinesswiftlyandefficiently,therebyreducingcustomer‘wait’timeandincreasingsatisfaction.Thisfreesagentstorespondtomorecomplexcustomerconversationsandescalations,whichincreasejobsatisfactionandreducesemployeechurn.HavingAI-enabledprocessesmanagecallrouting,ensuresoptimumuseofallresources,allthetime.

6DigitalTransformationinContactCenters

Analysisofcontactcenteroperationsalsohelpsbusinessesmakesenseoftrendsthattheycancapitalizeon.E.g.,ifthroughanalysisitwasfoundthatmaximumcustomercomplaintsoccurredovertheweekend,itispossibletorampupoperationsfortheweekendwhilescalingbackresourcesduringtheweekday.

Anothertechnology-aidedbenefitistheabilitytohavereal-timefeedbackaboutthecompany’sproductorservices.Suchfeedbackhelpsindicateifthereisaproblemwiththeproductorthecommunicationofaparticularbenefit,whichcanhelpthebusinessmakeadjustmentsaccordinglywithouthavingtowaitfortoolongtogetaformalizedcustomerfeedback.

Figure-3

Impactofdigitaltransformationoncontactcenteroperations

Tomorrow

CustomeradvocacyManagedjourneysPro-activeadvice

Nuturingcommunities

Informationsilos

InformationconsistencySocialinteractions

EngagingapplicationsConnectedexperiences

Touch-based,Voice-based

EmailsandphonecallsInformativewebsites

InformationsystemsDesktop-based

Operationef?ciency

ServicetransactionRe-activeresponseResolvingissues

Operational

Strategic

Today

Source:‘TheDigitalTransformationofCustomerServices’-Deloitte12

Thefirstcallcenterwasfoundedin1957.OwnedbyTimeInc.

andoperatingas‘LifeCirculationCo.’,itspurposewastoincreaseLIFEmagazinesubscriptions.

DigitalTransformationinContactCenters7

Keyemergingtrends

Contactcenterswilloffermoreself-servicefeatures

Increasingly,customersaremovingawayfromcall/voice-basedsupportandlookingforself-serviceorpeer-assistedsupportsystemsastheirfirstformofinteractionwithabusiness.Considerthesestatistics:50%ofcustomersthinkit’simportanttosolveproductorserviceissuesthemselves,and70%expectacompanywebsitetoincludeself-servicefeatures.13Over70%ofconsumerswillchoosetomessageovercallingifgivenachoice.By2020,expertspredictthatmorethan85%ofallcustomerinteractionswillbehandledwithouttheneedforahumanagent.

Figure-4

Preferredcustomersupportchannels(2017to2019)

Howdoesyourcompanyanticipateinteractingwithcustomersintwoyearscomparedtoyourcurrentdistribution?

Current-2017

1%

Video

2%

SMS/Text

2%

Fax

4%

SocialMedia

4%

Current-mail

(Paper)

6%

Chat/

Collaboration

(Web)

18%

Email

64%

Voice

(Phone)

Future-2018

2%

Video

6%

SMS/Text

1%

Fax

9%

SocialMedia

2%

Current-mail

(Paper)

16%

Chat/

Collaboration

(Web)

16%

Email

47%

Voice

(Phone)

Source:‘GlobalContactCenterSurvey2017’-Deloitte14

Self-servicefeaturesincludechatbots,SMS,FAQs,IVR,how-to-videos,webformsandmore.Inadditiontosavingthebusinessmoney—reportssuggestthatover$1trillionisspenton265billioncustomerservicecallseachyear—self-serviceempowerscustomersandputsthemincontroloftheirjourneyandpurchasedecisions.

AI-PoweredBots:Accordingtoexperts,chatbotscanhelpreducecustomerservicecostsbyupto40%.AdvancesinmachinelearningandconversationalAI

8DigitalTransformationinContactCenters

enablebotstohavenear-humanconversationswithcustomers.Inthefuture,asIoT-enableddevicesproliferate,machineswilltakeovertheorderingprocess.Soonwewillfindcustomersupportconversationstakingplacebetweenmachinesandnotpeople.

Video:Videoisbecomingmoreprevalent.Thisisespeciallyevidentinthehealthcareandfashionsectors.Accordingtoareport,60%ofGenerationYwouldprefervideochatswiththeirphysicianratherthanvisitingthedoctorintheoffice(TheConnectedPatient,Salesforce,2015).FashionassistantspoweredbyAI,helpcustomersputtogethertheiroutfitoftheday,usingacomplexmixofvideoandAI.Companiesputout‘how-to’productvideoswhichpromotegreatercustomersatisfaction.NewproductlaunchesarealwaysaccompaniedbyYouTubeinfluencershostingan‘unboxingandfirstimpressions’videobecausethishelpscustomersmakepurchasedecisions.

