The New Cloud-Based Answering Service
The answering service industry is one that has really benefitted from the evolution of the cloud for business applications. In a virtualized business world, this industry is holding its own and more. What started out as specialized utilization — use of software as a service, managing applications and sharing resources through cloud technologies — is becoming common practice in the answering service industry.
Contact centers have increasingly come to use cloud-based software because it allows them to completely integrate with existing customers and partners while still providing ability to deliver a streamlined and efficient service that is highly personal.
Cloud-based software that is shared between contact centers and client partners enables answering services to relay messages over multiple platforms and keep information updated in real time. Because of the cloud, contact centers are no longer tied to one fixed location such as an office building. It gives them the green advantage of using lower amounts of electricity and emitting smaller amounts of carbon while at the same time making them less vulnerable to natural disasters or technical failures that could bring their services to a standstill just when they are needed most.
With the coming evolution of the 24 hour business day and today’s customer expectation of instant information, call centers that are connected via the cloud world-wide can provide around-the-clock customer service. The idea of anyone calling a service number on a website and getting an answering machine has become almost archaic with the advent of the 24/7 customer service center that is connected via the cloud to time zones anywhere in the world.
This anytime anywhere service model is bound to grow as smartphones, laptops and now iPads and computing tablets have made businesses even more mobile. With this mobility comes a higher number of consumers spending money and time online. According to Forrester Research, tablet users are expected to grow at a rate of 51% from 2010 to 2015. This will be reflected in increased use of customer service for both consumers and businesses, as this mobility brings them into a business cycle that becomes increasingly 24/7.
An example of the latest cloud based tool for this type of customer service center is the cloud-based switch that can setup “universal queuing” to enable a call center to route emails, calls, chats and any other type of customer service contact all in the same way. Primary, secondary and tertiary agent skills can be established that allows all incoming contacts to be identified and segmented to the correct agent, wherever they are located. This system eliminates hard queues and improves services while cutting agent populations by 20% and generating real switch data for workforce management tools. All of this leads to better customer service and lower costs.
Another major evolution currently underway for customer service has been the movement to cloud-based web services such as social media as a customer service tool. With so many of any industry’s clients using social media, it is only logical to include a customer channel that is highly active to provide the best customer service possible. The top five industries that are currently engaged in this practice are Retail, Telco, Travel & Hospitality, Cable and Financial Services according to a leading customer service industry blog.
The movement to the cloud for customer service has only one direction to go – up. With cloud-based service ticket management tools that can create, track, escalate and resolve customer service requests in real time, service requests become more efficient and effective. Cloud-based software encourages cross-sell opportunities, measures employee staff productivity and improves the effectiveness of any customer service department with real time analytical reporting. It is the perfect tool for any customer service business and as the cloud evolves, customer service and how it reaches out to the client to take care of needs before they become problems will continue to evolve along with it.
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