#contactcenterworld, @puzzelsolutions, @PRArtistry

Jamie MacSween of Puzzel shares his thoughts on the consumer switch to email, and why it has become more important in contact centres, as well as how to use automated ticketing to resolve a sharp influx of customer enquiries.

Coronavirus has been a catalyst for change, not least in the contact centre world. Long-standing debates about rising customer expectations, the merits of flexible working and whether to stay on-premise or move to the cloud have come to a head. The pandemic has imposed digital communication between organisations and consumers – something that many were unfamiliar with. As this digital passage progresses, online activity such as shopping has increased, and with it, an influx of customer service enquiries. As customer behaviour changes, contact centre change has been fast-tracked to deal with a surmountable surge in enquiries as the digital world soars.

Crucially, the pandemic has revealed how organisations that rely on legacy systems and resist transitioning to the cloud have struggled to adapt to increased customer demand and a new contact centre environment where the majority of agents work remotely.

Since Coronavirus hit, there has been a significant uplift in email traffic as a means for customers to communicate with an organisation, with contact centres having, in some cases, switched off voice and moved to other channels in order to manage huge spikes in demand. Email is also the basis for good ticketing systems, the new go-to solution for delivering a seamless customer experience (CX). The other significant benefit is that this technology enables home-working agents to interact professionally with customers as they juggle domestic chores, childcare and pets. After all, dogs cannot be heard barking on email.

As some sense of normality resumes, now is the time to take a closer look at email and ticketing, and what this may look like moving forward:

Five reasons to deploy integrated ticketing in contact centres

1. Reduce customer and agent frustration – when response times are longer than usual, a customer might send four emails relating to the same request in a bid to receive a quicker reply. As a result, contact centre inboxes can escalate from 1,000 to 4,000 emails in a very short space of time – frustrating for agents and for customers alike. Integrated ticketing capabilities help contact centres handle large volumes of emails and tickets. They can track and consolidate multiple messages from the same person, or ticket number, enabling agents to deliver one consistent response to the customer, therefore relieving customer frustrations.
   
   
2. Efficiencies for faster service – with increased customer demand potentially putting pressure on the warehouse, your contact centre can rely on the latest ticketing solutions to set and manage customer expectations, which is essential to boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty. Use ticketing to generate automatic responses to communicate the progress and estimated arrival of goods to calm frazzled customers and soothe agent nerves. Develop time-saving automatic bulk announcements, such as when the business is open or closed. Agents can swiftly categorise incoming emails either manually or automatically and use templates to provide customised, efficient responses while accelerating wrap-up and follow-up times.
   
   
3. Turn on the lights to deliver unified CX – with all data sitting in the cloud - and linked to automated email and ticketing technology - agents are well equipped to combine the real-time capabilities of the cloud with integrated ticketing and an easy-to-use agent application. This gives employees complete visibility of all customer interactions and empowers agents to solve both simple and complex customer issues from start to finish, and deliver a unified customer experience.
   
   
4. Service with a smile – make the most of customisable templates to give customers a highly personalised service. Agents can even add emojis to greetings and messages, adding a human touch to electronic communications and giving customers a welcoming, engaging experience. Modern ticketing solutions are sophisticated enough to identify VIP customers, so that they receive priority treatment. This in turn inspires loyalty, encourages future spend and stimulates revenue growth. They’re also highly scalable, making it easy to add additional features such as new languages. Ticketing is the ideal solution for contact centres with geographically dispersed agents and international customers.
   
   
5. Enhanced security and compliance – fast and easy to implement, the latest cloud-based ticketing solutions also allow contact centres to manage any number of emails remotely and securely across a virtualised workforce and multiple locations. Secure data storage aids compliance with important personal privacy legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Using integrated ticketing solutions, agents are able to set and adhere to deletion periods for holding personal data while a clear audit trail of deleted emails helps to demonstrate organisational compliance.

As this surge in demand and shift to online communications continues, email ticketing is a flexible, efficient and satisfying way to interact with customers learning to navigate the digital world, and to deliver top-notch, effortless customer experience.

#contactcenterworld, @puzzelsolutions, @PRArtistry