Companies today understand the importance of differentiating their businesses from the competition’s by offering customer service that is second-to-none. This imperative is supported by recent research, which indicates that more than half of customers will take their business elsewhere in the aftermath of a negative experience with a brand.

When companies decide to enhance customer service delivery, their decision makers often first look at contact centers. Since contact centers serve as the human extension of brands, they are the primary interface with key targets and, therefore, of paramount importance in retaining customers or improving relationships with them.

As a result, many businesses choose to deploy industry-leading contact center solutions, many of them cloud-based, to bolster their customer service offerings. And this means that business is good for contact center providers.

Service providers catering to these businesses need to stay on top of industry trends and add to their portfolios those solutions that ensure their customers get all the functionality they want. Cloud communications platforms are a common solution for several customer service key trends.

Adopting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for Agility

Recent research by Forrester shows that 15 percent of organizations have already replaced their on-premises customer service applications with SaaS solutions, while another 24 percent complement their existing solutions with SaaS. What’s more, by 2015, more than half of companies are expected to adopt SaaS solutions. This technology allows businesses to forgo expensive license fees, pay only for the resources they use, and scale up and down rapidly, depending on business needs.

Also, a hefty benefit of a cloud-based contact center solution is that companies can employ work-from-home agents that are able to do their jobs in a cloud-based environment. It was only about five years ago when 100% of the workforce was on-premises. This flexibility, of course, leads to increased employee satisfaction and, presumably, lower employment costs. VoipNow, specifically designed for the cloud, is a perfect solution in this case, as it can be deployed either on a service provider’s infrastructure, directly in the company’s data center of choice, or in 4PSA’s cloud. Smart features like extension virtualization and remote agents allow agents to work from anywhere and still seem to the customer like they are in the office.

Incorporating Video-Based Customer Service

As technology evolves, more businesses are turning toward video calls to help deliver a more personalized touch to their customer service. While the jury is still out debating if customers really desire to interact visually, certain industries definitely benefit from it. Banks are using video at ATMs, Amazon launched its video support service, Mayday, and many contact centers are turning toward video support as well. Industry-leading cloud communications solutions such as VoipNow give contact centers Unified Communications functionalities that enable them to offer video support to customers.

Developing Personal Connections

When we have something in common with someone, the bond we share brings us closer. Businesses can use robust contact center solutions to track customer histories, meaning they are able to build specific profiles for each customer. Armed with these profiles, calls can be routed to agents with similar interests and personalities, as well as to those who have already spoken with the same customers in the past.

Similarly, Zappos, a leading online shoe retailer, routes calls to agents who are based in the same state as the caller and, thus, share that bond. Another example: strong cloud communications platforms enable companies like Empain-Chaker, active in many countries, to route calls to the most appropriate agent – based on the language of the country the customer is calling from. The VoipNow Platform allows for all these ways to personalize interaction with a customer.

Improving End-to-end Service with Analytics

With much more touch points than a decade ago, companies are flooded with customer service data. Making sense of it all will be key in gaining a competitive edge. Fortunately, best-in-class cloud communications platforms are engineered with advanced APIs that allow for easy integration with CRM platforms and other business applications. This makes end-to-end analytics much more streamlined. By taking advantage of integrations, sales will be able to more specifically target their customers with up-sell and cross-sell opportunities; business leaders will be able to make timely decisions and contact center agents will be able to improve customer experience overall.

Designed on the cutting edge of all of these trends, VoipNow is a comprehensive cloud communications platform that has the ability to transform any contact center for the better. If you’re a contact center provider thinking about how you can reinforce your portfolio of offerings, click here to learn more about why VoipNow is right for you.