Why Proactive Service is Critical in Today's Contact Center

Responding to customer needs is one of the primary goals of the contact center. So, channels are put in place to ensure customers can contact the company using their preferred communication method, and migration to a multi-channel contact center is a key step toward responding to customer needs. To truly succeed, however, the contact center must be able to anticipate customer needs and preferences.

At first assessment, it would seem that anticipating customer needs is much easier said than done. Can the contact center truly know what a customer is calling about before the call is received? Can management properly staff the contact center according to the forecasted volume based on information from the customer side? Too often, forecasts and schedules are based on internal information – the date of the campaign launch, the start of a promotion or the release of a new product.

Customer satisfaction today demands something more. Fortunately, many contact centers already have the right tools in place to meet a higher expectation. When combined with dialer software, customers receive the relevant and valuable information they want and are more likely to take action.

A recent inContact white paper highlights the opportunities the contact center has to capture information on the customer base. Through basic interactions, customers share a wealth of valuable information. The customer may demonstrate an interest in a product found on the company website, ask for assistance with a problem encountered during checkout, inquire about additional products that add to the value of something they have already purchased and more. When this data is captured and turned into business intelligence, the contact center is in a position to proactively interact with customers, accurately anticipating their needs.

The implementation of tools and strategies that promote a proactive service environment, such as analytics tools and techniques that readily identify the needs, preferences and pain points of a customer, is critical for the successful use of dialer software. Analytics enable the contact center to determine the next best action to take with the customer to drive the best results as well as generate improved customer satisfaction.

inContact’s cloud-based outbound dialer software is often used to help organizations to move toward an environment focused on proactive customer care. This often includes transitioning to the blended contact center, enabling the organization to deliver the right service to the right customer at the right time.

“Reactive service isn’t the best method for engendering long-term customer satisfaction,” said Jennifer Waite, product marketing manager at inContact. She also noted that proactive service can help improve customer satisfaction while driving greater productivity in the contact center – the best of both worlds.

The ultimate goal in the multi-channel contact center is to meet the needs of the customer base through efficient and productive processes. If the operational benefits are combined with a proactive approach to service, the contact center not only improves its bottom line, it secures its leading position in a market where customer satisfaction is everything.

Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli