3 Reasons to Innovate and Modernize Your Contact Center Now

Across all industries, the contact center is undergoing a rapid transformation. Only a decade ago, there were no smartphones, social media channels, or mobile apps. Today, customer journeys take place on multiple channels, and digital interactions are starting to exceed those taking place on voice channels. The era of the single channel call center is coming to a close.

With this evolution, many companies are discovering that their current voice-centric contact center systems do not adequately support the level of service required to stay competitive. In the 2015 Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report, up to 40% of companies stated their existing systems didn’t meet their current needs, and nearly 80% said their systems wouldn’t support future needs.  One of today’s most critical service challenges is being able to meet growing customer expectations while also managing contact center infrastructure.

Some companies have simply put off making contact center infrastructure upgrades for another day. This may explain why customer service levels have continued to drop for the last four years, according to the Dimension Data report. Others have added disparate channels and point solutions but discovered that this “quick-fix” strategy creates fragmented customer interactions and substantial IT issues. As the customer experience continues to grow as a key competitive differentiator, the need for a system of engagement approach that supports omnichannel customer service across all channels and touchpoints is the answer.

Of course, making the decision to break the status quo and upgrade system infrastructure is not something to take lightly. The following are some key reasons that may lead you to the decision that now is the time to innovate and upgrade.

1. Today’s Customers Expect Seamless, Personalized Service
Although customers are shifting between channels during their journeys and even using multiple channels during a single interaction, they still want their issues resolved as quickly and effortlessly as possible. In fact, ease of resolution was ranked the top factor affecting customer satisfaction in the Dimension Data report.

Legacy contact center solutions are out of sync with today’s customer expectations, especially with customers who are tech-savvy. To provide proactive, low-effort experiences, your system must deliver consistent and seamless service across every channel and touchpoint. This can only be accomplished with a system of engagement that can orchestrate end-to-end customer journeys and provide a complete view of the customer across every channel.

2. Immediate and Long-Term Cost Savings
While upgrading system infrastructure requires an initial investment, there is a quick payback, as well as long-term financial benefit. The Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study by Forrester evaluated the impact of making the switch to the Genesys Omnichannel Engagement Center solution. In the study, findings were calculated by examining the experience of Genesys customers from every region and across industries.  Forrester concluded that Genesys customers:

• Increased agent productivity by 12.5%
• Saved more than $27 million in operational and infrastructure costs
• Increased revenue by $1 million
• Achieved an average payback in 12.8 months with an average of a 158% return on investment across contact center operations

3. Future-Proofing
When considering a contact center modernization project, it’s important to evaluate the cost of infrastructure upgrades versus to the investment in a new system. The costs of upgrades, migrations, maintenance, and proprietary hardware costs can quickly add up. As well, an aging system may not be able to support new channels or provide the level of capabilities needed to sustain service levels.

Choose an Innovator for Contact Center Infrastructure
In the process of evaluating contact center solutions, it’s wise to consider only those providers that have a proven dedication to innovation and ongoing investment in research and development. Customer expectations are continuing to evolve as technology advances. To stay competitive, it’s essential to have a system in place that can adapt to these changes to consistently deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Each year, Genesys invests more than $100 million in technology advancement to provide our customers with best-in-class innovations that support great service and provide substantial return on investment. This has consistently enabled us to offer solutions, powered by the Genesys Customer Experience Platform, that are one step ahead of those of our competitors. Through our dedication to innovation and our industry leadership, we are the provider you can count on to enable your success now and as you continue to grow.

Learn more about the benefits of modernizing your contact center with the Genesys Customer Experience Platform.