Your customers are everywhere, on any channel you can think of, but you’re struggling to keep up with them. You’re behind on responses, tickets, and customer issues. Sound familiar?

Customers need you to keep up — 87% of them want a consistent, personalized experience across channels, but only about half of companies prioritize providing it. It’s no surprise: The number of ways your customers can reach you is growing, and while that’s convenient for them, it’s spreading your customer-facing teams thin.

Luckily, there’s a solution. It’s called unified CXM, and it can transform the way you communicate with your customers.

What Is Unified CXM?

Unified CXM is short for unified customer experience management. It’s based on providing a consistently great customer experience across channels and touchpoints because today, consumers want to talk to brands on a channel and at a time that suits them instead of the one you may try to impose on them.

These channels include the usual customer service channels like phone and email. Live chat and SMS messaging have become more popular in recent years, but you now also need to look after your customers through social channels, such as WhatsApp, Twitter (X), and Facebook.

The struggle, of course, is keeping track of thousands of interactions across all these channels. If you miss the mark, you risk losing your customers to competitors who can serve them quickly on the platform of their choice.

Unified CXM is a complete solution to this modern communication challenge.

Unified CXM Key Functions

Here are four key CXM functions.

It creates a holistic customer view

Your customer data lives in your marketing campaigns, your sales data, and your customer service interactions, including social media, a CRM system, a feedback collection tool, and more.

Let’s say a customer reaches out through email, and the only information you have about them is their previous emails to your contact center: no previous purchases, no social media comments, and no live chat transcripts.

This is an incomplete customer profile — you’ll struggle to make them feel heard or understood without first spending some time getting to know them and how you can best help them.

Unified CXM integrates these different sources and tracks the entire customer journey so you can instantly delight customers at every interaction.

It ensures consistency across channels

Your customers interact with your business in more ways you can imagine.

They Google your products, view them on your website, or take them off a store shelf; they reach out to you on Facebook or via a text message, phone call, or email. They ask their friends about you, read your reviews, scan your FAQ pages, scroll your LinkedIn, and watch demo videos.

If you’ve ever explored Unified Communications as a Solution (UCaaS), where key functions include voice, video, messaging, and collaboration, you’ll find there’s an upside to consolidating multiple contact channels into one software platform.

Each of these touchpoints should make your customer feel the same about your brand. All your channels should carry consistent messaging, branding, values, and emotions.

Customers quickly move between devices and channels, and the consistency offered by unified CXM means your customers will recognize and love your brand instantly every time.

It provides real-time interaction management

Unified CXM uses AI to track metrics and turn them into actionable insights faster than humans ever could.

Customers share their preferences, needs, and satisfaction, which you can turn into strategies for your products, pricing, personalization, and more — but they do so in real time, and keeping tabs on them manually is near impossible.

With real-time interaction management, you can find the right details at the right time and add the human touch to infinitely more customer interactions than you could without unified CXM.

It incorporates feedback loops

Should you…

• Expand a product category?
• Add more features to your most popular product?
• Tweak your onboarding process or welcome emails?
• Add more video guides than written ones?

For many questions like these, your only option might be to guess. Not ideal. Each of these changes could take your customer experience — and your business growth — to the next level, but only if your guess was correct.

If it wasn’t, you might spend precious months making a change that makes things worse rather than better.

That’s where unified CXM comes in: It has built-in, continuous feedback from customers in one place, helping you make the right decisions and improve the customer experience.

What Challenges Does Unified CXM Address?

Supporting your contact center representatives with the right training and tools is key to the success of your business. Unified CXM arms your staff with everything they need to resolve customer issues efficiently and effectively. 

It connects all customer data

Your consumer data is everywhere. First, it is on all the digital channels you use to market and sell your products and support your customers — social media, your CRM, and your support ticketing system. But it’s also in sales reps’ notebooks and heads.

In other words, your customer data is in silos. It’s isolated, making it unhelpful to any person who doesn’t have access to a silo — or doesn’t even know it exists.

Let’s say you’ve nailed social listening, and you really have your ear to the ground to understand and leverage conversations about your brand and your industry. Your social media team can directly access all these insights, but they’re the only ones with access.

Your product and development teams could directly use those insights to improve your products, but they’re only vaguely aware of the information and need to cut through red tape and spend hours on approvals to access it. The solution is unified CXM: a single platform that gives a unified view of customer interactions and insights across all platforms.

It addresses CX gaps

The customer journey can be rough, even if you’ve done everything you can to hit the mark. Let’s say the delivery of a customer’s order is delayed, they realized they purchased the wrong product, or they want to upgrade or tweak their plan and they aren’t sure which one to go for.

They’re already somewhat frustrated when they reach out to your team, and all they hear is, “Let me pass you to another department” or “You’ll need to reach out to us over the phone, as we can’t solve this via email.”

Each time this type of interaction happens, your reputation and customer satisfaction are at risk. You might even lose the customer.

This creates a huge customer experience gap — the exact opposite of a customer-centric approach that makes customers feel good at every interaction, even when things aren’t going perfectly. A unified CXM solution erases that gap.

It supports faster innovation cycles

Want to get ahead of your competitors and stay there? Hope to be the go-to choice for your ideal customers?

Being quick to adapt to what your target market needs is the key to driving innovation. Embracing a unified CXM approach makes it possible because you can:

• Spot any issues, needs, and gaps in your product as soon as they happen.
• Prioritize the problems to address based on how frequently they occur and how severe they are.
• Brainstorm diverse solutions to find the best one.

The result? A customer experience built on what real people need you rather than pure theory to make customers feel seen, heard, and understood.

It expands customer retention

Customer retention, satisfaction, and loyalty are core elements of a healthy business. According to Smile.io, there is a 27% chance that a customer will return after their first purchase; this increases to 49% and 62% if they make a second and third purchase, respectively.

Yes, marketing is competitive, but unified CXM helps you create a seamless customer experience — that’s what turns casual buyers into loyal customers.

The shoe retailer Zappos is known for exceptional customer service. No one buys from Zappos because they want to have an issue that needs to be solved but because they know they’ll be well taken care of if anything goes wrong — every time.

Why Brands Should Care About Unified CXM?

Investing in customer experience management is worthwhile for several reasons. UCXM strengthens your business by growing customer loyalty, speeding up your decision-making, and even enhancing your online reputation.

Increased customer loyalty

One study after another has proven that enjoyable customer experiences lead to increased customer engagement, which then leads to increased loyalty. Your current and potential customers want you to understand their wants, needs, and preferences from a product or service like yours.

Not just that, according to Harvard Business School Professor Gerald Zaltman, customers make 95% of their purchasing decisions subconsciously based on what they feel rather than on logic.

Yet, Gartner reports that over 70% of CX leaders struggle to design projects that increase customer loyalty. The challenge is real, and there’s clearly a gap you can fill.

So, instead of spending all your energy on a fancy, expensive video marketing campaign or the latest trend in email automation, invest in showing your target customers you understand exactly what they need at every touchpoint, big or small.

Better decision making

When it’s time to change something about your business, you may be tempted to default to surveying your end users with straightforward questions, like “Would you prefer [feature A] or [feature B]?” or “How much would you pay for [type of product]?”

If you go the unified CXM route, you can tap into so much more data than a single survey’s results because, throughout their journey with you, customers reveal details about themselves. For example, you can learn:

• Which product price converted more potential customers.
• Which campaign drove the most repeat purchases.
• How customer service response time affects customer satisfaction.
• Purchase habits and frequencies of different customer segments.

This comprehensive data powers more informed and confident business decisions.

Increased revenue

If you only chase one-time purchases, you’re on the fast track to burnout because this approach requires you to constantly reach new audiences, come up with new concepts to intrigue them, and wonder why most of them didn’t convert (remember that e-commerce websites, for example, only convert around 3% of their visitors).

Looking for a better way? Increase your revenue by:

• Driving recurring purchases.
• Upselling and cross-selling as customers’ needs evolve.
• Encouraging word-of-mouth referrals.
• Partnering with ambassadors and affiliates to tap into their audiences.

The key to achieving these benefits is, you’ve guessed it, a frictionless customer experience. Satisfied customers are 5.1 times more likely to recommend a brand and 3.5 times more likely to purchase again than dissatisfied customers. Data also shows that referred customers tend to convert better, spend more, remain customers for longer, and refer more often.

A win across the board.

Reputation management

Finally, you should care because unified CXM is vital for reputation management.

Customers will review your brand whether you like it or not. They use their app stores, location services, social media profiles, and more to tell others what they loved or hated about buying from you.

If you don’t keep a finger on the pulse of your brand reputation, you’ll only find out something that went wrong when it goes really wrong and spreads like wildfire. Don’t wait that long. Be proactive and track your reviews, tickets, feedback, and customer satisfaction in real time.

Not only will you end up with a strong reputation with customers, partners, and investors, but you’ll also delight way more customers.

Nextiva’s Approach to Unified CXM

Want more revenue, a better reputation, and a wildly loyal customer base — all from an engagement solution that tracks customer interactions holistically and in real time?

