A surge in omni-channel platforms like social media, call center, and chat are to be expected as customers demand for quicker responses.
There is no doubt that the contact center trends of this year 2021, are greatly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses have to restructure their business models as the world continues to shift to the new normal. This includes our new way of working, where it is more technology driven, flexible and remote work setup.
While we continue to stay indoors, this year’s contact center outsourcing trends are focused on digital transformations while improving both the customers and employees experiences. More so, a surge in omni-channel platforms like social media, call center, and chat are to be expected as customers demand for quicker responses.
List of Contact Center Trends in 2021
Here’s a closer look at the contact center trends that we can look forward to this year.
Work from home
One thing is for sure, even with the availability of the vaccines, safety will still remain as a top priority in 2021. In fact, according to 89% of UK contact center executives, the pandemic has indeed changed the market industry forever. This year, expect that work from home will still be at the forefront of the business industry.
Self service tools
As e-commerce platforms become more and more user-centric, customers now prefer to achieve their goals without needing the help of a customer support agent. Studies have shown that over 91% of customers use their online knowledge to resolve issues independently, while 40% would rely on customer support after they have fully exhausted their online knowledge.
This pandemic has brought everything online and it has also introduced to customers a contactless approach to services. In terms of customer support, chatbots, web portals, and other self-service tools will be in trend for this year.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
While this isn’t really a new trend, businesses are expected to invest more in the use of AI to improve their contact center services. The use of artificial intelligence has helped businesses to automate their service channel platforms, making it easier for agents to perform several tasks and give immediate response to customers effectively.
Cloud technologies
A lot of businesses have already switched to the use of cloud services, including contact centers. This allows contact centers to communicate with their customers the same way they do in their physical offices. Cloud technologies enable agents to have access to their contact center system through the use of a software and the internet. This allows them to perform their tasks anywhere and anytime.
