Why Do Organizations Need to Build a Technical Network for Themselves?

By Alicia Gray

No doubt, the growth of technology has helped us in every sphere of life, be it personal or professional. We see a new technology entering the market every other day. It takes a little time for a new technology to become a trend. This certainly holds true for every industry, irrespective of its scope and area, and the call center industry is no exception.

We all accept that the role of a contact center is no longer limited to providing answering services to people. There are so many other means of communication, such as online chat, email, and social media. Most customers use these communication channels in their everyday lives. This has forced companies in the call center industry to also deploy such communication techniques. The dependence of call centers on technology is evident from the extensive use of technology in this industry. When the term “call center technology” was coined, people hardly realized that the technology would be replaced every other day.

Let us examine the role and importance of technology in the context of call center industry. Consider the following:

  • Integration: The phenomenon of outsourcing has made call centers more important than ever before. In addition, the need for customer assistance via multiple platforms has widened an organization’s horizons. No longer is an organization limited to providing customer support through a particular medium. Therefore, there is a need for a single technology to integrate different media and bring uniformity to the process. This gave rise to CTI (Computer Telephony Integration). The majority of call centers has already deployed this technology.
  • Efficiency: Cutthroat competition in the market and increased business needs have made the use of technology important. This holds true for companies providing outbound and inbound services. Therefore, the adoption of strategies that facilitate efficient management of calls is needed.
  • Improved Customer Service: Customers are responsible for the success of any organization. It often happens that the acquisition of new customers forces organizations to ignore the existing customers. Moreover, the widespread use of technology has given customers multiple choices. Obviously, a customer would not wait when he or she has a plethora of options available to him. This has forced call centers to build a competitive advantage in the form of technology.
  • Competitive advantage: In a competitive business environment, every company wants to eat into the share of its counterpart. Organizations need to expand their market base by any means possible. Most companies use contact centers to reach out to prospective clients. The efficient use of technology often comes to the rescue of organizations. Moreover, innovation acts as an added advantage.

Any customer who calls a contact center is looking for the solution to his or her problem. Not only this, time constraints play an important role in everyone’s life. When a call center agent has a number of customers in queue, a customer might not have the time to wait on hold. A company might end up losing a valuable customer simply because a call was not answered. This is exactly where other technologies, such as IVR (Interactive Voice Response), find a place.

Alicia Gray is a technical graduate who has worked in the contact center industry for the last five years. She knows and understands how important call center technology is for the industry. Over the years, she has worked in a number of call center companies and added to her professional skills.

[From Connection Magazine May/Jun 2014]