Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 26, 2023

Formal Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BC/DR) planning has always been a very important aspect of contact centers’ success. In the May 2020 issue of this esteemed publication, I showed how Covid and the move to work-from-home (WFH) provided a clear rationale for making preparedness mission-critical.

Contact Center 208

Contact Center Management 208

Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 24, 2023

When the customer experience (CX) fails, both the product and the service, but critically the customer service (see my recent blog No Excuses for Poor Disaster CX), there are essential steps to take to ensure an improved CX the next time. These are: Apologize to the customers.

Customer Experience 130

Customer Experience Customer Service 130

Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 12, 2023

Area of expertise: Building Emotionally Intelligent and Adaptable teams. Developing human capital through diverse tools and techniques. What is your background in the industry? I have worked in the Contact Center industry in various roles supporting CX and EX. I started off as an agent at an Answering Service in high school and market research […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Answering services Marketing Customer Experience 130

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

JANUARY 3, 2023

Technology cycles come and go, but with cloud and digital transformation becoming so pervasive, the contact center space has never been poised for so much fundamental change. Legacy-based contact centers have long operated separately from the rest of the organization, using purpose-built technology, and managing customer-facing staff who had minimal interaction with internal employees.

Customer Service 147

Customer Service Contact Center Technology Management 147

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 29, 2022

The disruption never stops. Between supply chain issues, workforce shortages, natural disasters, and whatever is about to hit us next, disruption is everywhere – and it’s causing an abundance of unhappy customers. The worst part: disruption typically causes a spike in customer service needs, which magnifies customer experience (CX) issues for brands that are not […].

Contact Center 298

Contact Center Customer Experience Customer Service Personalization 298

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

DECEMBER 7, 2022

At contact centers, human interactions matter. According to the 2022 CX Leader Trends & Insights report, 80% of customers indicated that positive experiences increase the likelihood of return purchases. On the other hand, negative experiences affect future purchasing decisions 80% of the time. Despite the rise of automation in contact centers, consumers value human interactions […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Customer Experience 130

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 6, 2022

My first professional exposure to contact centers came in 2005, and it didn’t take long to fall in love with the industry. The pace, challenges, and mission piqued my curiosity and inspired me to design solutions for some of the industry’s most pressing challenges, such as agent retention and performance. Over the last 17 years, […].

Contact Center 133

Contact Center 133

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

One of the key missions of banks is to help their customers understand their finances, and the choices and the products and services available, in order to help them make the best decisions. These range from opening a savings account to seeking a mortgage or setting up a financial plan for their future. At the […].

Finance 147

Finance Banking Accountability Customer Service 147

Contact Center Pipeline

OCTOBER 13, 2022

In recent years there has been an uptick in the number of digital channels through which customers can be engaged. These range from websites to mobile phone apps, to social media and eCommerce platforms, to the Internet of Things, and to virtual assistants such as Siri and Alexa. This is on top of traditional voice […].

Management 147

Management Interactive Voice Response Chatbots Customer Experience 147

Contact Center Pipeline

OCTOBER 12, 2022

It’s time to staff up for the holidays! Yes, it’s hot out there. But contact center managers know that winter is around the corner and what these holidays mean in their business: call volume spikes. Therefore, you need to hire, onboard, and train new agents now so they’re ready to go when customers come calling. […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Management Gamification 130

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 27, 2022

As with business-to-consumer (B2C) contact centers, business-to-business (B2B) contact centers also had to suddenly have their agents work-from-home (WFH) when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Businesses selling to other businesses have long had a culture of remote work… Like their consumer-facing counterparts, not a few business centers had trialed WFH before the pandemic, which gave those […].

B2B 259

B2B B2C Contact Center Cloud contact 259

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 3, 2022

People tend to focus on the amount of time they spend on hold when they think about what’s wrong with customer service. But I’m convinced that it is the agent—the person who answers the call we make to the contact center—who is the real linchpin of the customer service experience. Therefore, lifting the capability and […].

Contact Center 147

Contact Center Personalization Customer Service 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

MAY 26, 2022

Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, employers, like contact centers, (known as “covered entities” under the law), have scrambled to understand how the act applies to them. Overwhelmingly, organizations have taken a reactive approach to the ADA. To illustrate, in a study conducted by the Great Lakes ADA Center, […].

Contact Center 147

Contact Center 147

Contact Center Pipeline

APRIL 12, 2022

You ask Siri if you need your umbrella, and she tells you it looks like rain. You ask Alexa to play some jazz, and Miles Davis flows out of the speaker. So, computers understand what we say now, right? But the answer isn’t so simple. Because to understand what we say, computers must solve two […].

