Employing around 17 million people globally, contact centres are one of the many sectors that have been affected by recent economic shifts and now more than ever budget control is at the forefront of people’s minds as companies try to maintain efficiency and growth.
There are various options for both traditional in-house and As a Service models for handling the contact centre experience but there is also another solution which may prove the most cost-effective – the informal contact centre. With the growing popularity of informal contact centres, Service Providers are beginning to see the opportunity to grow in the space that caters for so many seats. As a somewhat novel solution, informal contact centres are now showing their worth when it comes to key business must-haves, bringing efficiencies in how they can get customers the assistance they need. But what exactly is an informal contact centre? What advantages do informal contact centres hold over traditional solutions and how can an informal contact centre be implemented?
What is an informal contact centre?
Informal contact centres can take many shapes and forms, but the guiding principle which makes them so successful is the way in which they allow any type of customer-facing employee, not just call centre agents, to handle customers’ needs. Another pillar that supports this model is of course its namesake informal structure which can allow for smoother workflows and enable outside-the-box operating methods.
Usually on a smaller, less complex scale than a traditional contact centre, an informal contact centre is built around a complete customer experience. In essence, this approach means that every facet of a business can be customer facing. Imagine a call comes in and an agent needs to find a specific piece of sales information. In a traditional contact centre it may be a long or convoluted route to find that knowledge, or it may require ending the call and reaching out to the customer at a later date. Communication breaks down and the customer may even start looking elsewhere. With an informal contact centre that knowledge source is reachable instantaneously.
What are the advantages of informal contact centres?
Informal contact centres not only eliminate huge swathes of cost but also allow direct access to knowledgeable experts across different segments of a business. They ensure that the call can always be answered and that customers are given the best journey possible. With the right tools and resources, all of a business’ contact centre needs can be handled in this informal fashion. Combining the informal model with robust chatting options, analytics and central reporting could be the way forward for many who are looking to excel in a period where stagnation is running rampant. Best of all, with an informal solution a contact centre can easily be deployed using hybrid or even fully remote models across multiple geographies.
How can an informal contact centre be implemented?
At the heart of any effective contact centre there are a number of tools that ensure clear communications, collaboration and visibility.
- An efficient Omnichannel tool – Gone are the days where customers have one point of entry to a company. As communication channels grow through various social media platforms, a successful contact centre needs a single pane of glass to view all incoming queries, no matter the source.
- An appropriate, manageable analytics deck – No matter the size of the organization, being able to have access to the data that matters, as well as live wallboards is crucial for maintaining SLAs and KPIs.
- A robust and powerful AI chatbot – As informal contact centres focus on money-saving, conversational AI chatbots not only take the pressure off of staff but also allow the customer to self-serve and get access to the information they need in seconds.
- An integrated VoIP calling option – As informal contact centres rely heavily on the cloud, having a voice integration that can be setup anywhere in the world that is compatible with a familiar UCaaS is crucial. This is where deploying a Teams-based calling option is not only cost-effective but also flexible and scalable.
- Reliable CRM software – CRM software and voice platform integrations help staff manage customer information and interactions. It allows them to access customer data quickly and personalize interactions.
And what’s better than having all of this software? Having all of this software in one place.
With the Dstny ecosystem it is possible to roll out a robust, powerful, fully brandable set of products that would complete any informal contact centre. As the Dstny suite is both modular and agnostic, Service Providers can pick and choose which pieces they need to either fully round off their solution, to build upon and create their own platform or rely upon out of the box.
Contact us today to discuss the informal contact centre and how its components can be used to build powerful solutions.