Here’s Nextiva’s take on a unified CXM platform.

Multi-channel support

With Nextiva, you can meet your customers where they are and where they want you to meet them — modern channels included. Email, live chat, messengers, WhatsApp, SMS, and social media are all covered.

Not just that, you can turn interactions into leads and sell products wherever you are.

Social media management

Nextiva is not just for tracking customer engagement but for social media management as a whole, including scheduling social media posts so you can publish them at the right time and on the right channel and monitoring responses like replies, comments, or messages.

It gets better: You can also dig into social media trends for your industry. Lean on market trends to inspire your strategy and stay top-of-mind without adding more work to your plate.

Unified messaging app integration

Want to integrate your CXM solution with Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and more? With Nextiva, you can.

Use the platform to respond with timely, relevant, and detailed responses wherever customers choose to contact you and automate responses for basic inquiries and frequently asked questions.

AI-powered live chat

AI is magical — for a busy, growing business, it’s a superpower.

Switching it on means you can automatically route live chat inquiries to the team member best equipped to handle the issue. You can also use conversational AI and chatbots to make your team more efficient.

And because live chat is part of a bigger CXM solution, you automatically gain a 360-degree view of your website visitors as they reach out.

Integrated email ticketing

Instead of jumping between inboxes and dashboards, Nextiva integrates incoming emails and tickets from all your service channels.

You’ll never have another case slip through the cracks thanks to real-time alerts on incoming cases and reminders to keep an eye on all current issues.

Review monitoring

Don’t stop at tracking purchases and customer service tickets. Consider customer reviews as another part of the customer experience — track them, respond to them, and use them to solve real customer issues.

Nextiva lets you track reviews like any other customer message and react promptly.

Unified CXM Is How You’ll Win

Now you know: Embracing unified CXM will give you the ultimate advantage. It gives customers the ease and comfort they need from customer experience and gives your business the growth and stability to thrive.

Which unified CXM solution do you need? A solution that is reliable, highly rated and recommended, and packed with features and plugins that make you efficient.

See how Canyon Coolers powers its customer conversations with Nextiva.

If you get it right, your call center can be a source of profit rather than an expense. This may seem alien to some business owners, but with the right mindset and planning, it’s more than possible.

Some fundamentals come into play when planning for the cost of a call center, including hiring, training, software, and implementation.

You should be aware of hidden costs and optimizations that affect your bottom line. 

In this guide, we’ll walk through each element, with an associated call center cost, to help you reach a ballpark figure and start to plan for a profitable call center operation.

Typical Costs When Running a Call Center

These first seven call center costs help shape your basic budget. They’re table stakes for most call center teams.

Personnel

People cost money, and they need to be paid well to stay with your company in one of the most stressful roles. To maintain high employee retention, you must invest in your staff on day one and on an ongoing basis.

Inadequate compensation can lead to poor employee engagement and high staff turnover.

Estimated costs include:

• Average call center agent salary: $31,200 (this includes entry-level to experienced)
• Annual training: $1,000
• Recruiting costs: $2,500

You may also offer benefits like dental, life insurance, and subsidized lunch or gym memberships.

If you plan on running a remote or hybrid contact center, contributing to home internet costs and electricity bills is a nice touch. You’d be doing the same in your own office, after all.

This may sound expensive on the face of it, but terminating a call center agent costs $31,416. It’s easy for a vicious circle to start if you don’t look after your staff.

Related: Top Benefits of Call Center Software for Insurance Agencies

Technology

Minimum technology needs include:

• Call center software: ~$120 per user per month 
• Hardware (phones, headsets, etc.): $50 each
• Business internet: ~ $164.99 per month
• Network infrastructure (routers, firewalls, etc.): ~$2,000
• Data security tools (password sharing, backup and recovery, etc.): ~$60 per user per month

Data usage

While you won’t pay to receive calls in an inbound call center, you must budget for outbound calls and any overuse of your internet. For example, a lead generation team may operate as an outbound call center, making considerably more outbound calls than a customer care team.

If you can estimate the number of outbound calls you’ll make per month and the destinations (local, national, or international), your phone system provider can offer a bundled package.

The same applies to internet usage. Some packages may be unlimited, but check the small print for data cap policies.

Facilities

You must decide whether you’ll have a main office for your call center team. If so, there are associated call center costs, including rent, utilities, furniture, office supplies, and maintenance.

The alternative, a home-based call center, is more cost effective. But, unless you’re starting with call center veterans, getting staff members up to speed is more complex.

Average costs for a small call center office hover around $2,500 per month, according to one analysis. The basic rent rate may include utilities (electricity, water, etc.), furniture, and office supplies.

Overheads

Your call center overheads, including management costs, insurance, accounting, and legal fees, may be included in your total business or building costs.

Make sure you adjust your per-user figures to include your expected number of call center staff.

If your call center will operate as a standalone facility, you should speak with an accountant or financial advisor before proceeding with these types of costs.

Compliance

Opting for a VoIP call center often includes PCI compliance and HIPAA adherence, taking care of basic costs to operate in certain industries.

You may need to pay fees to specific governing bodies, achieve data privacy certifications, or conduct security audits.

It’s a call center best practice to research these requirements before you go live with your call center. Failure to adhere to these standards could lead to unwanted fines.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing a call center is a personal choice and will differ among companies. If you want to support customers 24/7, you have a few choices:

• Hire local customer service representatives to cover overnight hours
• Use a business process outsourcing (BPO) company
• Adopt self-service and artificial intelligence (AI)

Depending on your needs, call center outsourcing costs come in at around $20 per hour for support. This can be a great investment for a basic answering service, but for technical support, you can expect to pay a premium. 

Where your BPO is located will also impact your call center costs. The average costs per BPO location are included below:

Your alternative to outsourcing is retaining dedicated agents to work hours not covered by “day staff.” There’s often a premium pay pricing model associated with forfeiting evenings and early mornings. Finding the balance between in-house and outsourced call center agents is a fine line.

Pro tip: Consider self-service options like auto attendants and virtual assistants to supplement your after-hours requirements. 

Typical Costs of Call Center Software

As well as a monthly fee for call center software, it’s vital to factor in potential costs to get your team up and running. 

Depending on your bespoke business needs, this can fluctuate. The following call center costs are a guide for you to include when needed.

Subscription fees

Whether you need a call center or contact center is a key factor. Here are the major differences:

Call center features include: 

• Interactive voice response
• Automatic call distribution
• Unified communications
• Call recording
• Predictive dialing
• Inbound/outbound calls
• Softphones
• Post-call surveys
• Call queuing
• Call routing
• Escalation/call management
• Whisper and barge
• Computer telephony integration

Contact center software includes this functionality and adds extra digital channels (and associated reporting), including SMS, email, web chat, and social media.

Basic call center software comes in at $50 per user per month (paid annually) or up to $100 per user per month, depending on the term length and additional features. 

If you opt for multichannel or omnichannel contact center software, costs start at $100 per user per month and vary depending on features, integrations, and implementation needs.

Development and ongoing support costs

Some integrations may need custom development work, especially for complex or non-standard tools. 

This can involve internal IT resources or external developers, adding to the total cost. You may also need to pay professional service costs to your call center provider. Get a feel for what these may be so you can budget accordingly.

Examples of professional services for a call center may include: 

• Technology migrations
• User onboarding and setup
• Team training
• Dedicated support
• Custom implementation requests (APIs, etc.)

Maintaining integrations requires ongoing effort, impacting internal IT resources or requiring extra customer support from your service provider. If you need complex integration work, inquire with each party to see what is and isn’t included.

Data transfer and API fees

Depending on the data transfer volume and your integrated platform, there may be extra charges for moving information between systems. External data transfer, or data egress, is commonly charged for the bandwidth consumed. 

During your evaluation phase, ask whether charges apply. Otherwise, you may get stuck with a nasty invoice when it comes to implementation time.

Some cloud platforms charge for API calls used for integrations, adding another layer of cost depending on usage.

Related Article

How Much Data Does VoIP Use? Tips to Forecast Your VoIP Bandwidth

Comparing Call Center Costs: Cloud vs. On-Premises

Call center technology comes in three variants. Each of these types of call centers has associated pros, cons, and cost considerations.

1. Cloud call center

Cost considerations: Subscription fees (per agent, per month), data usage, and bolt-on features (e.g., call recording, analytics, workforce management)

2. On-premises call center

Cost considerations: Upfront hardware, software licenses, in-house support salaries, maintenance, and repairs

3. Hybrid call center

Cost considerations: Combination of cloud subscription fees and on-premises costs like hardware and IT staff, and possible redundant costs 

5 Tips to Maximize Your Contact Center Budget

When planning for call center costs, it’s important to consider potential savings and how to best optimize your investments. Review these five tips to make your contact center budget stretch as far as possible.

1) Know your expected usage (unlimited vs. metered costs)

Be it outgoing calls, data transfer, API calls, or bandwidth, calculating your usage estimate will prevent an unbudgeted bill at the end of your first month in business. 