Technology 130

Technology 130

Contact Center Pipeline

MARCH 18, 2022

We entered 2021 with a new U.S. administration and fresh ideas about the regulatory role of the federal government. Based on President Joe Biden’s public statements and appointments to key leadership positions, there was reason to expect some significant changes in the laws that directly impact contact centers. However, 2021 has turned out to be […].

Government 130

Government Contact Center Telemarketing Sales 130

Contact Center Pipeline

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

As any American (or newcomer or visitor to the United States) can attest, contacting the U.S. government can be a daunting, almost intimidating, and too often a frustrating experience. Inadequate online self-help, limited interaction channels, multiple phone numbers and web sites, excessive form filling and paperwork, having to contact multiple agencies, and finding the right […].

Government 130

Government Technology Customer Experience 130

Contact Center Pipeline

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

On August 20, 2011, guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host Glen Campbell released his sixty-first album entitled Ghost on the Canvas. It was intended to be Campbell’s final studio album following his being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Campbell and his producer wanted to record one final studio album of original material while he was […].

130

130

Contact Center Pipeline

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Are your new employees aware of the multiple ways customers are interacting with your brand? Do they understand your brand promise and what distinguishes you from your competitors? The answers to these questions are critical to delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX). When onboarding new employees, make sure your organization’s customer-centric philosophy, values, and principles […].

Customer Experience 130

Customer Experience Customer centricity Management 130

Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 12, 2022

Absenteeism among contact center agents has been a persistent problem for years, with many businesses dedicating human resources and operations staff members specifically to the pursuit of a solution. But the coronavirus pandemic seems to have revealed a solution that was hiding in plain sight all along: a greater level of workplace flexibility for agents. […].

Contact Center 130

Contact Center Technology 130

Contact Center Pipeline

JANUARY 6, 2022

The pandemic exposed two significant insights about the state of customer service: A poor customer experience coupled with pandemic-fueled emotions can push customers to the brink of tears; and Customers don’t have much faith in conventional self-service options. Research released by software company Pegasystems found that the pandemic created extraordinary challenges that intensified customers’ longstanding […].

Self service 182

Self service Customer centricity Customer Experience Customer Service 182

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 16, 2021

Much has been written about the impact of the pandemic on just about everything, including what it means to be a customer. Check-ups and appointments went online. Brick-and-mortar retail turned to digital. Our entire experience with brands was contained within a few square inches of a screen. Now, with social distancing restrictions lifting, the question […].

Self service 130

Self service Multichannel Technology Customer Experience 130

Contact Center Pipeline

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Contact center leaders must take charge of the inevitable transition to positioning the center as an enterprise strategic asset rather than a factory-like, back-room operation. The identity of your contact center in the enterprise is undeniably linked to how others see you—or perhaps don’t see you at all. The contact center’s value is inextricably tied […].

Contact Center 147

Contact Center Enterprise 147

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

This month’s top 5 blog posts highlight two of our most in-demand topics: customer experience (CX) and expanding your workforce. In our CX posts, our authors touch on everything from CX management programs, platforms, and governance, to improving your customer service emails and live chat experiences. We also take a look at how reaching out […].

Government 182

Government Customer Experience Management Customer Service 182

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincerest gratitude to all of our readers for your time and support of our articles and blog posts throughout the years. Thank you—and have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Contact Center 147

Contact Center Call Center 147

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

When the world went rapidly digital, customer engagement solutions such as intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs) became invaluable pandemic frontline first responders in the customer service realm. Today, IVA technology is revolutionizing how customer service is delivered and is changing the game for many organizations as they strive to come back stronger in the post-pandemic era […].

Chatbots 214

Chatbots Technology Customer Service Self service 214

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

Today’s customers want to get in touch with businesses fast, and live chat is a strong tool for meeting that expectation. Not only does live chat let agents monitor and engage website and app visitors with ease, but it also allows them to obtain crucial information like order details and shopping pain points that agents […].

Personalization 130

Personalization Technology 130

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

“Thank you for contacting us.” There’s nothing wrong with that little email starter sentence, but it’s not great, either. Think about it. In most cases, you’re thanking customers for doing something they wish they didn’t have to do: email you to complain about a problem or to get help. Sure, that opener is polite enough, […].

Customer Service 200

Customer Service 200

Contact Center Pipeline

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

COVID-19 redefined how we work together. It caused us to act differently and work better together as humans, and not just business leaders. It was very apparent in the latter days of 2020 that leading, managing and coaching virtually was here to stay. In addition, companies realized the benefits of securing talent outside of their […].

Coaching 130

Coaching Management Employee engagement 130