Contactcenterswillbedrivenbyautomation

Therewasatimewhenautomationwasrestrictedtocertainindustries.Today,automationiseverywhereandisaffectingeverysphereofourlives.Itisparticularlyusefulforrepetitivetasksthatrequireagreatdealofaccuracy.Inthecustomerserviceindustry,andparticularlyincontactcenters,therearemanyareaswhereautomationhasaddedvalue.

Thebenefitsofautomationaretremendous,includingreducingcostsandincreasingefficiencieswithinthecontactcenterprocess.Automatedchatbotscan

a)reduce‘wait’timethatisimposedoncustomers;b)speeduptheprocessbyrecordingdataquicklyandcorrectly.It’sestimatedthatby2022,thebankingandhealthcaresectorwillmakesavingsofupto$8billionwithchatbotusage.

Automationisalsousedinintelligentcallroutingandqueuingwhichimprovesperformanceandmaximizestheefficiencyofallresources.Automationincreasescustomersatisfactionbyvirtueofafasterissue-resolutiontimeframe,andtheusageofVisualIVR.VisualIVRisanormalIVRwithavisualinterfaceidealforuseonasmartphonedevice.Forsimpletaskslikechanginganaddress,checkingstatus,andthelike,customersdislikehavingtospendmoretimethannecessary.That’swhereVisualIVRcomesin.Accordingtoexperts,VisualIVRplatformsraiseNetPromoterScores(NPS)toashighas90.15

IVR(InteractiveVoiceResponse)hasbeeninusesincethe1960s.Thenextstepinitsevolution,enabledbyRPA,(RoboticProcess

Automation)isITR(InteractiveTextResponse),whichisnowemerging.

DigitalTransformationinContactCenters9

Automationalsoincreasesemployeesatisfactionasagentsarefreeduptofocusonmoreinterestingtasksthanroutine,repetitiveonesthatareboringandtime-consuming.Thesearebestperformedbyautomation.

Thefearthatmachineswillreplacehumansisnotwithoutreason.However,basedonearlyadoptionoutcomes,itisclearthatautomationwillnotentirelyreplacehumanagents.Itwillchangewhattaskshumanagentsareassignedandtheroletheyplay.Researchshowsthatmorethan50%ofcustomerswanttointeractwithahumanincaseofacrisis,orwhentheyneedasolutiontoaproblemwithaproductorservice.16Thesetypesofinteractionsarecrucialtouchpointsinthecustomer’sassessmentofabusiness.Theyalsoprovidevaluableup-sellopportunities.

Figure-5

Exampleofhowbotsandhumanagentscanworktogether

PASSEDTOJIM(AGENT)

TOLISTENTOCUSTOMER

INQUIRYMOREDATA

NEEDED

COLLECTDATAFROM

AUTHENTICATEAND

CUSTOMERFOLLOWING

IDENTIFYTHECUSTOMER

DEFINEDPROCESS

CONNECTWITHCUSTOMER

TOVERIFYANDCONFIRM

COMPLETION

HUMAN

ROBOT

Source:‘RoboticDesktopAutomation’-Jacada17

AccordingtoarecentRegalixstudy,StateofContactCenters2018,seniorexecutivesresponsibleforcontactcenteroperations,expectasignificantincreaseinthenumberofqueriestobehandledbyautomationtoolswithinthenexttwoyears.

Automationtoolshandlelessthan25%ofcustomerqueriescurrentlyforashighas55%ofcontactcentersthatweresurveyedbutisexpectedtodosoforonly18%ofcontactcentersinthenexttwoyears.Similarly,automationtoolshandleover50%ofcustomerqueriesforonly26%ofcontactcenterscurrently,butthatnumberisexpectedtogoupto45%ofcontactcentersinthenexttwoyears.

Themostimportantcontributionthatautomationmakestowardincreasingcustomersatisfactionatcontactcentersistheabilitytoeaseinteractionsandfacilitatefastertransactions.Thisisespeciallyimportantwhenyouconsiderthe

10DigitalTransformationinContactCenters

followingstatistics—45%ofshoppingcartsareabandonedduetolackofimmediatesupport,91%ofunsatisfiedcustomerswillnotreturnforarepeatpurchaseorservice,and61%offailedcustomersupportcallscouldhavebeensolvedwithbetteraccesstodata.18

Figure-6

Acustomer’sprioritylist

Howwillcustomersprioritizethefollowingattributesinfutureinteractionswithyourcontactcenter(s)?

