How to Use Data to Improve the Omnichannel Experience

Every enterprise knows that data provides valuable insights, but too many have a disconnect between the collection of data and the actual application of its analysis. For a contact center, using data around customer behaviors and preferences is key to optimizing the omnichannel experience. Rather than allowing your information to just sit and gather dust, you can learn how to use data to improve customer experiences.

Take a look at four ways that your contact center can use data to improve the omnichannel experience:

Focus on Personalization: It’s no mystery that studying the behaviors of your customers will allow you to offer them a better experience. Too many companies continue to rely on intuition rather than gathering data that gives them precise insights into how customers behave in response to various prompts. For instance, if you use automated agents, do you find that a certain prompt results in a lot of disconnected calls?

Insights based on data can also tell you which types of calls are most common, how effective your agents are at resolving issues on the first call, and which options should be added to your automated menu. You can track which products receive the most mention to evaluate where there may be upselling opportunities.

Assess Communications Preferences: Many customers still prefer the phone for reaching your contact center, but the potential for a long wait time, or the desire to receive an answer in the hours when your contact center is not answering calls, may drive more interest in chat or email.

There are many communication formats to choose from, but a truly omnichannel experience is, by nature, multi-faceted. Customer data can help you understand which formats should be prioritized. If you get a lot of quick calls that can be answered in a single sentence, chat should be an option for your customers. Social media can be a great way to introduce a promotion or a new product line, and specific customer data can inform you that your 20-something, mostly female audience is more likely to see you on Instagram, not Facebook, for instance.

Create Better KPIs: While contact center agents offering an omnichannel experience can easily get bogged down in minutiae, handling simple questions and quick phone calls all day, it’s important that management steps back to see the bigger picture. In some cases, a contact center may continue to use a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that are outdated and do not support the current goals the enterprise is pursuing.

Management needs to be well-versed in how to use data to improve customer experiences to achieve long-term goals. The data gathered needs to be actionable and tied to actual customer outcomes.

In addition, data reveals gaps in customer experiences via your KPI metrics. While it may be more comfortable to ignore these weak areas, there is a big revenue-earning opportunity in addressing holes in the customer journey.

For many enterprises, data is collected, and even analyzed, but never used to change how the contact center optimizes the omnichannel experience. To learn more about how to use data to retain satisfied customers and drive increased revenue, contact us at One Connect.