No matter what industry you deal in, customer interaction is something you cannot escape from. The success and growth of every business are rooted in its customer service. Today’s economy, market dynamics, and business landscape have digitalized and have their customer communication channels. An overwhelming increase in the customer base has led to an increase in customer services and contact centers. To facilitate the customers, traditional on-premise customer contact centers are insufficient. They are not equipped to deal with increasing customer base and demands. This need has given birth to the cloud contact center. A cloud contact center offers solutions a notch above traditional customer contact methods by harnessing the latest cloud technologies.
This digital customer communication channel is more flexible, scalable, efficient, and cost-effective as compared to other channels. Not only does it exceed the customer’s expectations, but it is fully equipped to deal with overwhelming amounts of data. Modern problems require modern solutions, and cloud contact centers provide just that. The aim of this article is to explore the different facets of cloud contact centers, including their benefits in growing a business. You could have a small, medium, or a big thriving business, but you will need cloud centers to improve your customer interactions. This is a smart investment and will fetch you a fortune in future prospects.
What is a Cloud Contact Center?
Speaking in technical terms, a cloud contact center is a portal or centralized digitally hosted communication channel. A third party manages it on a remote server usually, and it forms a smooth communication channel with the customers. It enables inbound and outbound calls along with chat, emails, and social media options. A Cloud contact center uses a special cloud-based software also called Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS). When a business adds additional support channels, a hosted contact service encourages the process by responding to customer requests and optimizing agent productivity.
A contact center service by the Cloud technology acts as a communication and interactive portal. It operates under call center technology. A call center works on the same principle as a cloud contact center. A cloud contact center is not bound by a specific server or location. It operates entirely remotely. This is the beauty of the cloud that your team can access it from any part of the world. There would be no compromise on its performance and quality of operations. The two main technologies used in cloud call centers are:
- automatic call distributors (ACD)
- interactive voice response (IVR) systems
ACD
It automatic call distributors enable behind-the-scene automation for call routing. The ACD technology makes sure that incoming calls link directly to the appropriate contact center agent. It will connect you to the best agent available for your service.
IVR
This system allows users to choose options from the given menu by pressing the desired number. Users can also ask specific requests, and the system interprets them using NLP technology. IVR has an audible menu that welcomes the users when they call the center.
Benefits of Cloud Contact Centers
Benefits of Cloud Contact Centers
Flexibility
Cloud contact centers are accessible from any part of the world. The easy accessibility and flexibility allow users to access them from any device which has a stable internet connection. CCaaS platforms are not constrained by physicality, and therefore it makes it easier for businesses to implement remote culture. The flexibility of contact centers allows operations from multiple locations and devices. This can be easily scaled as needed.
Scalability
Since these cloud contact centers are flexible, they can easily be scaled up and down when the organization needs them. As the business needs change, growth occurs, and new agents and capabilities are added as needed. New features, technicalities, and lines are added or subtracted. Whereas when we see on-premise contact centers, they require upgrades too, but it comes at a hefty cost. Features addition and removal will be a time-consuming process.
Cost-Effectiveness
Cloud contact centers are cost-efficient. Physical call centers and customer interaction points usually face high costs associated with maintenance, payrolls, fixed costs, etc. However, this is not the situation with Cloud centers. They usually operate remotely, so the need for physical space is eliminated. The cost of hiring agents every now and then also reduces. When a third party takes operation into its hands, significant overhead expenses go down. As a result, the efficiency of cloud business solutions goes up.
So, if you are fed up with the high costs and want to switch from physical and on-premise contact centers, there is no better option than cloud contact centers. They are better, smarter, and more efficient.