The Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking

"Yes, this is mandatory but the technology should be very easy to use and comparable with traditional e-mail accounts or have better features other than detailed statistics"

"Yes. A multi-tiered highly targeted approach allows for personalization that increases resolution rates, encourages loyalty and leads to additional upsells and cross sells."

"Yes, most definitely as our customers and competitors alike are moving forward so quickly that we feel offering a multi channel approach gives us the edge. Our customers’ requests for handling multiple channels is growing every day and we feel that with our ever increasing pool of talented, specialised staff we are now able to utilise their skills to the optimum levels. Innovation is crucial in our business and we find that by providing this service offering that we are always striving to be the best."

"Yes, and we are looking to expand to more social media channels to meet the needs of today's Web 2.0 customers."

"Absolutely. Communications channels are changing people – They are no longer using the phone to achieve resolution to customer service issues. We have seen a steep rise in other 'channel' communication and expect these to rise further."

"Yes, absolutely. Our customers insist on multi-channel options."

"Far too little is done in this area. Customer needs are not being listened to and the development of such a multi channel environment is limited"

"It’s better for a small group of customers. However, the bulk of customers prefer the phone. To make this a full success the customer needs support, education and encouragement to use different channels of support."

"One sales example: there was a mix-up in customer communication when a sales agent tried responding to a call at the same time as a chat request. The phone call log was affected worse than the chat, though both issues were addressed."

"Yes, we will develop and include SMS and outbound in our center."

"Yes, it is much better to be able to offer customers a number of options to obtain support from us."

"Yes, but at the same time we needed to increase our Agent Staff to keep up with the increased demands"

"Absolutely. In today's fast paced society, individuals want access to information quickly and they want access to this information using the medium of THEIR choice. The STORM multi-channel contact centre allows customers to do just that, providing a better customer experience."

"Absolutely, we have different folks from different demographics that include rural, urban, older and younger generations. They all tend to do things differently and we are here to meet them and their needs."

"Yes, because the customer can choose the channel that better fits them."

"Absolutely! Our clients want their customers to have 24X7 access to the business."

"Yes, we are able to obtain more information from multiple sources that speeds up processes and performance, as well as fulfils information relay more effectively."

"The best way is to answer the customer in the way that he chooses. For example, with help desk activities email management is definitely better."