Many of the country's most recognizable and well-known companies face an increasingly difficult balancing act: keeping costs in line while maintaining the exceptional customer experiences that drive loyalty. Contact centers play a pivotal role in shaping the customer experience, serving when and where companies can strengthen trust and deepen relationships that result in earned, long-term business success. But, when businesses are under pressure, it risks falling by the wayside, with 63 percent of contact centers citing staffing gaps, Deloitte Digital reported.
Operating a contact center is a complex undertaking that demands continuous investment in talent, training, infrastructure, and quality management. Yet for most organizations, customer service is not the primary area of expertise. They have to focus on delivering great products and experiences. While technology continues to improve efficiency, it cannot replace the human expertise and operational excellence required to build meaningful customer relationships. In fact, organizations say that the integration of technology, systems, and tools is a top contact center challenge.
The result? More companies are turning to managed services partners that specialize in customer engagement, trusting them to deliver the service quality, scalability, and consistency that customers have come to expect. Technology without human oversight is not the answer.
Technology has transformed the way customers engage with companies. Self-service, automation, and artificial intelligence-powered support are faster and more accessible than ever to customers in need. These tools help organizations improve efficiency. Yet exceptional customer experiences still depend on the human touch. This is a reality that isn't changing any time soon, with 87 percent of customers expecting the option of reaching a human representative when using AI, according to Gartner.
When customers face complex issues or high-stakes decisions, empathy, judgment, and human interaction become critical. The tech and product issues experienced by customers are also multifaceted, increasing the need for customer service representatives to have a complete understanding of the business. McKinsey found that 57 percent of customer care leaders expect call volume to increase over the next year or two as a result of this complexity. This isn't generational either with 71 percent of Gen Z respondents believing that live calls are the easiest and quickest way to get in touch with customer support.
Turning Customer Interactions into Business Outcomes
Working with the right contact service partner allows this critical function to get the attention it deserves, extending the value of a product or solution well beyond day one. In an age when every customer experience demand is different, here's how operations leaders can work with partners to turn the contact center from a checked box into a strategic driver for the business:
Build workflows on business needs and outcomes.
There are tried and true methods of running successful contact centers, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach to customer engagement. High-performing organizations recognize that support models should be intentionally designed to reflect their operational requirements and growth strategies. When evaluating contact center services, it's important to design the right framework for what the business needs. Consider the types of specialized expertise required based on the product or service offered? What is the makeup of the customer base, and how should multilingual and expanded services coverage be addressed? This tailored flexibility enables organizations to deliver experiences that strengthen both customer relationships and business performance.
Define KPIs, measure and continuously improve.
The impact of a modern contact center is measured not only by its ability to handle customer inquiries, but also by key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect service quality and customer satisfaction. Contact centers using performance analytics software can track what is working to address customer needs and what is not, how the average speed of answer correlates to busy periods or certain times of the day, and how staffing better can reflect these trends? How are abandonment rates, and are there specific questions or customer challenges that drive this number? Could that indicate an investment in more training or education or self-service resources, and show the data to make the business case? These are the kinds of ongoing conversations that transform metrics into outcomes that drive success.
Extend service to deliver added value.
Businesses and contact center partners must create agile service models that evolve alongside customer behaviors and organizational priorities. For example, if a quick-service restaurant is modernizing its digital infrastructure, a contact center request might migrate toward interoperability challenges, software and security tickets, and the uptime and reliability of screens and customer-facing interfaces. As a result, the business might look to close gaps between the contact center and on-the-ground support by extending support to cover dispatch, appointment coordination, scheduling, and outbound follow up. For the business, it might result in contingency plans with technology partners or working with a provider that offers modular or upgradable hardware to speed up issue resolution and eliminate downtime.
Cross train across departments for better resolution and consistency in response.
The technology and product issues experienced by customers are more complex than ever. It means that a contact center representative needs a clear workflow and path to resolution that doesn't add complications for the customer. Cross training and scenario training are two great ways to ensure that representatives have visibility into the breath of the business and an intimate understanding of the product they are supporting. Specialists with broader knowledge helps them catch things in conversations they might not have considered or pick up on a frustration that can lead to faster resolution. Just as importantly, it gives them the confidence that they can turn to the right resource as opposed to frantically trying to find an answer by themselves.
The shift in customer needs and expectations has changed the role of contact centers from traditional customer support problem-solvers to specialized ways for businesses to connect with their consumers and drive long term success. The right customer experience partner does more than extend a workforce. It helps strengthen service quality, unlock performance gains, and continuously refine operations to better serve customers and support business objectives.
Jayson Cummins is president of Panasonic Connect North America Professional Services.