Where should you start with a cloud contact centre solution?
Remember the old days when customer interactions were simple? No? Well, to be fair, those days never existed. Improving your call centre’s customer experience has always been a challenge. But with customers now engaging with your centre across multiple platforms at once, having the right tools can go a really long way. Which brings us nicely to cloud contact centre solutions.
If you’re running an old-style PBX system, you are probably used to its lack of functionality. Or scalability. Or flexibility. So your contact centre has developed workarounds. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an easier, smarter way to give your customers what they need. So if you’re wondering whether it’s worth making the switch, here are five major benefits of moving over to a cloud-based contact centre.
Optimised customer interactions
It’s a running joke that millennials would rather lose a limb than take or make an actual real-life phone call. That sentiment has only grown amongst Gen Z. Of course, the trend for multiple channels has been growing for a while now. But without the proper support for omnichannel service integration, your customers won’t be able to engage on their own terms. And that is a great way to put them off.
Most workarounds tagged onto an existing phone system are cumbersome and awkward to manage. On the other hand, cloud contact centre software supports omnichannel routing, a seamless way to interact in real-time. It empowers agents to engage customers across any combination of voice, chat, social, website, app or self-service. All contributing to a single, cohesive customer experience that improves everyone’s outcomes.
CCaaS providers let you scale up or down with ease
For most businesses, running a PBX phone system requires a crystal ball. Do you buy a system big (and expensive) enough to cope with the demand you hope will happen in the next 3-5 years? Or do you start small and then spend big when the time comes to expand? Either way, the risk is ridiculous. Either in initial outlay or forced downtime when demand is at its highest.
But cloud-based contact centres are run via a subscription model, where you pay a small fee for each user you need on the system. It means contact centre as a service (CCaaS) is a completely flexible format that requires very little initial spending on physical hardware. As demand and personnel fluctuate, CCaaS providers will allow you to quickly adjust your subscription to make sure you’re only spending what you need.
Everything is hosted in the cloud, so upgrades to either the software or your subscription can be done with no downtime at all.
CCaaS solutions allow your team to work from anywhere
As 2020 proved, contact centres need to be ready to respond to anything. Running your contact centre as a CCaaS solution allows for a robust, portable and easy-to-operate system for both your admins and agents.
Because all they need is an internet connection to allow them to operate, you can facilitate flexible home working. And if anything should impact your operations within the call centre itself, you can react quickly and keep things running smoothly.
This is especially useful should the worst happen and your building loses internet. CCaaS can be flexible thanks to its reliance on VoIP and SIP channels as opposed to fixed telephone lines. When a telephone line goes down, your only option is to wait for an engineer. But VoIP and SIP use broadband. So in the unlikely event that your landline connection is cut, you can switch to mobile internet on handheld devices. No harm, no foul.
Cloud contact centre solutions add extra functionality
A good cloud contact centre solution is more than just your call centre software. Delivering great customer service means being able to integrate your CCaaS with every part of your operations. From CRM integrations to customer analytics, a strong solution can communicate with the APIs throughout your centre.
That means automatically connecting customer interactions with your support, sales and marketing. Or recording calls from the moment the phone rings. Or making it easier to operate your interactive voice response (IVR) so you can give more control back to your callers.
The point here is that these are the tools that will provide the best possible experience for your customers. Because they allow you to personalise it to their own needs.
Greater reliability, lower costs and more chances to innovate
Many cloud contact centre users can save up to 80% in costs when compared to legacy PBX systems. But a reliable CCaaS provider can add a few more benefits as well. Because your contact centre would operate from the cloud, your information and services are far safer than traditional options. At Venom, for example, we back our CCaaS solution up across three separate data centres. So in the unlikely event of even one data centre going off-line – your agents, admins and customers wouldn’t even know the difference.
There are also no long term contracts or upfront license charges. And because pricing is extremely flexible, you can react to market changes extremely quickly.
Learn more about cloud contact centre solutions
For more information about choosing the right CCaaS provider and the benefits of cloud-based contact centres, check out our resources below:
- Whitepaper: Making the business case for a cloud contact centre.
- Infographic: On-premises vs cloud contact centre.
- Brand Battle: RingCentral vs 8×8.
- Brand Battle: 3CX vs Citrix.
- Case Study: Ashley Helme Associates.
Learn more about how you can make the most of cloud services to support, enhance or protect your IT infrastructure. Contact us for a free trial or demonstration.