November 3, 2015
In this increasingly complex world, businesses everywhere are looking for any advantage they can gain over the competition. Whether it’s better employees, better deals, or simply a better product, the search continues.
But what most people don't seem to realize is that they may already have the answer right under their noses, and they aren't taking advantage of it. That answer is ‘data.’
In a recent blog post, Gerald Sinclair—Product Manager at Uptivity, a subsidiary of inContact—examined the use of data and its growing prominence in today's business environment.
“If you’ve ‘liked’ a page on Facebook (News – Alert) lately, you’ve probably noticed that other pages—similar to the one you recently liked—appear on your wall as recommendations just for you,” Sinclair noted. “If you buy something on Amazon, the next time you return to the site, you’ll receive product recommendations based on your previous purchase. These are both examples of how analytics are driving business.”
Sinclair broke down five different types of analytics that can help a call center operate more effectively, and they're worth noting:
Speech Analytics: “Speech Analytics analyzes voice transactions for keywords and phrases, and can be used to identify customer churn, escalations, procedural inefficiencies, and customer satisfaction,” Sinclair noted, adding that it is typically used in conjunction with a quality management program.
Desktop Analytics: This application, which monitors 100 percent of system performance and agent workstation activities, goes beyond screen capture by potentially providing real-time guidance to agents. “Desktop Analytics is often integrated with a CRM solution and used in conjunction with Speech Analytics to provide a holistic view of agent performance and organizational processes,” he says.
Cross-Channel, Multichannel, Omnichannel, and Text Analytics: These solutions help identify the channels used by each customer so that businesses can interact with them through their preferred channel.
Self-Service Analytics: “Self-service analytics is becoming increasingly beneficial, since customers often complain or opt out of a self-service tool,” Sinclair stated. “This type of solution allows organizations to identify the self-service areas that most discourage customers and, as a result, implement the necessary process enhancements and improvements.”
Predictive Analytics: “This type of solution typically works with a CRM tool, cross-channel analytics, and/or speech and text analytics to determine the most effective channel for communication,” Sinclair said. It can also suggest products or assign the agent with the most appropriate skills to handle the interaction.
Overall, analytics is a powerful tool that can help any call center ‘step up its game.’ But like any good tool, it’s useless unless you put it to use.