Many contact centers struggle to provide optimal customer experiences. Rising consumer expectations, staffing shortages and technological friction create interconnected challenges that hinder service quality.

Customer information is often scattered across disconnected systems, forcing agents to toggle between applications.

The contact center is the main point of interaction between customers and businesses. However, customers often complain about long waits, confusing automated systems and having to repeat information. Agents may lack the knowledge or authority to resolve problems.

Agile and reliable communications are critical in financial services. Customers are more demanding than ever, expecting responsive and highly personalized experiences. Financial services firms must be able to communicate seamlessly across multiple channels and be agile enough to adapt to changing market conditions.

Attracting new customers is good for business, but retaining customers is even better. It costs one-fifth as much to retain a customer as it does to obtain a new one. In most organizations, 80 percent of profits are generated by 20 percent of their customers — the ones who are most loyal.

We live in an age of remarkable advances in healthcare technology, including such breakthroughs as genetic sequencing, 3-D-printed prosthetics, robotic-assisted surgery and AI-powered imaging systems. However, research shows that outdated and inefficient communication technologies create persistent challenges in the industry.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now a key enabler of contact center efforts to cut costs, improve efficiency and enhance the customer experience. Virtual agents, speech-to-text, intelligent routing, advanced error detection, automated data entry and real-time data analysis are among the many functions enabled by AI. As a result, the AI-powered contact center is becoming “a necessity for companies that want to deliver stellar customer experience and gain competitive advantage,” according to Robin Gareiss, CEO and Principal Analyst at the Metrigy research firm.

The contact center traditionally has been undervalued by business leaders, limiting investments in contact center technology. In light of today’s customer demands, however, organizations need to rethink their contact centers in order to enhance the customer experience.

In times of economic uncertainty, business decisions get tougher and spending is scrutinized. But many organizations agree that it makes good sense to invest in customer experience (CX) technologies.

According to Metrigy’s Customer Experience Transformation 2022-23 report, more than half of companies plan to increase their CX spending by 2023, with an average increase of 17.3 percent.

Today’s consumers are no longer satisfied with receiving the right product at the right price at the right time. When they have a question or a problem, they expect the question answered or problem resolved quickly, with clarity, through the communications channel of their choosing.

The virtual contact center is here to stay. The transition to remote operations has been so successful that 77 percent of customer service organizations surveyed recently by Deloitte are either adopting or accelerating their work-from-home programs — and 80 percent plan to close their physical contact centers entirely.