Yes, a Multichannel Contact Center CAN Replace a Dozen Apps

Meeting your customers’ communication preferences is important, especially as your business grows. This means supporting them through social media, website forms, live chat, text messages, traditional phone support, and any other channel they may use.

Finding the wrong pipes or using the wrong methods can be costly and difficult to manage.

This is true for supervisors, administrators, and agents alike.

A multi-channel contact center that centralizes communication methods in one place can solve many of these problems, making it easier to scale, saving money and improving the customer experience.

How a multi-channel contact center works

Multi-channel contact centers allow customers to interact with companies through a variety of communication channels. Agents can manage all these channels through one platform, making it easy to support customers no matter where they come from.

They’ll be able to answer calls, reply to text messages, reply to Facebook messages, provide support on X, and more all from one dashboard.

In most cases, multiple agents can work together to resolve all issues through a shared inbox.

On the management side, managers can use multichannel contact centers to bring together data that would otherwise be scattered across different tools. For example, you’ll get a more complete picture of agent performance per pipeline rather than analyzing one pipeline at a time.

Multi-channel contact center vs. omni-channel contact center

A multi-channel contact center is not exactly the same as an omni-channel contact center, and it’s important to note the differences to truly understand how these solutions work.

In a multi-channel system, all communications are managed through a single platform, but each channel is isolated and operates independently. The agent speaking to the inbound caller may not have access to the customer’s previous interactions via email or social media.

Omnichannel contact centers unify the customer experience by giving agents access to each customer’s complete communication history, regardless of channel. Sales reps can view all customer interactions, which is useful when the customer journey spans multiple touchpoints.

If you use web forms or live chat to qualify customers before directing them to customer service, an omnichannel solution can be helpful because your agents will be able to seamlessly continue communication where they left off.

If customer interactions typically start and end on the same pipe, then a multi-channel solution is sufficient.

How to deploy a multi-channel contact center

There are three main ways to build a multichannel contact center: CCaaS, CPaaS, and on-premises deployment. Here’s an overview of each so you can decide which one makes sense for your business.

CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service)

CCaaS solutions are pre-built, cloud-based contact center systems that include all communication channels under a single subscription.

They are the most affordable and easiest to set up option, making them an ideal deployment method for small to mid-sized contact centers that don’t require customization or complex setup.

You can obtain CCaaS deployments from: Call center software provider.

CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service)

CPaaS contact centers are also cloud-based, but they require developers and a lot of upfront configuration. This is a better option for businesses that need to add multiple communications capabilities to existing applications using APIs and other developer-friendly components.

For example, a health insurance provider can use a CPaaS deployment to add live chat to its existing healthcare application during open enrollment.

When you need to build channel-specific communications and customization into your existing system, this type of setup is often the only option compared to CCaaS where everything is pre-built out of the box.

It may also be a better choice if Ready-made contact center integration Not for you.

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On-premises deployments are typically reserved for enterprise organizations that have specific compliance requirements or already have existing infrastructure to handle everything in-house.

In this case, you can manage all hardware and software from your own on-site data center. You’ll have complete control over everything – including all security and customization features.

But you’re also responsible for managing all the back-end requirements for supporting your contact center, which is impractical for most businesses.

Advantages of a multi-channel contact center

There are dozens of advantages Migrate your contact center to multi-channel solutions. But these five people do a great job summarizing why you might want to switch.

Simplified technology stack

The best part of a multichannel contact center is that you can consolidate all your applications into one platform.

Instead of using one app to manage chatbots on your website, a second app for SMS marketing, and a third app for social media messaging, your multichannel contact center brings all of these elements together.

Improve agent productivity

Customer service agents will be more productive if they don’t have to switch between multiple platforms, windows, and screens while handling communications through different channels.

It’s also easier for agents to multitask if everything is centralized. For example, a single agent can handle two live chat conversations while also providing phone support through a multi-channel contact system.

Insufficient tools are one of the main reasons Causes of call center burnoutso that helps too.

The most important thing is, Contact center artificial intelligence Working across various platforms frees up agents to handle more complex situations.

Better customer experience

A multi-channel contact center is the easiest way to give your customers more options when they need to contact your business. Whether it’s sales, support or general inquiries, your customers can contact you in the most convenient way.

Providing customers with a better experience when they need help ultimately increases customer loyalty and improves retention.

See: Learn about other methods you can use Improve contact center CX No need to buy new technology and additional options Improve contact center experience.

Enhanced data collection and analysis

understand Contact center metrics Crossing multiple platforms is challenging. It may require heavy use of APIs, automation, and developer resources to bring everything together in one place.

But with a multichannel contact center, all your data is in one place. Whatever you need, it’s easier to slice and dice it without waiting for sync, automation, or developers.

You can also measure agent performance across all customer interactions, rather than trying to look at each pipeline individually.

This can lead to more powerful Contact center quality control Comprehensive.

cost saving

A multichannel contact center is usually less expensive than ten apps for ten different communication methods.

You also save on indirect costs related to agent productivity. Since one agent can handle multiple pipelines, you can also reduce the number of agents you need.

Three use cases for multi-channel contact centers

Wondering when multiple channels are enough? Each of the following scenarios does not require cross-channel interaction, so a multi-channel contact center will suffice.

e-commerce

Online stores can use multi-channel contact centers to provide support to customers before, during and after their purchase. This helps improve customer experience while increasing conversion rates.

For example, agents will be able to:

• Send text messages for flash sales and promotions.
• Provide live chat support while customers are browsing.
• Coordinate returns and exchanges via email.
• Set up pre-recorded phone-based notifications.

A customer’s pre-order inquiry about sizing or return policy isn’t necessarily related to the text message or social media interaction they received last week.

Therefore, it is not a problem that your agent cannot access the entire conversation history.

See: Understand why proxies were replaced with Outbound IVR It doesn’t matter.

health care

Individual clinics, health care networks, and insurance providers can use multi-channel contact centers to improve the patient experience.

Everyone in practice can:

• Send appointment reminders via text message and email.
• Manage live chat or web form requests for prescription refills.
• Allow patients to request new appointments online.
• Facilitate automatic billing IVR payment.
• Make telemedicine appointments via video call.
• Provide telephone support for new policies or policy changes.

Since the upcoming appointment is not related to policy renewal, full access is not necessary in many cases.

You can also integrate various healthcare tools with multi-channel contact center software for a fully connected experience, bringing patient data into your system.

SEE: Know what you actually need HIPAA Compliant VoIP Communications.

travel and hospitality

Multi-channel contact centers are popular with hotels, airlines, car rental services and even large vacation rental management companies.

Users may want to:

• Receive SMS notifications for instant flight updates.
• Sign up to get personalized email recommendations.
• Make changes to your itinerary via phone or live chat.
• Get quick support through social media.

This is another situation where a full access solution is not typically required.

Regardless of the customer’s reason for contact, customer service agents can easily access information about their upcoming reservation using the confirmation number or directly from the customer’s profile.