Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 11, 2023

The year is 2023, and the contact center industry is on the brink of change. With new technologies and approaches being developed daily, it’s hard to predict what the next year will bring. However, there are a few things that we can be sure of. AI, Chatbots, and Automation Artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots, and automation […].

Chatbots 237

Chatbots Contact Center Technology Analytics 237

Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 10, 2023

Disasters, like the recent holiday storms, are inevitable. How you plan, respond, but most critically inform and communicate with your employees and customers is what counts. This isn’t rocket science. And it is the foundation of the customer experience (CX). Customers and staff get it—both foreseen and unforeseen “events”. I’ve covered, been responsible for the […].

Customer Experience 264

Customer Experience Airlines Customer Service 264

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 22, 2022

Providing excellent customer service, support, sales, and billing relies on having the right numbers of the skilled contact center agents at the right times. But ensuring that critical task is accomplished successfully appears to be challenging in today’s new normal. For insights, we reached out to the suppliers of workforce management (WFM) solutions.

Management 173

Management Contact Center Sales Customer Service 173

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Organizations are now well in their third year of operation in the remote or at-home/work-from-home (WFH) contact center environment. And they are working to devise sustainable workforce management (WFM) strategies. In today’s challenging job market, it’s crucial for organizations to attract, nurture, and retain quality talent. Paul Stockford of Saddletree Research had stated: “The effective […].

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Management Contact Center Marketing Quality management 300

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 16, 2022

Not all roads to WFM Training follow the same path. Here is some information to help you understand the characteristics and the differences amongst them. I. VENDOR TRAINING “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” —Benjamin Franklin If you’re going to use WFM Software, some form of vendor training is required. If you’re lucky, […].

Management 173

Management 173

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Three years ago, very few of us could have imagined a world where most contact center agents would be working from home. While some centers were dabbling with at-home agents before the COVID-19 pandemic, the unprecedented shift to remote work in early 2020 looks like it could be here to stay. For most companies, it […].

At home agents 147

At home agents Contact Center Technology Management 147

Contact Center Pipeline

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Promises are the most personal and binding of commitments, and therefore are to be made carefully, kept fully, and broken only in the most extenuating cases and with thorough explanations. So, when a company, its contact center, and its agents makes and keeps its promises to help its customers, and in an industry that has […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Personalization Self service Customer Service 130

Contact Center Pipeline

OCTOBER 25, 2022

Brands have never been more accessible to their customers than they are today. Whether it’s through a voice call, chatbot, or WhatsApp, or via a company’s mobile app, website, or good old-fashioned email – there’s never been as many options for customers to interact with a brand. But after what can only be described as […].

Management 147

Management Chatbots Technology Customer Experience 147

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Welcome to the top 5 blog posts in September! As the start of October will ring in Customer Service Week, it is only fitting that our top post this month is another annual favorite from Susan, bringing you 10 top Customer Service Week inspiration posts full of ways to recognize and show your appreciation for […].

Customer Service 36

Customer Service Virtual Agent B2C Employee engagement 36

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Imagine you open an airline app to search for your flight information and it’s missing your gate location. Or you pull up an online form to apply for a permit with your local government and you are not sure where to begin. These everyday information gaps are also common in customer service scenarios, like when […].

Airlines 208

Airlines Government Customer Service Technology 208

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

All of us rely on the selfless nonprofit organizations that exist to help others in need, whether directly or indirectly, by their actions that make a difference in others’ lives and, by extension, in our own. That includes the staff but also the many volunteers who work for them, including in their contact centers. The […].

Contact Center 147

Contact Center 147

Contact Center Pipeline

AUGUST 9, 2022

A call comes into my line at 5:50 pm, just 10 minutes before the call center closes, I do my greeting, and the caller requests to change his grandmother’s health plan selection. Assuming that he is an authorized representative on file, I request the caller verify the necessary HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) […].

Coaching 147

Coaching Call Center Accountability 147

Contact Center Pipeline

AUGUST 10, 2022

This past year’s holiday shopping season and ensuing post-holiday calls to customer service were among the most challenging that contact centers have ever endured. A recent Gallup poll showed that 60% of shoppers were unable to get a product because of the supply chain shortage—an issue that usually ended up with customers speaking with contact […].