Personalizationofinteraction

Innovationtechnologyfeatures

Followingthroughoncommitment

42%38%21%

63%27%11%

17%57%26%

Firstcontactresolutions

9%46%46%

Empathyprovidedduringinteraction

Easeofinteration

29%46%23%

7%31%62%

Accuracyandqualityofinformationprovided

AccesstotheContactCenter

7%27%66%

25%25%50%

LowMediumHigh

Source:‘GlobalContactCenterSurvey2017’-Deloitte19

SanFrancisco-basedself-serviceSaaSsoftwarevendor,MindTouch,reportsthat79%ofcustomerstodaypreferself-serviceovercontactinghumanagentsforsupport.Moreover,75%ofallonlinecustomersalsoexpecttoreceivesupportwithin5minutesoftheminitiatingcontactwiththecompany.Thismakesitamplyclearthatwithouttechnologyintervention,humanagentswon’tbeabletodeliveragainstcustomerexpectations.AccordingtoMicrosoft’s2017StateofGlobalCustomerServiceReport,75%ofglobalrespondentshaveusedasearchenginetofindanswerstoservice-relatedquestionsbeforecallinginanagent.Infact,90%ofrespondentshavesaidtheyexpectbrandsandorganizationstoofferanonlineportalforself-service.

Theterm‘callcenter’wasfirstpublishedandrecognizedin1983bytheOxfordEnglishDictionary.

DigitalTransformationinContactCenters11

Picturethis:

BritishGasregularlyputsout‘how-to’videosonitsYouTubechannel.Thevideosarebasedontopicssuchas,‘Preparingforheavysnowfall,’‘Whattodoifyoudon’thavehotwater,’or‘whattodoifyourpipeisfrozenorhasburst.’Thesevideosarearesourceforcustomersandhave

helpedthecompanycutdownonthenumberofservicecallswhileensuringthatcustomershavetheanswerstheyneed,whentheyneedit,attheirfingertips.

Contactcenterswillembraceomnichannel

Forafewyearsnow,thecontactcenterindustryhastalkedaboutomnichannel.Anaturalevolutionfrommultichannel,theomnichannelprovidesforaseamlesscustomerexperience.

Oneofthebiggestpainpointsforcustomerswiththecurrentprocessishavingtorepeattheirinformationandnarratetheirproblemstoacustomersupportagenteachtimetheyconnectfromadifferentdevice.Afterbeingputonholdfortenminutes,that’sthelastthingacustomerwantstodo.Withomnichannel,customerdata—includingpreviouscallsandissueslogged—isseamlesslyavailabletoeveryagentirrespectiveofwhichchannelthecustomerchoosestouseonagivenday.Theagentthenbeginstheconversationfromaplaceof‘knowing’thecustomer.Thisreducescustomerfrustrationsandhelpssolvetheproblemfaster.

Manycontactcentersclaimtoofferomnichannel,butwhattheyreallyofferismultichannel.Andmuchofthatfailurestemsfromtheinabilitytointegratedisparatesystems.Cloudtechnologymakesiteasiertointegrateandmaintainasinglewindowtoallcustomerdata.

Since1992,InternationalCustomerServiceWeekhas

beencelebratedeveryyearinthefirstweekofOctober.

12DigitalTransformationinContactCenters

Figure-7

Theevolutionofchannel-basedcustomercommunication

Omni-Channel

Uni?edCommerce

SingleChannel

Multi-Channel

Source:‘TechnologyTakeAchieveUnifiedCommerce2014’-BRPConsulting20

Thisishowexpertsenvisionomnichannelwillwork.Acustomertriggerstheomnichannelinterfaceandwillbeauthenticatedthroughbio-metricanalysis.Intelligentcallroutingwillthenactivatethepreferredresponsepoint—abot,anagent,oranin-persondiscussion—forthecustomerandproceedwiththeconversationonthechannelofchoice.AItools,workinginthebackground,willinstantaneouslydetermineiftheinteractioninvolvesmorecomplexscenariosthanabotcanhandle,andbeforethecustomerisaware,willroutetheconversationtoahumanagent,whereneeded.

