Why Every BPO Needs an Omnichannel Contact Center for Success?
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “BPO”? You know it’s the abbreviation for Business Process Outsourcing. Apart from that what else?
The term may conjure up the image of an office space with lots of computer systems that are fitted with IP-based telephony systems where agents handle huge volumes of incoming and outgoing calls.
But contemporary BPOs are much more than plain and old call centers. They are highly sophisticated organizations that offer a wide array of services to other businesses. The services range from customer service, legal support, data entry, marketing, and more.
Speaking of customer service, the sector witnessed a remarkable change. A majority of people, who used to call customer service numbers, no longer rely on voice calls to communicate.
Equipped with smartphones, they would rather prefer to send text messages, instant messages, emails, or engage through webchat or social media. Customer communication has evolved from single-channel to multi-channel to omni-channel.
A study conducted by Microsoft found that 66 percent of customers use at least three different communication channels to contact customer service. Another research by Twilio revealed that 91 percent of customers expect omnichannel communication from organizations.
So, in such a scenario, BPOs must adapt to the rapidly changing world. They need to adopt omnichannel communication to remain at the forefront in delivering exceptional service.
Omnichannel is no longer a ‘nice-to-have.’ It’s a must-have for customer-facing organizations and BPOs.
At HoduSoft, we have helped many BPOs set up omnichannel contact centers to streamline their customer service operations and help them deliver exceptional customer experience.
In this blog post, we discuss the challenges BPOs face without omnichannel communication and why every BPO needs an omnichannel contact center for success.
If you are an owner of a BPO or a professional in the booming sector, this blog post is just for you. Read on and thank us later!
Challenges BPOs Face without Omnichannel Communication
Gone are those days when it was good enough for BPOs to provide customer service using only one channel. Now, it’s a sure-shot recipe for failure! If BPOs don’t adopt omnichannel communication, they are sure to face a lot of difficulty in communication.
1. Disjointed CX
Would it be surprising to know that fragmented communication would lead to disjointed customer experience (CX)? Without omnichannel communication, customer interactions are siloed across different channels. That doesn’t only result in less-than-desirable CX but also hamper customer service processes.
2. Customer Dissatisfaction
Can the lack of omnichannel communication cause customer dissatisfaction? Yes. Inconsistent communication and long wait times can frustrate customers and lower their satisfaction.
3. Missed Opportunities for Engagement
“Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.” This quote by noted American author H. Jackson Brown Jr. is so apt for BPOs that don’t adopt omnichannel communication. They fail to leverage every touchpoint for deeper customer interaction and engagement.
4. Losing Out to Competition
Nothing can be more harrowing than losing a competitive edge. BPOs that don’t provide omnichannel communication are more likely to lose clients to the ones that offer a more integrated communication experience.
5. Higher Operational Costs
Handling multiple channels separately can increase overhead and decrease productivity. BPOs that handle multiple customer interactions on different channels and platforms not only have higher overheads but also lower efficiency.
6. Limited Personalization
BPOs that use disjointed platforms to provide customer service lag behind in personalization. That’s because they don’t have access to customers’ past transactions and purchase history. They won’t be able to know customers’ tastes and preferences and neither can they tailor conversations accordingly.
7. Difficulty in Scaling
Without a unified platform, scaling operations becomes cumbersome as each new channel requires separate infrastructure. BPOs that don’t use omnichannel communication find it challenging to scale up or down their operations depending on their requirements.
Key Stats on Customer Expectations & Communication to Look For
We have already highlighted that nine out of every ten customers expect omnichannel communication from organizations. Now that we have discussed the perils of not leveraging omnichannel communication, let’s look at some relevant stats to know what customers actually want from organizations as far as communication and customer service is concerned.
1. Growing Popularity of Chatbots
An online poll conducted by Gartner between January and February 2022 revealed that 27 out of 50 respondents said that they are using some form of chatbot, Virtual Customer Assistant (VCA) or other types of conversational AI platforms for customer-facing applications. The study is confident that chatbots will become the primary customer service channel for a quarter of organizations by 2027.
2. Preference of Text over Email
A majority of customers prefer text messages over email. As per a study nine out of every ten respondents in 2024 prefer receiving text messages over a phone call or email.
3. Social Media
A decade ago, customer service through social media was something BPOs could never fathom. But today, a majority of people want to connect via social media and organizations need to provide that. As per one stat, in 2020-2021 alone, preference for social messaging for customer service increased 110 percent! Another data revealed that two out of every five customers expect a response within an hour of contacting a brand via social media. The 2023 Sprout Social Index, 70 percent of social media users expect brands to provide personalized customer support.
4. Instant Messaging
As per a study published by Freshworks 64 percent of customers tried a new messaging channel to reach out to companies in 2020. According to another study, 37 percent of customers prefer instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to communicate with companies.
Increase ROI of BPO with Omnichannel Contact Center Software
Benefits of Using Omnichannel Contact Center
It’s obvious that omnichannel communication brings a wide range of benefits for BPOs of all types and sizes. The list is very long indeed. Here we add some most crucial points:
1. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
As most customers want and expect omnichannel communication from BPOs, they are more likely to be satisfied when they experience a seamless and consistent service across all channels. Their satisfaction level will increase by leaps and bounds.
