In an increasingly complex and connected world, the contact centers have changed into experience centers. So, contact center trends 2020 have made the contact centers responsible for support, interaction, data gathering, and education, etc.

Though the technological developments will help in automation, real-time analytics, authentications, workflow technology, and bots, yet the human agents will still be required to resolve more complex and emotive issues.

Human agents will have to widen their skills as they would have to become problem solvers, brand-enhancers, co-creators of customer experience, and educators.

Besides, enterprises will have to deal with the new demands form next-generation workers who do not like work for long shifts. So, sorting out the perfect match for contact center agents will be a must-have skill for managers in the future.

Customer Service Is Transforming Perpetually

Yes, things you know as customer service will be obsoleted in the future by emerging technological trends. The basics of the customer experience will remain the same, for instance, customers will still expect you to be efficient, friendly, know their names, and empathize with their concerns.

However, the “customer” entity will be changed. IoT will make smart devices able enough to ask for help automatically. The bots, at contact centers, will resolve the issues hence eliminating human involvement at all.

Automation of Simple Processes with AI

Contact center agents have to perform numerous tasks, manually, for instance, they have to categorize, tag, and respond to basic queries. It wastes time and resources simultaneously.

Service automation and workflow technologies, with the help of proper machine learnings, will make most of the simple processes automated. So, agents will not have to perform all the monotonous operations anymore.

Besides, this will enhance the bottom-line profitability in a contact center. Also, the agents will have more productive time to offer better customer experiences.

The proliferation of Complaints Via Social Media

Nowadays, customers do not wait to go home, instead they Yelp a review immediately after experiencing either a bad or good customer service. Mostly customers proliferate the reviews on social media like Facebook or Twitter, yet worse, some broadcast via YouTube.

So, social media is a double-edged sword. It helps the businesses to connect with customers rapidly, and at the same time, there would be an equal risk of getting viral as bad customer service.

Moreover, as the functionality of social media increasing, barriers to complaint entry are reducing. On the other hand, enhanced connectivity will produce more touch-point, consequently growing burden on customer service centers.

Remote Agents Will Be More Than In-House Representatives

“A brand is defined by the customer’s experience. The experience is delivered by the employees.” Shep Hyken

Professionals anticipate that the trend of remote working will rock in 2020 and beyond. Almost all businesses will witness a marked growth in their freelance employees. Customer service with remote agents will overtake the in-house representative-set-ups.

Moreover, customer service with remote agents will not only be more productive but also affordable and economical. For instance, sky-high office rents at NYC or San Francisco will make the organization think twice before setting a customer service center there.

Contrarily, call for remote agents, and you will get an overwhelming response from all over the world. This will make operations smooth, economic, and productive.

Enhanced Presence of Real-Time Support

Marketing is best to enhance the sale. However, what if a customer is already interested in your products and wants to purchase now? You must have some real-time support available on your website. This will let them know that you are always present there. Real-time support helps:

• In engaging customers.
• To make the purchase process convenient.
• It enhances the conversion rate.
• It solves customer concerns instantly.

More Personalization, More Leads Generation

Personalization isn’t a new tactic in marketing. Sellers have been using this tool for decades. However, these days, the market is saturated with competitors hence urging sellers to offer more personalized experiences.

Following are some statistics that elaborate the situation:

• 56% of customers are more likely to return to the website that recommends products.
• 53% believe that personalized service means valuable products.
• 57% would like to buy from the website that offers personalized recommendations.

Hybrid Customer Support Will Be A Must-Have

With time, customers seek multiple platforms for support with an equal level of satisfaction. That means customers are now expecting the same level of service excellence on social media as they experience on phone calls.

So, chatbots and messengers will witness enhanced use in the future. Chatbots are capable of interactive conversations with human beings. A chatbot is better to be added to the website.

On the other hand, messengers have surpassed social media in customer-business interactions. So, companies must keep it in notice when developing a communication strategy.

In a nutshell, hybrid and composite communication strategy will the need of the hour in the future. Businesses should be ready to update all communication tools accordingly.

More Customers on Social Media

“You can use social media to turn strangers into friends, friends into customers, and customers into salespeople.” Says Seth Godin.

Social media has become a major marketing and online presence tool. Almost all businesses are using it bluntly. According to the Valuewalk, 63% of customers expect customer service available on social media platforms as well. See how dramatically the following stats are elaborating the importance of social media:

• The same customer service on social media will cost $1, whereas the call center interaction will cost $6. (NMICITE)
• 33% of users prefer contacting on social media rather than talking on phone calls (Nielsen)
•  When a business implements a social media customer service, it increases the annual customer satisfaction score by 22%. (Aberdeen).

Concluding Words

In a nutshell, soon, you will see dramatic changes in the contact center industry and its operations. Artificial intelligence, social media involvement, automation of workflows, and IoT up-gradation will revolutionize the contact center processes. Businesses should be ready to meet future customers’ demands.