Or, if you experience high call volumes, including seasonal fluctuation, your bill may reflect the uplift in usage. 

Some providers cover these costs in an unlimited package. Spend some time reading the small print, however. Sometimes unlimited comes with fair usage policies, which means your usage won’t be limited, but you will have to pay over a certain rate.

If so, plan for seasonal flexibility and inform your providers when you’re likely to run campaigns that draw higher call volumes. 

If usage is metered (per minute, per GB, etc.), you must walk through expected call volumes and the like. A finger-in-the-air approach isn’t good enough here.

2) Buy what you need, not what you might need

One of the major benefits of cloud technology is that you can scale as and when you need it. This means you can buy 10 licenses today, hire 10 more agents next month, and buy their licenses when they start.

If an agent becomes a supervisor after proving themselves for six months, you can upgrade their license then. There’s no need to frontload your order with licenses you may need in the future.

This applies to call center costs and most other cloud-based technologies in your business.

3) Consider the waste from separate sales tools and call center services

When factoring in waste, ask two questions of your call center:

• What aren’t you using in the subscriptions you’re paying for? 
• What can you do in other apps you’re already paying for?

You may have signed up for a premium sales tool, like an auto-dialer. But you may not need that capability yet or have since changed the focus of your call center. In this case, you can downgrade or remove any bolt-ons you don’t need.

Likewise, if you can already get certain features in other software, you don’t need to duplicate those costs. When buying any new software, audit existing functionality to avoid cross-pollination.

4) Explore how AI can improve CX & reduce operating costs

By introducing new features that enable customer self-service and trim internal processes, contact center AI helps agents be more efficient while reducing their workloads.

The fewer routine tasks agents need to complete, the more time they can spend on value-adding tasks like contract renewals and debt collection.

With insights pulled from real customer and agent data, you can get more accurate staffing levels and plan for better call queuing and customer journeys.

AI features include:

• Call recording with sentiment analysis
• Intelligent virtual agents
• Predictive call analytics
• Quality assurance
• Agent coaching
• Interactive voice response

5) Get an accurate price quote to fit your objectives

When starting a call center, you may find pre-designed solutions for small businesses, for enterprises, and in different industries.

But where it really pays is getting specific about your unique business goals and call center needs.

You may be “just like” your competitor who uses certain technology. But don’t you want to outperform them?

What could you be doing to get the edge on them? How could you be running a leaner operation?

By factoring in all your call center costs and requirements early, you set yourself up for success.

A great customer experience starts with meeting your customers where they are, and these days, that means online.

Customer support frequently involves digital channels like online chat, social media, advanced chatbots, and self-service portals. Organizations that can keep up with consumers and digitize the customer experience (CX) will build stronger relationships, drive loyalty, and stay ahead of the competition. 

Those that lack a thoughtful strategy and fall behind on their digital transformation, however, risk losing customers to their competitors.

What Does Digitizing Your Customer Experience Mean?

A digital customer experience (DCX) includes every interaction your customers can have with your brand online, whether they seek out engagement through support or you push promotions to them with marketing. 

A strong DCX strategy includes all aspects of interacting with a brand or organization online, such as:

• The company’s website
• Online chat, both with agents and chatbots
• Social media 
• Email and SMS marketing

The DCX is part of the overall CX, which includes all interactions (such as in-store purchases and calling contact centers). DCX is focused entirely on virtual touchpoints.

Your CX strategy should be designed with more than just quantitative factors in mind. Qualitative CX measures include ease of use, responsiveness, and the value of the information provided. 

Additionally, the DCX should be seamless and consistent — whether a customer contacts your organization via email, chat, or social media, they should get the same quality experience.

For instance, imagine you’re a customer trying to contact your bank about a transaction you don’t recognize. Calling their customer support line would be part of the traditional contact center experience. 

The DCX, on the other hand, would include going to the website to find information about this charge, reaching out to the bank through their “contact us” form, communicating with customer service via email or web chat, and even interacting on social media if you tag them in a post.

Related: Digital Customer Service: Benefits and Pointers for Business Success

Practical Examples of Digitizing the Customer Experience

The DCX can take several forms. What follows are some examples of how to create a great DCX:

Unified service channels

One key step to providing a great DCX is to unify all service channels so they offer the same levels of support and information. This means embedding DCX tools throughout the customer journey, including everything from marketing and sales to support and the help desk.

Providing the same levels of support across all digital service channels helps ensure that your support team can connect with customers on the channels they’re most comfortable with, without compromising quality. Consistent, platform-agnostic support goes a long way to ensuring a universally positive DCX.

Personalized experiences

Each customer has a unique journey, challenges, and needs. As such, CX management includes tailoring the CX to each individual.

In the past, this was an impossible challenge — how could any organization expect to adjust everything for each of their customers? However, with the customer data and AI-powered customer service tools available today, it’s a far more attainable goal.

Every step of the customer journey provides information. Organizations can use AI and machine learning tools to leverage that data, provide actionable insights to support agents or sales reps, and present personalized suggestions, creating a DCX tailored to each customer.

Streamlined agent workflows

What’s good for the agent is good for the customer, and making agents more efficient creates a better experience for everyone. Organizations can improve agent productivity by automating tasks and providing efficient self-service options.

Customer service automation tools improve efficiency by handling repetitive, time-consuming tasks, such as logging customer information, that agents would normally have to do by hand. This frees up the agents for more important tasks and gives them more time to better support customers.

On the customer end, self-service options are a key part of the DCX. Customers want to resolve their issues quickly, and if they can find the answers online or through a self-service portal, that’s even better. 

Self-service tools can help customers with troubleshooting basic problems, finding information, and managing their accounts without needing to speak with an agent. This gives agents more time to help other customers, and customers can resolve their issues quickly.

Real-time customer insights

Digital customer interactions are overflowing with data that can provide an amazing experience. The tricky part is gathering that data and using it effectively. 

With the right tools, organizations can gain insights about their customers in real time and use that information to provide better service. This data can also be used for future interactions, creating a more customized experience.

Why Is a Digital Customer Experience Non-Negotiable?

Many decision-makers overlook the nuances of DCX and fail to factor it in when formulating their CX strategy. That, however, is a major oversight, as it ignores the opportunities for growth, insights, and value that a good digital experience can bring. So why is the DCX so important?

Customers are already there

Instead of bringing the customers to you, you need to go to where your customers are, and most of them are already online. 

Customers look at company websites for contact information, post on social media, and otherwise engage online, and companies need to be there if they want to provide a great CX.

Reach a wider audience

Online channels create new opportunities for brands to reach a global audience and boost their engagement. Social media presence alone can provide a significant boost to an organization’s name recognition, but including social ads, email marketing, online engagement, and more provides an even greater reach that can help bring in new customers.

These customers also use digital channels to interact with businesses, so maintaining a strong digital presence and DCX is essential for both bringing in new customers and boosting customer retention.

24/7 availability

When an organization has customers around the world, their customer service can’t be limited to a single time zone. 

Customer expectations include access to support and information anytime, anywhere. Organizations using digital tools, such as chatbots and self-service portals, and 24/7 online customer support teams can provide the level of availability and immediate support that customers expect.

Faster response times

On a similar note, online channels facilitate quicker resolutions for issues and inquiries. Live chat allows customers to quickly reach a real agent directly from a webpage, and companies can also use features like chatbots to assist customers instantly. 

This saves time for the customers and agents; customers don’t have to wait on hold to get the information they need, and agents have more time to help customers with issues that need a human touch.

Data-driven insights

Online interactions are a treasure trove of data, which can provide new insights into customer behavior and preferences. 

With the right software, organizations can delve into their digital interactions and analyze this data, discovering new trends, customer wants, potential issues, and more, as well as providing customers with a better overall experience.

Personalization opportunities

Online channels provide new opportunities for personalized services and support, including targeted messaging and offers for each customer. These can take the form of ads, “suggested for you” pages, offers based on past purchases, and more, allowing organizations to provide a unique, tailored experience and increase sales.

Improved scalability

Digital channels are typically easy to scale, so they can grow with a business. With multiple digital channels, chats, and AI assistants, organizations with a strong digital presence can handle high volumes of inquiries without sacrificing quality.

Digital Customer Experience Channels

What does a good DCX look like in action? Let’s explore some common digital features and tools companies use today, as well as some examples of how companies create a strong DCX.

Websites & mobile apps

Modern websites built with a focus on the DCX typically feature several tools designed to help customers. 

These include the following:

• Self-service portals: Give customers access to FAQs, knowledge bases, and troubleshooting guides without needing to contact an agent.
• Live chat: Provides instant support and personalized assistance for complex issues.
• Chatbots and other virtual assistants: Provide automated responses to help with common questions at any time of the day.
• E-commerce platforms: Enable seamless online shopping, including product information, reviews, and secure checkout.

Amazon, one of the largest e-commerce websites on the planet, is a good example of a company that excels at DCX.

