For years OmniChannel has been touted as the ultimate customer experience eliminating a key customer complaint of having to reexplain their issue when changing communication channels. However, to deliver this experience requires considerable consolidation of contact center providers and a large operational costs. The next generation solution is unifying the communication methods into one connection, providing the customer a SimulChannel experience. This experience enables the customer and company to communicate in all communication methods Simultaneously.
SimulChannel allows customers and agents to communicate via multiple channels simultaneously. For example, a customer can start chatting, then have the agent reach out via phone to clarify certain items, hang up and wait for a file to be uploaded, and then continue in chat as the customer confirms resolution. The agent can continue to work multiple cases at the same time as chat agents do today. SimulChannel is powered by unified communication platforms that integrate voice, chat, video, screen share, file share, whiteboards, and more into one seamless experience.
Unified communication platforms like Teams, Zoom, and Cisco have allowed businesses to incorporate voice, chat, video, screen share, file share, whiteboards, and more into one connected experience. That experience is recorded, summarized by AI, documented as notes, and stored as one interaction as it is one stream of communication. This proven and powerful technology is the future of contact center communication.
Imagine an experience where a customer initiates a request to communicate with a live agent, and instead of having to pick between chat or voice, they are given all modalities simultaneously. If a file needs to be given, a screen shared, or an AI translation service applied, it all happens interchangeably in one stream of connection. The customer can solve their problem faster unhindered by the challenges that come with swapping channels.
With SimulChannel, customers can start a conversation with an agent on any channel they prefer, and switch to another channel in real-time because they are connected to one stream of communication with the contact center. The customer can also share their screen or a file with the agent or use video or a whiteboard for visual assistance. The beauty of this solution is that all these channels are available at the same time, and the customer can choose the best one for their situation. Customers who leverage the same UC platform for personal or work communication can even start a support request by looking up the support company’s name and begin an interaction just like employees do when communicating with a coworker. In this scenario, the need for expensive phone numbers and dedicated phone lines is drastically reduced, saving significant operational costs for the enterprise.
On the deployment side, call centers no longer must try to find ways to pass information from one modality to another, adding additional agents or back-office personnel is seamless since the system being used is the same. Telecom and networks are virtually eliminated as the network capabilities of the UC platforms are leveraged. Phone numbers could be eliminated as these interactions begin on the web where the customer has already started as they attempted to self-serve. Fraudulent calls are minimized because additional fraud controls can be applied outside of the telecom network. SimulChannel also enhances security and privacy, as all communications are managed and maintained in a single interaction that can be recorded, stored, and monitored by security systems.
SimulChannel is not only convenient for customers, and operational staff, but also for agents. Agents can handle multiple interactions at once because they can stop the voice interface and use chat while the customer looks up information allowing them to interact with a second customer at the same time. Agents can also collaborate with other agents or experts using the same UC platform by bringing them into the same interaction just as employees add another coworking into a conference call. They can transfer or escalate cases without losing any data or context because the entire interaction lives in the UC platform eliminating the need for an agent to review notes from a CRM. When the interaction is complete there is no need for the agent to take notes as that single interaction is stored so that when that customer wants to interact again on that activity they can reconnect to that same interaction and start where the interaction left off.
This game changing swap to SimulChannel will not only enable faster communication, but it will be a natural add on to the AI Powered experience. When communication with a live agent is required, the customer will be connected in the same window they were using when interacting with the AI system and immediately able to access all channels of communication.
SimulChannel is a reality that can transform the way customers and agents interact and solve problems. SimulChannel is the ultimate customer experience, and it is what customers expect and deserve in this digital age.