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We live in an exciting time for business. The proliferation of, and ease of access to, technology has meant that new and innovative companies can challenge established conglomerates previously inaccessible as even benchmarks, much less as competition. Innovation in both service design and service delivery is essential to actualize the advantage, but the changing customer mindset is the most crucial component of this shift. Customers today are more powerful than they have ever been in human history. They can choose from a host of products and services on the go, interact with companies on channels of their preference, and broadcast complaints on social media. The good news is that their search for convenience means that they are also open to new products and services that facilitate ease of use and seamless issue resolution.
What does that mean for companies? Well, speed and service quality are no longer differentiators but prerequisites. In an environment where economies of scale are commoditized, and brand loyalty is a thing of the past, customer experience is perhaps the most significant downstream advantage. Today’s customers have high expectations and are always hard pressed for time, especially when waiting to have a query or issue resolved. They expect their customer service experience to be simple, interactive, and contextual. As companies and customers across sectors will testify, this ease of use is the exception and not the norm. If you run a contact center of any scale, you understand that delivering best-in-class customer experiences can be a mammoth undertaking. It can be challenging to identify, recruit, and engage great customer service talent and, even if these aren’t concerns, retention is a challenge. Factor in the high operation costs alongside shrinking budgets, legacy systems, and an under par agent experience, and it becomes easy to see why delivering great experiences can seem like an uphill task. With the smart use of technology, it doesn’t have to be that way.
The ability to drive efficiency and unlock value across the delivery chain, automation is fast being seen as the first step to digital transformation. By automating repetitive tasks, companies can now direct their resources to value-creation activities and also enable employees to focus on functions driving business growth. A credible solution provider can help companies identify the best candidates for automation and help them build a system primed for scale and incremental results. The real difference, however, arises from intelligent automation i.e., the efficiency and speed gains for automation combined with the power of AI. In their initial stage of evolution, AI and automation have traversed their path but, here at EdgeVerve, it has become clear that they complement each other exceptionally well. That’s why we built AssistEdge Engage – an intelligent automation platform that combines best-in-class AI with industry-leading automation capabilities. Think of RPA as the heart of the platform and AI the brain that offers sensory capabilities for intelligent decision making. With over 250 active customers across the world, AssistEdge Engage can power your contact center operations through a combination of assisted and unassisted bots to address a wide variety of use cases.
Before we get to discussing ways to measure the effectiveness of this technology, there is merit in addressing a few points about implementation mindset. First, companies must realize that they do not need to choose between prioritizing agent or customer experience. Both are crucial to business success. In fact, an added focus on agent performance, in addition to the apparent impact on customer experience, can prove to be a valuable investment in the medium-long term. Most enterprises today have complicated systems that have seen several iterations, creating complexity and inefficiency for contact center teams. Agents are often juggling multiple applications for a variety of routine functions from retrieving customer data to updating records and finding process guidelines. The resultant confusion can affect the quality and accuracy of service. On the flipside, an empowered and motivated agent can drastically improve the customer experience and brand image, consequently impacting customer retention and lifetime value. Furthermore, building intelligence into your CX model will improve your compliance, achievement of SLAs, and generate actionable business insights through robust analytics.
In addition to these benefits, CX automation can spike your contact center performance. By ensuring that agents are better equipped, AssistEdge Engage implementations have driven up to 40% reductions in AHT, increased FCR rates by 15% and reduced repeat calls by 30%, representing substantial savings of time, effort, and resources. Efficiency is but one part of the payoff, and customer loyalty is where AssistEdge Engage can make a real difference. We have also recorded increases in client NPS numbers, up to 8%, attributed to contact center automation. Another key advantage of the tool is that it plugs into practically any existing system, so you don’t have to worry about making a sizable investment to replace legacy systems. As a thin, powerful, and effective intelligence layer, AssistEdge Engage sits on top of your existing IT framework while transforming your contact center operation.
We wholeheartedly believe that the platform will disrupt the way contact centers operate and human-led digital workers are the future of how companies will interact with their customers. Our vision is for the contact center to become a revenue center and we are bullish about the fact that advanced capabilities will only make them more agile, more intelligent, and allow them to influence the top line.
To find out more about how AssistEdge Engage can revitalize and accelerate the success of your contact center, click here.
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