It uses each customer’s search and purchase history to provide customized recommendations and includes a “help library” divided into topics and frequently asked questions to assist customers with inquiries. It also offers a chatbot that can help with troubleshooting or basic queries and connect the chat to a live agent for more complex matters.

Social media

A good social media presence is essential for digital outreach, marketing, and customer engagement. This includes maintaining visibility across multiple social networks, monitoring chatter, and actively posting/engaging with customers. 

Social media presence includes the following:

• Brand pages and communities: Directly engage with customers, listen to customer feedback, and build brand loyalty.
• Social listening: Monitor brand mentions and promptly respond to customer inquiries and comments.
• Social media advertising: Reach target audiences with personalized messaging and offers.

Nextiva, for instance, has active accounts on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. These pages are frequently updated to maintain an active presence, share news about the company, and engage with customers.

The posts also often tie into trending events, such as the Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day, to remain relevant to customers and stay on top of trends. And of course, should a customer message or mention Nextiva, the social team is there to respond.

Email

Email remains an important communication channel for organizations of all shapes and sizes. It creates a direct line of communication with customers, providing marketing opportunities and a channel for customer support. 

Email DCX opportunities include the following:

• Targeted email campaigns: Deliver personalized offers, updates, and promotions to customers.
• Automated email workflows: Welcome new customers, send order confirmations, and provide support updates.
• Two-way email communications: Address customer inquiries and offer personalized support.

For a good example of email engagement, we can look at Audible. This audiobook website frequently sends out emails to inform customers of upcoming sales, provide personalized recommendations based on their purchase and listening history, remind customers of unused credits, and confirm orders.

They also have email support that can respond to queries relatively quickly, with agents who are empowered to make changes to subscriptions, issue refunds, and handle other customer needs.

How a Contact Center Platform Drives Exceptional Digital Customer Experiences

Customer support is a major element of the DCX, whether the customer is using a chatbot for self-service or messaging a support agent. As such, a modern contact center platform can make a world of difference for the DCX.

Phone support

While online chat and email are useful, popular communication tools, phone support is still an essential part of customer service. In fact, the first thing many customers look for on a company’s “contact us” page is a phone number to call.

Live phone support is a necessary option for complex inquiries and customers who prefer voice communications, as it allows them to talk to an empathetic agent who can understand their issues and frustration. 

A good contact center platform will also provide a detailed customer history, including previous phone calls and online engagement, so that agents will have all the information they need to efficiently assist the caller.

Callback options

Few things are more frustrating than being left on hold indefinitely, with nothing but a reminder every minute that “your call is important to us.” 

Callback features can help by giving customers the option to leave their number and be contacted later, often accompanied by an SMS message as a heads-up that an agent is about to call. This reduces wait times and improves customer satisfaction while eliminating one of the most annoying aspects of calling a contact center.

Omnichannel routing

With all the different ways customers can get support, companies need to route interactions across each channel to provide customers with a seamless, omnichannel experience. 

Omnichannel routing connects customer interactions across different channels and allows customers to seamlessly switch between them. The customer history and data are retained across each channel, so the customer won’t need to start from scratch with every call or message. This works across email, chat, social media, and more, enabling the agent to meet the customer on their preferred channel and provide a consistent experience.

Related: What Is Omnichannel E-commerce? A Strategy Guide for 2024

Skills-based routing

Oftentimes, certain agents will be better equipped to help customers with their queries than others. Skills-based routing helps by forwarding inquiries to agents with the expertise specific to the caller’s needs or pain points, so that they can provide a fast and effective resolution.

Automated self-service options

Self-service options are for more than just online help centers. Integrating phone IVRs with online portals can expedite routing and resolutions by giving customers more ways to solve their issues quickly and efficiently.

Voice analytics 

Voice analytics can examine call recordings to identify trends in user behavior, improve training and onboarding, and help personalize customer interactions. By combining voice data analytics with sentiment analysis, contact centers can uncover friction points (such as live chat being unable to help with order statuses), make informed decisions, and provide new guidance and training to improve support across channels.

Nextiva: The Preferred Platform for Digital Customer Experience

We’re living in a digital world, and emerging new technologies are making digital solutions more important for CX. 

Digital service channels are essential for customer support, marketing, and customer engagement. Organizations need to provide a positive and cohesive CX across these channels; otherwise, the customers may leave.

A great contact center platform can support your omnichannel communications and provide a positive user experience over the phone, chat, email, and more.

Whether your business has high call volumes, handles high-scope interactions, or needs to reach a growing audience, a contact center platform like Nextiva will help you create a better digital experience. 

Tracking customer experience (CX) data is essential for businesses that want to boost customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention rates — and a CX dashboard can help with that.

CX dashboards offer visual representations of CX metrics and overall progress. They’re extremely beneficial to customer support leaders, but they can also be easily accessed across teams or used to update key stakeholders when you’re reporting on success metrics.

Let’s review how to create a CX dashboard and get the most value from it. 

What Is a CX Dashboard?

A CX dashboard displays essential CX metrics for businesses. Many virtual phone systems and contact center solutions may track metrics like customer satisfaction rates and average resolution time.  

In most cases, CX dashboards include data visualizations and real-time updates for the most critical customer support metrics. 

The Purpose of a CX Dashboard

CX dashboards have several core use cases that are invaluable to businesses of all sizes. Let’s discuss how they’re commonly used and the value they offer. 

Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs)

Use your CX dashboard to regularly monitor core KPIs that gauge the overall quality of customer interactions and your customer support team. Businesses of all sizes and contact centers should track this data. 

This includes customer insights and service metrics ranging from response times to conversation sentiments. 

Strong CX dashboards should provide real-time assessment of customer sentiments across products, services, customer support interactions, and even internal operations. This information comes directly from customer feedback data. 

Analyze trends and patterns

Knowing what’s happening right now is important, but businesses and contact centers should also use historical data to identify patterns and track trends over time. 

Doing so can help you detect common customer issues, agent performance patterns, and even peak call times quickly. It can also ensure you’re on the right track to improving the overall CX. 

Use this information to make changes that positively impact the CX. You can, for example, provide training to agents who are struggling to successfully resolve customer concerns and ensure that enough staff is on-hand to handle peak call periods. 

Analyze this data to pinpoint weaknesses in your service delivery. Common issues to watch for include long wait times, low resolution rates, and specific agent training needs. 

Improve customer journeys and experiences

Want to improve customer loyalty and customer retention rates along with it? CX dashboards are the first step.

Map out customer interactions across different channels and touchpoints, identifying opportunities for streamlining and personalizing the CX. 

You may realize, for example, that unhappy customers become exponentially frustrated if they have long call-wait times or need to be transferred to multiple departments. Incorporating an auto-attendant to route their call correctly the first time can increase customer satisfaction scores and first call resolution rates quickly. It’s a quick change, but it can make a significant impact on the overall experience. 

You can (and should) incorporate customer feedback into your analysis to continuously refine your approach to customer service and support. 

Taking this data-driven approach to understanding customer needs and creating a clear roadmap can help you optimize the customer journey and improve the CX like little else can. 

Report and communicate actionable insights

Get in-depth customer data that translates into accurate, actionable insights with strong CX dashboards — especially when they come with comprehensive visual representations of the data at hand. 

Regularly share dashboard insights with stakeholders through reports to drive an organizational focus on CX priorities. Insights from your dashboard can inform stakeholders about everything from staffing decisions to training programs and process changes, all aimed at enhancing the CX. 

At the end of the day, your CX strategy should be centered around data, and these insights can ensure that it is. 

How to Build a CX Dashboard

When you’re ready to take CX management to the next level, you need to know how to build a CX dashboard that will benefit your team most. You can do this in six easy steps. 

1. Define clear objectives

When building your CX dashboard, you need to identify the specific goals you want to focus on when optimizing customers’ support or contact center experience. 

Most businesses will have goals related to customer satisfaction rates, service efficiency, and resolution effectiveness, all of which are interrelated. If customers are able to have problems resolved in just one short phone call rather than three, for example, your efficiency, resolution, and customer satisfaction rates can all increase quickly.

2. Select relevant KPIs

After choosing your goals, it’s important to choose metrics that help you evaluate progress towards those objectives. 

Common examples of KPI metrics for customer support teams and contact centers include: 

• Average handle time: The average duration of any customer service interaction
• First call resolution rate: The number of times your support team can resolve a problem within the first call from a customer
• Customer satisfaction score: Customers’ happiness after purchasing from or interacting with your business, based on surveys sent to the customer
• Net promoter score: Customer loyalty, including how likely an existing customer is to refer you to someone, based on customer survey answers
• Customer effort score: The ease with which customers can achieve their goal when interacting with your business, whether it’s making a purchase or solving a problem
• Expansion Revenue: Revenue that’s generated after the customer’s initial purchasing price or contract 

3. Integrate data sources

Many businesses and contact centers have CX data spread out across multiple tools and platforms. You can get all the information you need in one place by aggregating data from your VoIP or call center systems, CRM programs, call recording tools, and customer feedback platforms. All this provides a holistic and complete view of CX data. 

