What Unified Communications Means to Customer Service

Companies that have implemented a strong unified communications (UC) strategy realize the benefits of doing so very quickly. More effective communication yields many positive results, such as enhanced efficiency, better productivity, timely resolution to problems, and improved collaboration. Unfortunately, one area that often gets shortchanged or omitted from the UC equation is customer service. This is where UC is often able to make its heaviest impact, which is why it must be brought into implementation planning in its early stages.

First Call Resolution

Customer service is often faced with hours of complex issues and questions every day. By incorporating UC into call center operations, critical employees are given rapid access to the information and personnel they need. Instant messaging, web phone calls, screen sharing, and video conferencing are tools that help gather the information needed to provide well-constructed resolutions to customers the first time they call. Callbacks will diminish significantly and call center managers will see average handling time and call efficiency improve dramatically. Most quality UC modules integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) software and call routing technology to eliminate unnecessary steps and keep traffic flowing freely.

Increased Customer Satisfaction

Faster responses and decreased hold times make customers happier, and UC facilitates these improvements. Gone are the bottlenecks of cluttered email inboxes or voicemail that hasn’t been checked for days. UC paves a straight path to necessary personnel, resulting in better service and a better experience. Ultimately, happy customers will stay loyal to the company and share their positive interactions with friends and family -- more potential customers.

Quickly Evolving Features

UC vendors know that companies want to be seamless and productive in all departments. Because of this, creative solutions, added integration services, and broader packages of UC services are now offered by UC specialists. If the vendor does not have a desired technology, they’ve likely partnered with a third party to provide exactly what the customer needs.

Many call center environments can already be integrated into UC systems. For new installations of contact center systems and a UC environment, it's important to know which modules will work well together. For existing systems that are not compatible, it is worth transitioning to a new call center product that does partner with UC. This is obviously a very large undertaking that should be carefully and comprehensively analyzed.

Customer service should be one of a company’s top priorities for incorporation into UC strategy. The benefits of folding the two together are immense enough to make it worth the added effort.