In a world where customer expectations are soaring, the interactions customers have with their telecom operator can make or break their loyalty. As communication service providers (CSPs) strive to meet the growing demands for exceptional customer experience (CX), the critical linchpin often lies at the heart of their operations: the contact center.
Contact center agents can only deliver exceptional experiences when they have the right information in front of them. And this means having the right agent desktop solution. With intricate product catalogs, complex billing scenarios and diverse customer journeys, CSPs need an agent desktop that enables them to provide a high-quality service. They need a tailored, powerhouse tool designed to empower their customer service representatives (CSRs). In this blog, we’ll delve into the essential criteria for selecting the perfect agent desktop software as a CSP.
CX Is Increasingly Important for CSPs
The telecom industry falls short in customer satisfaction, with internet service providers and subscription TV services at the bottom of the rankings by industry.
Exceptional CX is critical to preventing customer churn—which is particularly high in telecom. In the U.S., the cable television and financial industries had the highest churn (25%) in 2020, with telecom/wireless at 21%. According to one report, 39% of telecom customers reported leaving because of poor customer service. Of these, 51% switched because they had to call more than once to resolve a problem.
Key factors that matter to more than 70% of consumers, according to PwC, include speed and convenience of service, helpful and friendly employees and a human touch that makes technology feel more personal.
Notably, the quality of employee experiences directly impacts customer experiences, creating a symbiotic relationship. A Gartner report found that 74% of tech organizations have proven a link between CX and EX. Happy employees tend to provide better customer service, leading to improved satisfaction for both parties. Prioritizing employee experience (EX) is essential for empowering CX teams to handle increasingly complex customer issues effectively.
Telecom Customers Prefer Contact Centers for Problem Resolution
While the digital age has transformed the way we connect, it’s important to note that the phone still reigns supreme in the world of telecom customer service. A survey of 10,000 Dutch telecom consumers found that 37% prefer to engage with the call center when grappling with billing inquiries. In contrast, a mere 19% choose the provider’s website, and 18% opt for the mobile app.
The contact center’s significance doesn’t end there. When it comes to service disruptions, 45% of customers lean toward the trusty phone call. Fewer customers, just 21%, rely on the app, and just 15% turn to the website for technical problem solving. It’s clear that for many customers, the human touch of the call center is still vital.
Poor EX and CX Is a Problem for Telecom Contact Centers
Contact centers should be the beating heart of a telecom company’s commitment to exceptional CX and employee experience EX. However, reality often falls short of expectations, leaving both customers and CSRs to confront a web of frustrations and pain points.
| Customer Pain Points | Employee Pain Points |
|---|---|
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The Right Tools Are Vital to Improving CX
Poor contact center CX and EX results in frustration for customers and employees. So how what can CSPs do about it?
Businesses are responding to the cost of poor CX and EX. According to a Gartner report involving customer service and support leaders, 59% of respondents are committed to devoting additional resources to the improvement, automation and elimination of inefficient processes. Gartner recommends that customer service and support leaders “enable customer service agents with technology, such as connected desktops, to help them better guide customers through [problem] resolution.”
When CSRs are equipped with the right tools and information, they become empowered problem solvers. The result? Faster issue resolution and less customer frustration. Customers feel understood and have their needs met promptly, which boosts satisfaction and loyalty. More productive calls translate into shorter call-handling times, an army of satisfied customers and a reduction in CSR attrition. It’s a win-win scenario where technology both enhances CX and elevates EX, making these tools a strategic imperative for telecom operators.
What Should CSPs Look for in Agent Desktop Software?
There are many agent desktop solutions out there, and it’s important that CSPs make the right choice. Contact center costs are already a significant investment, and squandering resources on ineffective technology is a luxury no telecom operator can afford. Costly deployments of new software, while promising, can quickly turn into burdens when they fail to resolve the core issues.
Telecom providers grapple with a unique set of challenges, including intricate billing scenarios, diverse product catalogs, multifaceted customer journeys and stringent regulatory requirements—all of which are reflected in customer service interactions. For this reason, CSPs can’t accept a generic solution; they must instead invest in a telecom-specific agent desktop.
This specialized agent desktop should do more than just house data. It should provide CSRs with the precise information they need to assist customers swiftly and accurately, ensuring their satisfaction and loyalty. It must offer relevant product suggestions, simplifying the process of upselling and cross-selling, all while streamlining the overall customer interaction process.
With the right agent desktop solution, CSPs can:
- Increase revenue: Revenue increases when CSRs can provide personalized, relevant deals for customers and avoid revenue leakage via better collections.
- Reduce time-to-market: Choosing a tool with catalog-driven functionality means it’s easy for CSRs to start selling any product or service.
- Increase customer and employee satisfaction: More productive calls mean lower call-handling time and reduced agent attrition.
- Reduce customer churn: Delivering great experiences means customers are likely to stick around.
Choose Telecom-Specific Agent Desktop Software with These Features
| Feature/ Functionality | Description | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| 360° View of the Customer | A full view of customer information:
| Agents have all the information they need to address the customer’s problems. Manage the customer journey effectively. Generate revenue through more effective cross/up-selling by offering personalized, relevant deals. |
| Full Integration with Your Billing System | When the agent desktop is integrated with the billing system, CSRs have immediate access to up-to-date product and service information, allowing them to resolve disputes, provide offers and access everything in the product catalog with ease. | Boost operational efficiency. Generate more revenue, fast. Agents can easily offer customers your latest and most relevant deals. New products and services are ready to sell right away. Shorten time to market. Reduce revenue leakage (due to better managed collections, disputes and adjustments processes). |
| Action Points for Agents | Agents have a clear view of actions to take, including:
Summaries include details about:
| Improve agent efficiency. Make it easy to handle orders, actions and cases. Never miss a monetization opportunity. Improve EX. |
Customer Connect: Transform Your Telecom Contact Center into a Competitive Advantage
If you’re ready to start boosting CX and EX while also driving revenue growth in your contact center, you can give your CSRs exactly what they need with Customer Connect—the agent desktop built for telecom.
Designed for CSPs, Customer Connect is the agent desktop that empowers your agents and supercharges your operations. Customer Connect provides modern, out-of-the-box capabilities to facilitate better customer interactions while empowering CSRs to generate revenue.
Contact us to start using Customer Connect or, for more information, download our datasheet.