2. Improved CX
An omnichannel contact center enhances CX by offering seamless, personalized service across multiple communication channels (e.g., phone, chat, social media). It allows customers to switch channels without losing context. It builds trust and ensures customers can reach out anytime.
3. Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity
Omnichannel communication equals enhanced efficiency and productivity. By streamlining communication across various channels, it enables agents to handle multiple interactions simultaneously. Unified platforms provide agents with real-time access to customer data.
4. Better Data Integration and Analytics
Omnichannel contact centers enable better data integration by consolidating customer interactions across all channels into a unified platform. Advanced analytics tools can analyze all relevant data to identify trends, measure performance, and gain actionable insights into customer behavior.
5. Personalization
Omnichannel communication results in more personalized interactions. That’s because the BPOs adopting omnichannel communication can leverage centralized data from different channels. As they have access to customer history and past transactions, they can tailor interactions based on that.
6. Competitive Advantage
An omnichannel contact center provides a significant competitive advantage to BPOs. As many organizations are adopting omnichannel communication, BPOs that don’t follow suit are at the risk of being left behind. When BPOs offer seamless interactions across various communication channels, they can easily meet customer expectations for convenience and responsiveness.
How to Set Up an Omnichannel Contact Center
Setting up an omnichannel contact center is a strategic process. It requires proper planning and execution. BPOs need to get it right and that would enable them to deliver seamless, integrated customer experiences across various communication channels. Here are some key steps to set up an effective omnichannel contact center:
1. List the Must-have Features and Set a Reasonable Budget
First of all, list out all the features that your omnichannel contact center must have. That would help you to be extremely specific and strategic while choosing from a wide array of solutions.
Some of the must-have features in omnichannel contact center include SMS and WhatsApp broadcasting, agent survey and IVR, mobile call forwarding, inbuilt mini Customer Relationship Management (CRM), inbuilt mini ticketing, advanced dialers, just to name a few. Listing the must-have features will also give you an idea about the price of the solution. That would help BPO owners to set aside a reasonable budget to avoid over-spending and under-spending.
2. Choose the Right Omnichannel Contact Center Solutions Provider
After determining the features and earmarking a reasonable budget, it’s time to look for the right omnichannel contact center solutions providers. An online search will help you come across various types of omnichannel contact center solutions providers but the challenge is to look for the one that can provide you with the right solutions.
With so many solution providers in the market it is like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack. But finding the right omnichannel solutions provider can mean the difference between delighted customers and frustrated ones. So, make sure that you invest adequate time, efforts, and resources to handpick the right solution provider for your BPO. After contacting omnichannel solutions providers request free trials.
3. Leverage Sophisticated Omnichannel Contact Center Software
Using the free demo version of omnichannel contact center solutions will help you make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase the software solution. If it ticks the right boxes, make the purchase decision. Installing a sophisticated omnichannel contact center software solution requires you to take care of certain things.
Train your agents to use the omnichannel contact center software. Make sure that they can manage and switch between various channels effectively. Provide specialized training for chat, voice, social media, instant messages, and more.
4. Ensure Seamless Channel Integration
For a truly omnichannel experience, you need to ensure that all communication channels are integrated seamlessly. Allow customers to switch between channels (e.g., from chat to phone or email to social media) without losing context. This ensures a consistent experience and helps avoid customer frustration.
Implement a system where all interactions are recorded in a unified customer profile regardless of the channel. Collect feedback at every touchpoint (chat, call, or email) to refine contact center operations.
5. Empower Your Agents for Omnichannel Excellence
Apart from training your agents to leverage the omnichannel contact center software in the right manner, empower them to be adept at handling omnichannel communication. Omnichannel support isn’t just about technology. It’s also about maintaining a human touch.
Make sure that your agents communicate with empathy and clarity across all channels. Equip agents with in-depth knowledge of the omnichannel contact center software.
6. Leverage Advanced Analytics and Reporting
To continuously improve your contact center, leverage advanced reporting and analytics. Use real-time dashboards to monitor agent performance, channel activity, and customer satisfaction.
Use AI-driven sentiment analysis to gauge customer emotions in real-time across channels. This helps prioritize tickets from frustrated customers or detect urgent issues quickly.
Taking Everything Into Consideration,
In today’s age, adopting an omnichannel contact center is no longer a luxury but a necessity for BPOs striving to stay competitive in today’s fast-paced, customer-centric market. By consolidating communication channels, improving agent efficiency, and enhancing customer satisfaction, omnichannel solutions can drive significant business growth.
At HoduSoft, we have helped many BPOs with our HoduCC omnichannel contact center software and comprehensive omnichannel CX suite. With HoduCC, BPOs can enhance customer engagement, increase operational efficiency, and achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.
If you’re ready to take your customer service to the next level, integrating an omnichannel solution like HoduCC contact center software could be the game changer your BPO needs for long-term success.