Choose software that offers data reporting or synching functionality through integrations or APIs to help with this. Nextiva, for example, integrates with popular CRMs and help desk software. 

Related: Nextiva’s VoIP integrations fit perfectly into your existing business ecosystem.

4. Design for usability

When building your CX dashboard, focus on a user-friendly interface that provides easy access to real-time data and historical trends. 

You want a clean interface with logical organization. Ideally, it should incorporate visual elements like graphs, charts, or heat maps for better data representation. Make sure you choose a platform that’s easy to navigate and understand. 

5. Implement real-time monitoring

The reporting dashboard you use should have the ability to display real-time data, allowing you to promptly identify and address potential issues as they come up.

If, for example, average customer satisfaction rates are plummeting out of nowhere, you want to be able to catch it immediately and determine what’s causing it. It may be caused by a new contact center staff member who isn’t able to successfully resolve customer concerns, for example, or a manufacturing defect in a brand’s product that may have caused a surge of unhappy customers. 

Either way, the closer you can monitor the CX in real time, the better. 

6. Ensure customization and scalability

Every business and contact center is unique, and your CX dashboard should show you the data that’s important to your brand. Customization with views, filters, and even dedicated custom reporting can help you track specific goals and needs for your business both now and as you grow and scale over time.

Best Practices for Dashboard Reporting

To get the most out of your CX dashboard after you’ve built it, keep these five best practices in mind: 

1. Tailor reports to your audience

You’ll likely share data from your CX dashboard with multiple different audiences within your business. Tailor your reports, including the focus of the report, the metrics you select, and the level of detail based on the audience in question.

Executives, managers, and frontline staff may all need to see different data, so create custom reports to ensure relevance and clarity. You also want to emphasize the most critical findings, trends, and actionable insights at any given point to better guide decision-making. 

2. Use clear and concise visuals

Visual data representation leverages charts, graphs, and other visuals to break down complex data into an easy-to-understand and accessible display. It’s much easier to track trends and patterns, and seeing visual data can be more impactful on decision makers.

While visualizations are powerful, remember to keep them straightforward and simple. Avoid overcrowding them with too much information, which can be distracting and confusing and dilute the impact of key data points. Stick to the KPIs that help prove your point. 

3. Focus on actionable insights

Data is just data — it’s up to you to determine what those insights mean and how you can leverage them to improve the CX and support agent performance.

To do this, focus on actionable insights. Which metrics clearly present opportunities for potential improvement, innovation, and growth based on current performance?

Pair insights with concrete recommendations for specific actions that can address potential concerns or capitalize on opportunities where possible during your presentation.

If your first call resolution rate is low and customer satisfaction rates are also low, for example, that’s a clear indicator that customers may be getting frustrated with drawn-out resolutions. Taking steps to improve your first call resolution rates, by supplying more detailed guidelines to call support agents or providing easy access to managers, can drive improvement. 

4. Ensure accuracy and reliability

If you’re basing business decisions around CX data, you must make sure the metrics you’re looking at are correct.

Verify data integrity by regularly checking the accuracy of all data in your dashboard. Ensure that KPIs and metrics are both clearly defined and applied consistently over time for accurate real-time and trend analysis. 

Look at all of the individual data sources to make sure that they’re consistent and accurate. One customer support platform may measure net promoter scores on a different scale compared to another, so understanding the data you’re looking at is key. 

5. Provide context and analysis

When sharing reports, it’s often important to offer analysis on why certain trends occur or the implications of data variances. This can provide a great deal of context to raw data, which can help you identify potential problem areas or opportunities. 

And keep in mind that internal actions aren’t the only things that drive internal performance. External influences may also impact performance metrics, including marketing changes or seasonal trends. 

For example, customer sentiment or satisfaction rates may drop steeply for a hospitality business that has to cancel all reservations due to an impending hurricane. 

Even if the business in question is able to offer discounted rebookings, a certain segment of customers are unlikely to be happy with the solutions offered. That’s an external factor, and a temporary drop in satisfaction rates may decline while average call handling times increase, though ideally first call resolution rates will stay consistent. 

Effective CX Dashboards Start With CX Software

CX dashboards can be invaluable to businesses of all types (call centers included). They can provide a much better understanding of your customers’ journey and how they are being supported. 

It’s crucial, however, that you start with strong CX software, which can provide all the key metrics and data you need. That starts with a proven contact center solution like Nextiva. 

Nextiva’s omnichannel software aggregates conversations from every digital channel (social media, VoIP phone, and ticketing desk software included) to compile CX data into a single place.

We have powerful voice analytics to track call center performance alongside CX and conversation data for all digital platforms. 

This enables businesses to work smarter, better identify areas for improvement or optimization, and consistently deliver better customer value through human customer support and AI-powered live chat. 

Resolve customer issues fast, improve the efficiency of your support team, and improve the overall CX with Nextiva’s digital service channels today. 

Related: Customer Experience Analytics: How to Track and Improve CX

Delivering a positive experience is a key customer service goal for most businesses. Measuring the impact of your efforts to improve can be difficult without a centralized view of customer data. That’s where customer experience analytics come in.

Customer experience analytics measures and interprets customer data across all touchpoints. Businesses should measure these analytics to track the customer journey to keep a finger on the pulse of their CX, then apply that knowledge toward improving it.

Below, we’ll touch on the key reasons why data is so important to deliver a top-notch CX and manage a squeaky-clean reputation with customers. We’ll also break down metrics you need to know and how to maximize your ROI for improving CX.

Get ready for a deep dive into customer experience analytics, data, and metrics.

Importance of Data in Customer Experience

Data is the foundation for understanding customer behavior. 

You can discover customer insights into habits, preferences, and pain points by analyzing metrics like purchasing history, demographic information, website sessions, and feedback. This, in turn, helps you tailor your products, services, and marketing efforts to ultimately drive growth and profitability.

Here are the main benefits that intelligent CX measurements offer to businesses.

Retain more customers over time

Data helps you improve customer retention, increase customer lifetime value (CLV), and lower churn by opening up actionable insights into the factors that influence customer satisfaction (CSAT) and loyalty, like:

• Product quality
• Customer service
• Ease of doing business
• Personalization
• Brand reputation
• Price and value proposition

As customer-use data and feedback roll in, you can begin to spot pain points along your customer journey map.

One of the most important ways customer experience analytics helps retain customers is by using historical data to identify patterns that help predict customer behavior. This is called predictive analytics.

One way you might use predictive analytics in a call center, for example, is to match your agents’ schedules to when you expect higher call volumes.

Personalize the customer experience

Personalization can help lower retention, but that’s not all. Businesses that view personalization as an organization-wide directive rather than a marketing responsibility can better position themselves to cater to all their customer needs.

Personalize the customer experience more easily with data that helps you:

• Segment customers into groups (based on info like purchasing history or preferences) to improve target marketing.
• Track behaviors through interactions with websites, social media apps, and other customer touchpoints, especially if integrated with an omnichannel contact center environment.
• Adjust content dynamically to personalize customer interactions in real time, like making suggestions based on products viewed.

The simple truth is that customers expect personalization, too — according to research from McKinsey , over 70% of customers view personalized services as a given. Businesses that don’t meet basic customer expectations might expect to lose customer support quickly.

Related Article

100+ Essential Customer Service Statistics & Trends for 2024

Improve agent effectiveness

With customer experience analytics, agents have more access to customer information. This makes it easier for agents to offer personalized and efficient assistance while addressing customer tickets more effectively.

Data-driven customer experience tools can also provide agents with real-time guidance based on predefined workflows. These analytics tools assist agents in making informed decisions, resolving issues quickly, and delivering consistent service across interactions.

CX data can also fuel automation tools that streamline repetitive tasks and workflows, freeing agents to focus on more complex or meaningful interactions. Less time spent on tedious activities means a more efficient customer service team.

Top Customer Experience KPIs & Metrics

Measuring CX analytics without the right KPIs and customer service metrics is like baking a cake with ground beef — you can’t achieve the desired finished product without the right ingredients.

These are the most important KPIs to help you measure customer experience:

How to Maximize ROI for CX Analytics

Your ROI on a CX analytics platform or strategy will most likely vary depending on how well you can analyze and interpret customer data and put a CX plan into action.

However, most businesses aren’t measuring customer experience in ways that support their own goals. Only 15% of business leaders surveyed by McKinsey were “fully satisfied” by their efforts to measure CX. Even more troubling, only 6% were confident their CX measurements benefited strategic and tactical decision-making.

If most brands aren’t measuring CX comprehensively, it’s also safe to assume they’re not maximizing their ROI on those efforts.

Use these tips to boost your CX analysis efforts and help increase your ROI.

Related Article

13 Essential Customer Service Goals for 2024 + How To Set Your Own

Collect data from all customer channels

An omnichannel environment is a seamless experience where all customer channels are fully integrated. This allows continuous communication across those channels and reduces setbacks (like repeating relevant information), giving customers peace of mind that whoever they’re talking to is in the loop and ready to help them.

