Word of the Day: multichannel contact center

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms | September 26, 2018 multichannel contact center A multichannel contact center is a call center that allows agents to interact with customers over several communication channels, but each channel operates in isolation. Multichannel, which includes voice, email, web page forms, fax, chat and text message interactions, is a forerunner of the omnichannel approach to customer experience management (CXM). In the early days of the internet, voice and non-voice communication systems were administered separately and hosted on separate platforms. The challenge at this time was for call centers to integrate voice with non-voice channels, while still maximizing the call center's investment in voice-based solutions, including expensive interactive voice response (IRV) systems. Because there was limited integration on the back-end, customers who moved from one channel to another had to share the same information multiple times. Today, multichannel platforms have largely been superseded by omnichannel platforms that can integrate customer information from disparate channels into a centralized queue and provide customers with a seamless customer experience on any channel, at any time, from a variety of devices. This back-end convergence of voice with internet-enabled technologies has improved customer self-service and reduced the need for customers who switch channels to request help from a live agent. Quote of the Day "A multi-channel system allows a contact center to provide improve customer care by providing quality service through any medium, including: voice, text-SMS, Fax or Web." - Paul Lang Trending Terms omnichannel customer experience management Interactive Voice Response customer self-service contact center infrastructure multichannel marketing Learning Center Avaya adds real-time speech analytics to contact centers Avaya has added tools including real-time speech analytics to its workforce optimization suite. The upgrades are expected to help Avaya's customers increase sales and boost customer satisfaction. Is your call center multichannel or cross-channel? Indentify the difference betwween a multichannel and cross-channel contact center. The omnichannel contact center is now mandatory The omnichannel contact center is becoming increasingly important. But voice communications is still the preferred channel for many consumers. With cloud-based contact centers, one size does not fit all Cloud-based contact centers are one of the fastest-growing market segments when it comes to software as a service. Learn what's driving this shift to the cloud and how enterprises need to respond to this trend. Polycom acquisition helps Plantronics against Cisco, Logitech Plantronics' Polycom acquisition should strengthen the headset provider's portfolio and open doors to the conference room, according to Wainhouse Research. Quiz Yourself The question on everyone's _____ is how to improve customer experience and cut costs at the same time. a. minds b. mind Answer Stay in Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed! FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2018 TechTarget. All rights reserved.