Contact Center 147

Contact Center Customer Service Technology Management 147

Contact Center Pipeline

AUGUST 11, 2022

The focus of conversations about customer experiences (CXs) has generally been on the consumer, namely business-to-consumer (B2C) or B2C CX. But the B2C experiences are, to a considerable extent, driven by the business-to-business (B2B) customer experiences (B2B CX). Ones that occur in long and complex supply chains that include retailers, wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, resource extraction, […].

B2C 147

B2C B2B Customer Experience 147

Contact Center Pipeline

JUNE 29, 2022

In October 2021 I read that according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), cigarette sales were up for the first time in twenty years. My initial thought was that this was due to Work from Home (WFH). When I began to look into it, I found that in addition to increased cigarette sales, so were […].

Sales 147

Sales Employee engagement 147

Contact Center Pipeline

JUNE 8, 2022

Customer service professionals often make an all too human mistake: they imagine that the person on the other end of the line is someone who’s like them. This type of implicit bias can take many forms, but it’s unlikely that most contact center agents envision a person with a disability when they start a dialog. […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Personalization Customer Service Customer Experience 130

Contact Center Pipeline

MARCH 24, 2022

Going remote was just the beginning. If 2020 was about transitioning and uncertainty, consider 2021 the year of acceptance and innovation as contact centers embrace the new reality. Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic we’re faced with permanent changes. As contact centers became the “face” of many organizations, leaders have had to rethink all aspects […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Management 130

Contact Center Pipeline

FEBRUARY 15, 2022

Everyone likes simplicity, especially in the world of customer service. The best contact center agents will simplify difficult situations for callers, and smart contact center managers will simplify training and workforce development for their employees. However, simplicity is more complicated than ever. Today’s contact centers are facing one of the most complex eras in recent […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Management Customer Service 130

Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 20, 2022

In today’s business environment people matter. Customers rightly want the option of speaking to live agents. Automated self-service alone, even with sophisticated tools like artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chatbots, is not enough to enable superior loyalty-building and revenue-driving customer experiences. That means having agents and their supervisors safely available, with access to applications and customer data, […].

Chatbots 147

Chatbots Self service Customer Experience 147

Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 19, 2022

Customer care is vital to any brand’s continued success—and its ability to provide this support service directly impacts both customer satisfaction and loyalty. That impact can be positive or negative depending on customers’ experience with contact center agents and whether or not those interactions meet their needs and expectations. That’s why contact centers need to […].

Customer Care 130

Customer Care Contact Center Customer Experience 130

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 24, 2021

Wishing all of our readers a safe and happy holiday season, and warm wishes for the New Year!

Contact Center 26

Contact Center Call Center 26

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Recently retired (OK, mostly retired), I felt the desire to reflect on a wonderful and challenging 40-plus-year contact center career. Numerous technological changes have taken place in the industry during that time. We have gone from cord switchboards, ACDs and IVRs to sophisticated omnichannel technologies. The introduction of the web and smartphones, along with artificial […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Interactive Voice Response Technology Management 130

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 22, 2021

In today’s call centers, employers aren’t just looking for professional expertise or experience in team leaders. They’re also looking for other qualities like the ability to build rapport with customers, team members and other team leaders, as well as interpersonal and communication skills that help leaders steer teams effectively. Developing these traits and learning these […].

Call Center 130

Call Center Coaching Management 130

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 21, 2021

I had the pleasure to interview Alex Martinez from OpenText this month. He oversees marketing for Contact Center and Voice of the Customer Analytics Solutions. Alex brings 20-plus years of launching innovative products across multiple verticals. He is passionate about constantly engaging with customers and partners to better understand their needs. OpenText, founded in 1991 […].

Analytics 130

Analytics Contact Center Marketing Technology 130

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 1, 2021

What do you picture when someone says “contact center”? Rows of employees at computers with headsets? An office full of tiny cubicles? Personally, I picture a giant treasure chest overflowing with gold. No, I’m not insane… at least I don’t think so. But when I think of contact centers, the first thing that comes to […].

