Contact center modernization: Three ways to use personalized customer service automation to overhaul existing infrastructure

Jul 25, 2022

2 minutes

Today’s consumers interact with businesses differently than ever before. The new digital economy supplies limitless options to consumers at the click of a button. Brand loyalty has shifted from the product or service to the customer experience (CX). Customers demand engagement from businesses across multiple channels with the added expectation of an omnichannel experience.

Despite these challenges, contact centers are expected to continue to deliver best-in-class CX and generate new revenue. All while optimizing costs and processes.

Luckily, keeping pace with consumer demands and overcoming internal challenges doesn’t have to mean a rip and replace of your existing contact center. Instead, communication APIs can be used to quickly update your contact center.

Leveraging communication APIs in contact center modernization

Communication APIs layer on top of (OTT) your contact center, delivering new automation functionalities, without disrupting existing contact center infrastructure. Sometimes referred to as programmable communications or communications platform as a service (CPaaS), communication APIs allow organizations to integrate customer service automation features like real-time voice, messaging, chat, and more to their existing contact center.

The APIs are cloud-based, which allows organizations to quickly add customer service automation features to their current contact center platforms. When consumer demands change, organizations can create, modify, and deploy customer communications on the fly. They can also rapidly deploy solutions and then scale them up as needed, to support millions of customer interactions.

Customer service automation can be applied in countless ways across contact centers. To immediately address consumer demands, CX, cost, and processes, use the following strategies.

Do you want to learn more about modernizing your contact center and accelerating customer engagement with generative AI and automation? Schedule an AI and automation Customer Interaction Intent Study with IntelePeer now.  

Three ways to use personalized customer service automation to overhaul existing contact centers

1. Deliver automated, omnichannel communications:

To find success in today’s economy, contact centers need to turbocharge their consumer-first approach. One method is to use customer service automation to align tools with specific consumer desires and needs, and then deliver a personalized, information-rich, omnichannel experience. In short, contact centers need to provide radical convenience via communications to consumers.

Using customer service automation, contact centers can send personalized communications across voice calls, SMS text, and more to ensure consumers have the information they need on their preferred device. Communications can be customized with consumer data to provide confirmations, important updates, and next steps to help reduce resolution time and improve CX.

Many organizations assume that their contact center is omnichannel when they only have separate, disconnected, multi-channel communications. In comparison, omnichannel communications are delivered from a single, communication API, creating streamlined, brand consistent communications to consumers.

2. Gather data to deliver best-in-class CX

Contact centers have a wealth of data that they can mine to better understand their customers. Unfortunately, they don’t always have adequate resources to collect data across multiple online and offline channels and analyze trends and patterns to make better business decisions. Communication APIs not only automate omnichannel communications; they can also collect important insights to help contact centers improve and deliver competitive CX.

Every interaction is noted by the system, including what the interaction related to, how long a customer is waiting on the line, how often they call in, what their survey results were, and more. Contact centers can now understand the CX at a granular level, helping them adjust their strategy and improve processes.

3. Optimize costs and processes

It’s common for contact centers to be perceived as cost centers due to the high cost of communications, agents, and manual processes. Manual processes add weight to already heavy workloads, consume valuable agent time, increase organizational costs, and detract from CX.

Layering on customer service automation as part of your contact center modernization strategy, means that many communications can be triggered based on consumer activity at each part of their engagement lifecycle. Additional self-service options can be launched, allowing customers to quickly and easily find answers themselves, without consuming agent resources. Now, agents are free from manual communications and processes, so that they can focus on resolving critical customer issues.

Communication APIs and customer service automation gives control of CX back to the contact center. No existing infrastructure replacements are needed, and business challenges are simultaneously solved. Are you ready to learn more about how to use communication APIs and customer service automation to modernize your contact center? Contact us now.

Rebecca Nelson

Sr. Director of Content Marketing

Rebecca brings 15+ years of SaaS content experience to IntelePeer. With a background in both professional and technical writing, Rebecca is focused on translating complex concepts into easily consumable, engaging content.

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