Here are some of the best tools to analyze and interpret customer data across multiple touchpoints:

Your customers are already hopping between service channels when they look for support or try to solve a problem. In most cases, they’re switching between three to five different channels, and 86% of those customers expect those channel hops to be seamless. A customer experience dashboard can make that info easily accessible across all channels for intuitive, effortless customer service.

Related Article

Managing Customer Feedback: Why It Matters & Top Strategies

Set clear benchmarks for your CX goals

Positive customer experiences can drive profits higher — just ask the 91% of customers who are more likely to make a repeat purchase after a great experience. The more specific your customer experience goals, the easier they are to achieve.

Here’s how to set clear CX benchmarks for your business:

• Define your objectives, whether you want to improve customer satisfaction, lower churn, or something else.
• Select metrics that you’ll use to measure those objectives, like the top CX KPIs listed above.
• Set targets for those metrics based on historical data or competitor or industry averages.
• Monitor your progress regularly to notice any unexpected changes and to keep an eye on your efforts over time.
• Adjust your strategy based on any changes you notice while measuring progress; for example, add a follow-up survey for feedback if you notice fewer customers leaving reviews.

While your CX ROI might also vary based on outside factors like the economic climate or geopolitical issues, you can help boost your brand loyalty by focusing on the factors you can control.

Grasp the Entire Customer Journey Easily with More Complete Data

The customer journey has several opportunities to measure data and assess interactions. Contact centers that understand the correlation between analyzing CX, improving customer satisfaction, and increasing revenue can offer their customers a more personalized experience than those that don’t measure all their CX metrics.

Customer experience analytics uncover powerful tools to better understand the customer journey. By leveraging CX tech and tools for analytics, you can harness data from multiple touchpoints to better understand customer behavior. With this knowledge, you can be better prepared to spot trends, adjust, and improve your customer experience.

Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are registered trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.

Customer Experience Analytics FAQs

For more information, check out these frequently asked questions about customer experience analytics.

Working in a call center is quite different today than just a few years ago. People can connect with businesses over many different channels but still call in with questions and concerns. That’s where call center agents can provide an immediate, personalized response in a dedicated fashion. This approach helps companies improve customer experience (CX) and customer satisfaction, no matter the reason for the call.

Contact centers and call centers are thriving in the virtual space, meaning demand for U.S.-based call center agents is high. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates almost 375,000 related job openings every year through 2032. This means that call center jobs are rising, and demand is high for in-house call centers. 

Before you send off that resume, check out what it’s like to work in a call center, the pros and cons, the different positions and their requirements, and tips for succeeding in a call center. 

Think you’d be a good fit for an in-house or remote call center position?

Check out what it’s like to work in a call center and learn how it’s evolving from years past.

Pros and Cons of Working in a Call Center

Call center jobs are communication-heavy and require lots of phone and computer time. Agents can grow and develop lifelong skills with call center roles and get to help people while they do so.

Check out these pros and cons:

To help avoid burnout and manage stress, take screen breaks and use ergonomic office equipment, including your chair and keyboard.

Related Article

Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS): The Complete Guide

7 Call Center Skills to Succeed in the Role

Call center employees are the front line when it comes to customer service. Customers expect each agent to go the extra mile to provide top-tier customer service. Sixty-three percent even want agents to know their unique needs and expectations.

Excellent customer service isn’t always easy, though — especially over the phone.

Successful, productive call center representatives have these traits to deliver stellar customer service.

1. Customer-centric outlook

Having an overwhelming desire to help customers all the time is a benchmark trait for call center representatives. If you enjoy making memorable experiences and the opportunity to create brand ambassadors from each call, you may enjoy working in a call center. Being customer-centric means that you’re only happy if the customer is happy.

2. Basic computer literacy and typing skills

Roughly 25% of call center job duties include post-call data entry and computer admin work. The larger part of the job is actively speaking with someone on the phone, but computer literacy is important to succeed as a call center agent.

It’s a benefit to have experience with:

• Different types of CRM software
• Mobile messaging apps
• Basic understanding of cloud telephony

If you can type quickly, you’ll probably feel more comfortable with the role. Around 60 words per minute is a good benchmark, and faster is even better. As long as you can access screens with customer information, you can brush up on computer literacy and practice your typing to improve.

3. Stellar communication

Communication is one of the most important skills in many jobs, but it’s especially crucial in a call center. Most customer service tips revolve around communication improvements, like showing empathy or setting expectations.

The best call center communicators can:

• Speak clearly with a strong phone voice that conveys trust to build rapport.
• Listen attentively and ask questions, rephrasing if necessary to get to the real issue.
• Respond patiently without frustration to come up with solutions that please everyone.
• Document accurately for record-keeping purposes without major errors.

The better you communicate, the more quickly you can address customer concerns.

Related Article

12 Call Center Soft Skills Every Agent Needs to Master

4. Efficient problem-solving

Callers want their issues resolved ASAP. Agents must leap into action when their line rings, reduce hold times, and figure out resolutions before callers get annoyed.

However, working in an inbound call center can be unpredictable. No two calls or callers are ever the same, and relay calls (assisting people with hearing or speech disabilities) can last much longer than traditional calls.

Sometimes, you can’t follow the protocol for certain unpredictable situations. It helps to be quick on your feet and come up with solutions that help callers on the fly. The faster you can solve customer problems, the higher your first call resolution (FCR) numbers can climb by closing customer tickets on the first call.

5. Organized multitasking 

If you want to work in a call center, you’ll need to be able to multitask — and handle all your tasks with speed and accuracy. Call center agents may need to juggle many outreach channels, which means talking, typing, and listening nearly simultaneously.

Be prepared to switch between:

• Live chat
• Email
• Phone calls

You may engage with over 50 customers per day, and multitasking becomes more difficult the more callers you engage. You need laser focus and keen organization to keep it all together.

Related Article

Omnichannel Contact Center: What It Is & How Companies Use It

6. Company and product knowledge

You don’t need to memorize everything about how a company’s products or services work. But you should know how to look up answers quickly if you don’t.

Luckily, many call centers set their agents up for success with a suite of tools, resources, and training programs. The resources include your peers, too — you can ask questions about company offerings to get expert answers from peers who’ve been in your shoes for a long time. Or, conduct a mock customer service call with a peer to test your skills.

7. Flexible scheduling

Working in a call center may mean working outside regular business hours. If you’re only looking for a 9-to-5 role, you may want to keep looking — call centers operate around the clock with very few exceptions in most cases.

Call center employees might work various shifts:

• Overnights
• Weekends
• Major holidays

You may also work overtime hours if the company experiences a recall or significant event and needs all hands on deck. These hours can add stress to call center employees, especially if they’re on-site and have to commute.

Do you have all these skills? Now, see which call center roles interest you most.

Related: Customer Service Call Centers: Top Features & Best Practices

Call Center Positions and Responsibilities

Since you don’t need much work experience, call center jobs make excellent entry-level jobs. Ever dealt with customers? Know how to use a phone and a computer? You’re already qualified!

Dedicated call center employees also rise the ranks and advance their customer service careers fast.

You can take your pick of these popular call center jobs:

Tips for Working in a Call Center

Call center jobs can be simultaneously challenging and rewarding. Agents digest and record gigantic amounts of information. They also set others up for success with detailed, contextual notes about customer interactions. Then, anyone assisting those customers in the future can reference the notes for context.

Here are some of the top tips for success in a call center environment.

Get familiar with call center software

Being prepared in a call center involves more than just knowing the basics about the product or service offering. It entails a deep understanding of the ins and outs of what you’re selling or supporting.

Your customer service steps up a notch when you’re able to speak clearly to:

• Noteworthy benefits
• Common limitations
• Troubleshooting steps

You’ll likely need to engage in lots of virtual team communication — consider reaching out to colleagues or supervisors for clarification. Familiarize yourself with training materials or any relevant product information your employer provides.

With a better understanding of the offerings and procedures, you can better equip yourself to address questions, resolve issues, and give accurate information.

Related Article

23 Call Center Best Practices for Superior Customer Experience

Focus on personalizing each experience

Personalization is key to building rapport with callers and improving customer experience. This is true even in challenging situations, like calls with irate customers.

One of the easiest ways to personalize each call is by asking probing questions to gather information. By taking the time to understand caller needs and concerns (which most expect you to do), you can give a personalized response and tailor a solution to their specific issues.

Call center employees can also leverage CRM and call center technology to personalize their service and support.

Review customer history, like:

• Past interactions
• Purchases
• Notification preferences

These notes can give you an idea of their journey with your company and allow you to anticipate their needs better.

Hone your notetaking skills

Effective communication is crucial for call center agents to ensure clarity, understanding, and professionalism. Part of that is indirect business communication, meaning you’re not talking directly to anyone. This is the 25% of the job that requires diligent note-taking.