Contact Center 263

Contact Center Enterprise Personalization Analytics 263

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

I have grown up (personally and professionally) over the past 30-plus years working in the call/contact center business. I began in the early ’80s when my husband David and I owned an “interconnect” telephone company. Interconnect companies sold premise-based telecommunications systems to businesses and hooked them up to the Bell System operating companies.

Telecommunications 298

Telecommunications Contact Center Personalization Analytics 298

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

More than a year after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, the impact has greatly affected how all of us work and live. Due to the need for social distancing, many businesses closed—some for good. Other companies turned to remote-work models. This has affected some groups of workers more than others. A Look at the […].

Contact Center 298

Contact Center 298

Contact Center Pipeline

OCTOBER 21, 2021

The closure of non-essential shops, remote working and online social gatherings has been the norm for over a year. However, while it might have felt like the pandemic was driving us closer to some sort of digital utopia, it has become apparent that neither businesses nor consumers are quite ready for things to transform to […].

Multichannel 263

Multichannel Customer Experience 263

Contact Center Pipeline

OCTOBER 20, 2021

There are more ways than ever for customers to interact with a company—from chatbots to text, email and even social media. But despite the rise of new digital communication channels, voice still reigns as king when it comes to sales and customer support. The problem with voice is that, historically when a call ends, the […].

Chatbots 262

Chatbots Sales Customer Support Technology 262

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

This month, our readers have turned their interests and attention toward topics of empathy, vision, quality programs and leaders, and how to show appreciation to our agents for the upcoming Customer Service Week in October. Here are our top 5 blog posts in September. 20 Empathy Statements to Show Stressed-Out Customers That You Care These […].

Customer Service 147

Customer Service Coaching Contact Center Call Center 147

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

Contact center call volumes are increasing exponentially, resulting in supervisors dealing with agent assessments on more of an exception basis than as a normal course of business. While the expectations are that all agents will adhere to call scripts, manage conflicts and comply with regulations while treating customers with empathy, how do you make sure?

Scripts 147

Scripts Contact Center Management Technology 147

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

In appreciation… A dream doesn’t just happen. It takes determination, hard work and a “stick with it” mentality. This describes our long-time editor, Susan Hash. Susan and I began working together in 2000. By 2008, I was “retired,” cruising up-and-down the east coast. And Susan had started her own business. In November of that year, […].

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147

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

Becoming an amazing team leader takes a lot of work, and it’s certainly not always easy. But, the surprising thing is it isn’t the hardest thing in the world either—especially if you learn and adopt the positive habits that top-performing team leaders consistently apply every day! Over the past 35 years, I’ve been involved with […].

Contact Center 147

Contact Center Coaching 147

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

We considered starting this article like this: “Two grizzled training veterans walk into a bar…” but that’s not exactly how it happened. We are experienced (not grizzled) training consultants. We’ve never met in a bar, but that could happen someday! We have, however, met in professional circles, and we’re big fans of each other’s work. […].

Consulting 147

Consulting Consulting Customer Service 147

Contact Center Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Like most contact center leaders, I like data. Give me cold, hard facts and figures and I’m able to build strategies and implement processes to improve those numbers. Everyone in the contact center industry is accustomed to looking at numbers associated with cost per acquisition, connection rate and lead conversion rate. We track these key […].

Contact Center 147

Contact Center 147

Contact Center Pipeline

AUGUST 19, 2021

I remember a friend of mine saying to me once that when he sees an ugly baby, he tries so hard to find some positive way to describe them to the parent. “Wow, your baby is so… sturdy!” or “Well, he is just… got such a great head of hair!” No one would EVER tell […].

Calibration 147

Calibration Metrics Contact Center Call Center 147

Contact Center Pipeline

AUGUST 18, 2021

I’ve always known that I must listen more than I speak when coaching an agent. However, when I first became a team lead, I was always thinking about my response while the other person was speaking. The conversation running in my head kept me from actively listening to what the agent was saying, and I […].

Coaching 130

Coaching Personalization Contact Center Call Center 130