Contact centres seeking customer-centric approach need to look to the cloud

Operators of contact centres in travel and other sectors are demanding more flexibility from their systems so that they become more customer focused.

Operators of contact centres in travel and other sectors are demanding more flexibility from their systems so that they become more customer focused.

A survey of IT decision makers in travel, and the financial services, retail, charity and public sectors, found that the contact centre is becoming a revenue driver rather than a cost-centre.

The research was done by Syntec, a provider of cloud-based technology for the travel sector, and was included in a whitepaper entitled Cloud Gazing – The future of contact centre technology.

The study found that 74% of those polled have a revenue-driven approach in their contact centre to maximise opportunities for up-selling and cross-selling.

And 76% of contact centre managers said their facilities are now customer focussed. However, they are looking for improvements in the following areas:

• Multichannel integration
• Scalability to meet demand
• Video chat
• Card payment security
• Remote call connectivity

When it came to exploiting cloud technology the study found 26% of respondents were already using it, while 60% were planning to in the next year.

However, the research found a widespread lack of understanding about the advantages of cloud technology, with 48% saying they did not know why cloud technology would be better.

Managers said the contact centre of the future would offer customer hangouts, a communication platform, customer support and service.

Simon Beeching, Syntec director, said: “In today’s world consumers are as likely to connect with organisations anytime anywhere via webchat from their tablet or smartphone screen as they are to pick up the phone.

“Our research shows how contact centres need to move with the times and become even more customer-centric, with the expectation that emerging cloud technology can help deliver this.”

The Syntec whitepaper can be downloaded for free at www.syntec.co.uk/syntec/white-papers