Active listening is key to building out effective notes. Once you take in information, how you structure it will impact how easy it is for agents to help (or sell to) this customer again in the future.

Try these tips when crafting customer account notes:

• Use abbreviations and keywords to reduce length.
• Organize notes by category and use bullets and headings to keep your notes readable.
• Be concise and relevant, focusing on essential details and actionable information.
• Review and verify your notes to ensure their accuracy.

With these tips, you’re set up for an engaging role in helping customers discover solutions and improve their lives.

Related Article

9 Types of Call Centers (Definitions + How To Choose One)

Thinking About Working in a Call Center?

VoIP solutions are transforming the call center industry for the better. Call center employees can now work from home and climb the ladder to a lucrative customer service career in no time.

Next time you call a contact center, you’ll have a newfound appreciation for their hard work. You may even want to join their team.

Working in a Call Center FAQs

Check out these call center employees’ frequently asked questions for more information.

TCPA compliance is adherence to regulations outlined in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which requires businesses to obtain prior express consent before initiating marketing conversations with them.

Maintaining compliance with regulations isn’t just a legal obligation but a testament to ethical business practices.

The TCPA is a cornerstone of consumer privacy protection in marketing communications, and businesses need to keep TCPA requirements in mind to avoid costly violations and penalties, particularly regarding their contact center operations.

Below, we’ll dive deep into a TCPA compliance checklist that covers all business communication platforms and touches on violations and their consequences. We’ll also cover implementing a TCPA compliance plan for your business.

Let’s get started. 

1. Obtain and Document Consent

The heart of the TCPA is respecting consumer privacy and autonomy by obtaining their consent to send marketing communications. This safeguards consumers against unsolicited and intrusive marketing practices and helps businesses target their call center campaigns more effectively.

TCPA mandates that businesses obtain prior express written consent from consumers before initiating those communications with them. If you don’t obtain consent first, you could face severe penalties and legal consequences.

There are three main types of consent for TCPA compliance:

• Express written consent: This is the highest standard of consent required by TCPA, obtained in physical or digital writing.
• Express verbal consent: While verbal consent is acceptable under TCPA, you must maintain accurate records, including the date, time, and nature of the consent.
• Implied consent: Businesses may contact consumers via telemarketing messages if there’s an established business relationship, like a recent purchase. Implied consent has limits, and customers must have a clear path to opt out.

These three types of consent give varying levels of assurance about consumers’ willingness to let you market to them. They form the basis of a TCPA-compliant plan.

Record-keeping and documentation best practices

You can obtain consent through online forms, opt-in texts or emails, types of CRM systems, and other means. Aside from obtaining consent, you should keep diligent records to prove it. Good record-keeping helps businesses show that they adhere to guidelines, and records can help defend against potential legal challenges.

Once you obtain consent, document it. Include the method of consent (like an online form or verbal communication) and the date, time, and any relevant communication details. If customers opt out of any communications, keep note of that.

Besides the law, read up on your call center software provider’s acceptable use policy — some might prohibit certain calling practices that might be legal but degrade the service provided to other customers. 

2. Honor the National Do Not Call Registry

Together, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) maintain the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry, a database of consumers who opted out of telephone solicitation with a do-not-call request. Individuals can register their numbers for free. The law requires telemarketers to access the registry and remove registered numbers from their calling lists.

The DNC registry empowers consumers to control their exposure to telemarketers and holds businesses accountable for respecting their preferences.

You don’t need to update your own do-not-call list — you can monitor the registry with automated systems that regularly cross-reference your call lists with the FTC database.

Related Article

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3. Adhere to Call Time Restrictions

The TCPA prohibits telemarketing calls to residential phone numbers before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. at the called party’s location.

These restrictions govern the specific days and hours businesses can make calls. While the TCPA doesn’t explicitly prohibit telemarketing on weekends or holidays, it does require businesses to use discretion to avoid calls when consumers aren’t likely to be home or might not be open to marketing calls.

Since VoIP phones can make voice calls from anywhere with an internet connection, contact centers often call consumers in distant time zones. It’s always the responsibility of the business to know the time zone of whoever they’re calling. To avoid a potential violation, make sure your agents know the time wherever they’re calling.

4. Comply with the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)

The TSR is a set of regulations that protect consumers from deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices. While the TCPA primarily regulates phone communication for marketing purposes, the TSR provides additional guidelines specific to telemarketing sales calls.

The Telemarketing Sales Rule mandates compliance with the National Do Not Call Registry and requires telemarketers to provide accurate caller ID. It also imposes record-keeping requirements on telemarketers, including maintenance of calling lists, consent records, and records of sales transactions — a call center best practice.

5. Respect Opt-Out Requests

Opt-out requests come from consumers who no longer wish to receive telemarketing calls or texts. Any business that sends marketing calls, texts, application-to-person messages, or emails needs to give consumers a way to opt out of receiving them.

When someone opts out, you must promptly honor that request. Avoid communicating with that consumer unless they explicitly opt back in to remain compliant.

While it might not be exciting to hear that someone no longer wants to hear from your business, it’s crucial to respect their preferences.

6. Note Caller ID Requirements

Transparency is a key goal of TCPA regulations, and caller ID requirements help achieve that goal. Telemarketers need to accurately transmit identifying information, like a telephone number and, if possible, a business name. The STIR/SHAKEN protocol helps businesses obtain a digital certificate that authenticates their business and identifies themselves to consumers.

Falsifying contact information to deceive consumers and disguise identity is called spoofing. Caller ID helps foster trust and build positive relationships with your consumers, and faking caller ID can lead to costly violations and a damaged reputation.

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7. Prioritize SMS Compliance

With a true omnichannel contact center, businesses can keep the conversation going when a customer switches communication channels — the context of their previous conversations will inform their next one, regardless of which channel it’s on.

In the context of TCPA, this means more channels where businesses need to obtain explicit consent to communicate with customers.

Almost one-third of customers report sending an SMS to request assistance from a business — all of these messages require opt-in consent for you to respond. If you’re not prioritizing your SMS compliance, you might eliminate a key opportunity to connect with your customers and improve customer experience (CX).

TCPA covers automations and business text messaging tools, too. You must also adhere to time restrictions and avoid texting anyone during off hours.

8. Mind Robocall Regulations

Robocalls are automated phone calls using auto-dialer software to deliver a prerecorded voice message.

TCPA rules apply to robocalls just as they apply to other telemarketing communications. This doesn’t mean robocalls are now a thing of the past, but it does help limit annoying spam (and some common scams).

VoIP features can help businesses manage prerecorded calls and flag them for TCPA violations, like advanced call management to block and filter robocalls in real time, or apps that use crowdsourced data and machine learning to screen and block incoming robocalls.

TCPA Violations and Penalties: What Businesses Need to Know

TCPA non-compliance can result in significant penalties. TCPA fines vary depending on the severity of the violation — usually, whether it’s deemed negligent or willful. If a business violated TCPA rules willfully, they’re likely to receive a heftier fine.

The best way to mitigate risk regarding TCPA compliance is to ensure that consent is top of mind in all your communication practices. Obtain consent, document it thoroughly, and stay up to date on regulatory changes related to TCPA and TSR.

Complaints and even lawsuits are possible consequences of TCPA violations. Dealing with them requires a proactive approach to reputation management and risk mitigation, which can include:

• Response: Take complaints seriously and respond to them as soon as possible. Offer clear and concise explanations and an appropriate resolution, like opting them out of future communications.
• Investigation: Document all complaints, including any actions taken in response. Conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine the root cause of the complaint and note areas of improvement for compliance practices.
• Legal guidance: Consult with legal counsel experienced in TCPA regulations and get guidance on possible responses. In cases where complaints escalate to legal action, explore the possibility of settling to avoid costly litigation.

With the right proactive steps to address complaints and mitigate risk, you can better manage TCPA-related challenges.

How to Implement TCPA Compliance in Your Business

The best way to avoid TCPA violations is to regularly assess your compliance from the get-go. Businesses that comply with the TCPA can better maintain customer trust by avoiding unwanted (and illegal) communications.

Develop a TCPA compliance policy 

You’ll need a compliance plan if you want to make sure you adhere to all TCPA regulations and avoid any TCPA litigation. You’ll also need to designate a compliance officer responsible for implementing and monitoring your compliance efforts.

Train and educate your team

Keep your team sharp and compliant with special training programs about call center best practices.

It’s a good idea to touch on topics like:

• TCPA regulations
• Compliance requirements
• Ethical communication practices

Your employees must know about obtaining proper consent, honoring opt-out requests, giving accurate caller ID, and keeping detailed records.

Perform regular compliance audits

Audits and call center QA can help catch any blind spots in your compliance plan. With periodic reviews of records and record-keeping practices, you can make sure you’re obtaining the right kind of consent and keeping track of it appropriately. 

Audits can help you catch important customer feedback about your communication practices. You can also spot instances of non-compliance and address them swiftly.

