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Choosing the Right Contact Center Solution for Your CX Strategy

 

Jessica Smith, Sr. Manager, Product Marketing, Contact Center, 8x8

Navigating a sea of options  

Choosing the right contact center (CC) infrastructure for your business can be tough. The process can be time consuming and somewhat daunting as you look upon an array of options that all seem alike. But, it is actually more straightforward than you may think.

Narrowing down the options starts with understanding which CC solution is the best fit for your customer experience (CX) strategy and operations.  In order to do that, however, you have to first define your organization’s CX strategy. 

Outlining your overall CX strategy requires an understanding of: 

• Your customer’s wants and needs when interacting with your business  
• What your organization is trying to accomplish when interacting with customers at every touchpoint
• How to be prepared to adapt to future needs and expectations
• How to enable experiences that attract and retain customers  

And while the contact center is not the sole consideration in defining your CX strategy, it is an integral part of your customers’ journey. It therefore becomes a cornerstone of your organization's overall approach to customer experience. 

Forbes states that “the contact center sits at the epicenter of brands’ battle for CX. Because it’s often the first and only interaction a brand has with the customer, that means the contact center can make or break CX”. Part of delivering on a powerful CX strategy involves having the right technology in place to execute your vision.  

Uncovering challenges in the contact center that diminish high quality CX

Defining your CX strategy involves an assessment of current challenges that may be preventing you from interacting with your customers in ways that are meaningful to them. 

Any of these challenges ring a bell?  

• Impersonal customer interactions, or inability to deliver personalization 
• No global service 
• Costly maintenance and upgrades 
• Difficulty enabling and empowering remote workers 
• Voice-only interactions 
• No self-service 
• Complex agent desktops or tools that negatively impact productivity 
• Lack of cross-departmental communication outside the walls of the contact center  

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, you’re likely feeling the pain of outdated technology.

Microsoft’s Global State of Customer Service 2020 study found that “90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company.”  It is therefore critical to have a solution in place that enables the contact center to play a key role in keeping customers satisfied.  

This means that it’s probably time to for your business to consider and vet the leading contact center infrastructure solutions on the market in order to improve your customer experience and operational efficiencies. 

Using the 8x8 Contact Center Buyer’s Guide

Our Contact Center Buyer’s Guide was created to help you simplify your CC technology vetting and selection process. It offers a broad range of expertise, capabilities, and platform considerations that should be taken into account when determining the right solution for your CX strategy. 

Insights in this guide can:   

• Help you uncover challenges that make change necessary
• Show you what to expect from a best-of-breed solution with all the features and functionality necessary to power your CX strategy
• Outline the importance of analytics capabilities that provide valuable insights across the organization 
• Emphasize the value of an open platform that is easy to integrate with existing systems and  adapt to new technologies, all while keeping the solid foundation of your CC solution
• Provide clarity around security, business continuity, and compliance  

So, if you’re considering a new contact center solution due to the constraints of your current technology, or you need additional guidance defining your CX strategy, then we’ve got your back. Download our Contact Center Buyer’s Guide and accompanying checklist for steps to help simplify your evaluation process.