Today,mobilityandmobileappshaveanenormousimpactoncustomerservice.Microsoft’s‘2017StateofGlobalCustomerService’reportstatesthat33%ofcustomers(43%inthecaseofmillennials)usetheirmobiledevicestoinitiatecustomerservicerequests.Apps,suchasVisualIVRandsimilarmobiledevice-basedomnichannelapplicationshelpbridgethegapbetweentouchpointsandprovideaseamlesscustomerexperience.

Picturethis:

AUK-basedfashionretailer,Oasis,hasmasteredtheomnichannelcustomerexperience.Walkintoanyoftheirstores,andyouwillbemetwithaniPad-carrying,shopassistant,whocanprovideaccurateproductinformationandcanalsoringupyourpurchaseson-the-spot.Ifsomethingisoutofstock,theassistantwillinstantlyplaceanonlineorderandhaveitshippedtoyourhome.21

DigitalTransformationinContactCenters13

Contactcenterswillbemorepredictive

Traditionallycallcentershavealwaysbeenreactive,respondingonlywhencustomersseekthemout.Today,businessescannotaffordtobelaxincustomersupport.Accordingtoa2017NICEStudy,eightin10customersreportthat,iftheyhaveabadcustomerexperience,they’llconsiderswitchingbrands.22AreportfromForrester,statesthat73%ofpeoplesaythatvaluingtheirtimeisthemostimportantthingacompanycandotoprovidethemwithgoodservice.23Customerstodayareawarethattheirattention,timeandmoneyarewhat’satstakehereandtheyarenotafraidtogetthebestdealforthemselves.

Withadvancementsinpredictiveanalytics,businessescanchartthecourseofacustomer’srelationshipwiththem,identifywhatcouldbeimportanttothecustomeratagivenpointinthecustomerjourney,andprovidepersonalizedservicesthatwillstrengthentherelationship.Predictiveanalyticshelpscontactcentersstayonestepaheadoftheircustomersinanticipatingtheirneeds.

GauravPassi,ExecutiveVPofProductsandR&DatFive9,providedthisexample.“Imagineacustomerwasovercharged$15.Rightnow,theonusisonthecustomertoinitiateaninteractionwiththecompanyusingchatorvoice.Shewillthenneedtoexplaintheproblemandprovidesomeauthentication.Attheendofthisinteraction,thecompanywillrefundthemoney,butthatstillleavesthecustomerfeelingfrustrated.Inanidealworld,thecustomerwouldn’tneedtocontactthe

companyatall.Thebusinesswouldnoticetheerrorandproactivelynotifythecustomerthattheerroneousamountwillbecredited.24Thisiswhenacustomertrulyfeelsvalued.

PredictiveanalyticsandArtificialIntelligence(AI)candeliveralevelofservicethatgoesbeyondwhatishumanlypossible.Itwillanticipateneedsbycontext,preferences,andhistoricaldataandwilldeliverproactivealerts,relevantoffers,orcontent.Combingthroughvastamountsofdataontheinternet,itcanidentifycustomerserviceissuesandproactivelyoffersupportwithoutthecustomercontactingthecompany.

AQantascustomerwasonceputonholdfor15h,40m.Zapposemployee,StevenWeinstein,holdstherecordfortheworld’slongestcustomerservicecallat10h,43m.

14DigitalTransformationinContactCenters

Picturethis:

Manycompaniessendoutmessages/emailstotheirentiremailinglistwhentheylaunchanewproductorservice.Tocustomerswhodon’tneedtheserviceorproduct,theseunsolicitedmessagesareunwelcome,distracting,andshowthecompanyinabadlight.Ratherthanusea‘one-size-fits-all’approach,Avayasuggestscompaniesusepredictiveanalyticstohavethe‘rightconversationswiththerightcustomers.’InthewordsofAvaya’sChiefTechnologist,JeanTurgeon,“Organizationsthatadoptthisapproacharemovingfromthecontactcenterenvironmentintotheworldofthe“relationshipcenter”—atermthatcoversanumberofmeanings:mutualunderstandingofwhatisimportant,appreciationandrespectoflikesanddislikes,deliveringvaluetobothparties,and,eventually,buildinglong-termrelationshipsthatareextremelyhardtobreak.”25

Contactcenterswillbemoresocial

Socialmediahastakentheworldbystorm.Fromconnectingwithfriendsacrosstheglobe,tofindingcommunitiesoflikemindedpeoplewithinthesamecity,fromsellingnicheproductstobeingdiscoveredasthelatestsingingsensation,fromfindingpeopletojoinacarpooltofindin