Leverage the right tech for compliance

Customer experience technology facilitates TCPA compliance by making it easier than ever to track your efforts to obtain consent. Data management tools can keep records accessible and update them in real time, ensuring your customer preferences are always current. Plus, tech helps prioritize transparency and caller security with tools like caller verification.

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Work with legal counsel for compliance assurance

Complaints and legal challenges aren’t ideal. Legal counsel can help you make sure that you’re up to date on TCPA rules and shape your compliance policy. This will help you adapt to any regulatory changes that may happen in the future.

⚠️ While we referenced some of the laws pertaining to telemarketing, this guide is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state if you have specific questions about your situation.

Scale Your Contact Center Worry-Free With Nextiva

TCPA compliance is a must for any business that uses marketing communications. Violations can lead to legal liabilities and financial penalties, which can severely damage your reputation. Luckily, a TCPA compliance checklist can help you stay on the right side of the law and keep customer trust intact.

You can navigate regulatory complexities while building customer trust and respect by understanding TCPA requirements, implementing robust compliance measures, and staying vigilant.

Today’s modern contact center software has compliance and reporting functionality built in, so you can grow fearlessly and know that your team is operating in the clear.

Your customers are making purchases from anywhere. If you can’t follow them across different channels and keep the conversation going from where it left off, they are missing out on a full omnichannel customer experience (CX).

An omnichannel customer experience bridges customer touchpoints across all communication channels for a cohesive feel. Customer touchpoints today extend far beyond traditional channels like phone calls.

As businesses evolve to embrace omnichannel, they should understand and optimize their customer experience strategy accordingly. In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of omnichannel CX, touch on how to improve yours, and look at successful examples of omnichannel businesses.

Let’s dig in.

What Is Omnichannel Customer Experience?

An omnichannel customer experience is an approach to CX where businesses create seamless customer journeys by integrating communications across all their channels. Unlike traditional approaches that operate in silos, the omnichannel experience ensures that all channels are interconnected and consistent.

The goal is to provide customers with a consistent experience across multiple touchpoints like online chatbots, mobile apps, text messaging, social media, and more. You can measure customer experience in an omnichannel environment encompassing multiple touchpoints in one centralized dashboard.

In an omnichannel CX strategy, the emphasis is on breaking down barriers between different channels for a consistent customer experience. This allows customers to transition between their chosen channels without losing momentum in their journey. Therefore, your support team doesn’t need to conduct extra behind-the-scenes research to keep up with an inquiry.

For instance, if your customer originally contacts you to ask about pricing via phone call but needs to leave or gets disconnected, they can contact you again via email or chat to resume their support conversation. This creates a cohesive support experience and reduces customer effort, a key customer service metric that affects customer satisfaction.

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Omnichannel vs. multichannel CX

The difference between omnichannel and multichannel CX is that omnichannel CX integrates communication seamlessly across channels, both digital and in-person. Multichannel segments channels and the customer information within them. Omnichannel and multichannel contact centers differ in their integration with other organizational teams.

This means that business communication channels in an omnichannel environment offer customers a more continuous and connected user experience. All channels share data access so the customer journey moves forward without retracing any steps.

Multichannel call centers engage with customers across several different channels. Those channels function in isolation and cater to specific aspects of the customer journey, like a chatbot that offers more information when a customer visits a product page.

The challenge with multichannel CX is that it doesn’t ensure consistency across different channels. Customer data gets compartmentalized, and transitioning between channels might not be seamless.

Think of it this way: You engage a lead via email, and they click a link to demo your product. Afterward, they visit your website for details and connect with a chatbot, which passes them to a sales support agent. After completing the purchase, the customer calls technical support for help setting up.

Independently, this multichannel setup offers fragmented, brand-focused communication. But when integrated, these channels become a unified omnichannel environment that centers the customer. Omnichannel helps agents provide more personalized recommendations thanks to data gathered from different interactions.

Omnichannel use cases

Consider these use cases showing seamless experiences as customers move through their omnichannel journeys.

• Learning about products: An e-commerce customer browses products in-store, uses their smartphone to scan a QR code for more information, adds items to an online cart, and completes the purchases on their mobile device or computer.
• Getting help on any channel: A customer initiates a support chat on a company’s website, continues the conversation via a mobile app, and later receives follow-up assistance through email. At the same time, CRM tracks the conversation history and context.
• Inquiring about a social media post: A customer interacts with a brand’s social media post, inquires about a product, and later receives personalized recommendations through direct messages, eventually purchasing on the company’s website.
• Marketing based on past choices: A customer receives targeted promotions via email based on their previous online purchases. The same promotions show in-app and on the company’s website, ensuring a consistent and personalized omnichannel marketing approach.
• Following up for customer feedback: A customer makes a purchase and opts to pick up their purchase in-store. One day later, they receive a follow-up via SMS asking for their opinion on the customer service during their experience.

An omnichannel strategy helps customers seamlessly transition from channel to channel without losing the context of their interaction. While some customers will likely stay within one or two channels, omnichannel CX offers a chance to capture additional business from customers who are more on the go.

Related: What Is Omnichannel E-commerce? A Strategy Guide for 2024

Benefits of Omnichannel Customer Experience

When it comes to customer communication, it’s better to be more connected. An intelligent customer experience with omnichannel puts your customers first and allows them to connect with you however is easiest for them.

Increase customer loyalty

An omnichannel approach can foster stronger connections with your loyal customers. When businesses consistently meet customer service goals and expectations and limit pain points across channels, it builds trust and encourages repeat customer engagements.

Reduce churn by being helpful at the moment of need — from live chat, social media, text messaging, or simply an easily found toll-free phone number. 

Boost sales and revenue

We established that better case handling results in higher trust and customer retention, but there’s a bigger plus. Just a 5% boost in retention can send your profits soaring by up to 95%.

A smoother transition between channels means you can capture more sales opportunities. Customers who engage with a brand through multiple channels will likely spend more. An omnichannel strategy maximizes the chances of conversion as you can entice customers across several touchpoints.

Collect valuable insights

Omnichannel integration provides a holistic view of customer interactions. These interactions create a wealth of customer data you can gather, analyze, and use for reporting and forecasting.

A data-driven approach enables a better understanding of customer behavior, preferences, and trends. These can help inform your strategic decision-making to support customer satisfaction.

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How to Improve Omnichannel Customer Experience

You may already have an omnichannel strategy or want to know how to set it up successfully. Here’s how to get up and running at full speed.

1. Map the comprehensive customer journey

To map your customer journey, start by documenting every touchpoint your customers have with your business, from initial awareness to post-purchase interactions. Use automations from customer experience technology to collect data on customer interactions, feedback, and preferences to give you behavioral insights at different stages of their journey.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including marketing, sales, customer service, and product development, to gather perspectives that help further shape CX. These teams all interpret customer data differently, so diverse expertise is beneficial to comprehensively understand your customer journey map.

2. Use integrated customer data management

By consolidating customer information from different touch points into a centralized system, individual customer journeys become easier for businesses to understand. A unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platform bridges these gaps so agents have the information they need at their fingertips.

For instance, when a customer engages with a brand through social media, makes online purchases, and seeks customer support via a mobile app, integrated data management ensures that relevant information is seamlessly shared across these digital channels. This empowers businesses to better personalize offerings and recommendations and enables efficient issue resolution as support teams have access to the customer’s full history and context.

Moreover, integrated customer data management facilitates real-time insights, enabling businesses to respond promptly to customer needs. For example, this might be a customer who receives targeted social media ads after browsing products on a website.

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3. Train and empower your agents to collaborate

With training, agents can better understand the entire customer journey, even with touchpoints outside their specific roles. This enables agents in an omnichannel contact center to offer more informed and holistic support, addressing customer inquiries with context about previous interactions in different channels.

Empowering agents to collaborate also fosters connection within your organization, enabling information to flow seamlessly across departments. For instance, a customer service agent who identifies a recurring issue can collaborate with the product development team to address the root cause, preventing future occurrences and improving overall CX.

Omnichannel in Action: Helping Small Businesses Scale

Omnichannel isn’t just for the big dogs. Small business solutions that are effective and affordable help smaller brands compete with larger ones.

Canopy Technology is a financial tech company founded to offer students safe lending experiences. To better serve its busy customers, it needed a contact center solution that could open new communication pathways.

Canopy needed help triaging, documenting, and progressing complex customer cases.

“This tool allows us to create our own outreach and servicing strategies where we can meet our clients in their channel of choice, exactly the aspiration of most legacy loan servicers and banks.”

~ Tom Greco, Head of client success and accounts at Canopy

Omnichannel call center technology helped Canopy expand its customer service capabilities and challenge the CX of much larger financial institutions, all without breaking the bank.

Give Your Customers the Omnichannel Experience They Want

With omnichannel, businesses are better able to manage the customer experience through valuable customer insights. An omnichannel customer experience gives you a unified view of customer interactions so you can deliver more personalized, relevant, and timely experiences.

Adopting an omnichannel approach can easily enhance customer satisfaction, loyalty, and overall engagement while improving your overall customer experience.