Customer service originally started with personal service in a store and telephony. Since then, the number of channels has grown exponentially. Jos van Loo, CEO of Sound of Data says: “We already have email, messaging, social media, live chat, chatbots, video chat. And who knows what else will emerge in the future. More and more companies want to be available on the channels that their (potential) customers like to use. And preferably streamline those interactions in an easy way.”
Easily and quickly assist customers via telephone, email and WhatsApp with all data and reporting at hand in one tool. From your customer service as well as stores and offices. Sounds good, right? There are many affordable solutions that help you do just that.
Wide choice of omnichannel platforms
Unfortunately many customer service departments still use different tools to manage those channels and interactions. Often because there were no all-in-one tools available at the time or they were very expensive. “That has definitely changed in recent years. Nowadays there are various omnichannel platforms at different price levels that allow you to manage all channels and interactions in one tool,” says Jos.
Benefits of all in one
These omnichannel platforms offer several advantages. Jos: “They give you a better overview and more insight because all data is available in one place. They help save time because employees no longer have to switch between different systems. And that also results in significant cost savings. An omnichannel makes it easier to add new channels. And because these tools are cloud-based, it doesn’t matter where and when your employees work.”
“3CX is an excellent solution if your company simply wants to be reachable by phone, and customer service is an extension of your office and shop telephony. If your customer service is a fully-fledged department and you need a more extensive contact center solution; Xcally is a better option. This offers extra functionalities and a wider choice of customer contact channels.”
Step by step implementations
An omnichannel platform sounds like a lot of hassle and a big investment, but it doesn’t have to be. “You don’t have to switch in one go. You can implement such a platform step-by-step: per channel, product group, location or external link. Gather experience and expand from that. This way everyone gets used to the platform, customers experience a continuous improvement and you reap the benefits more and more. Without stress. And you end up using one platform for all your channels including reporting, dashboards, etc.”, adds Jos.
But which platform do you choose?
The number of available solutions sometimes makes it hard to choose which platform is most suitable. Sound of Data is a licensed partner for both Xcally and 3CX . These are affordable, scalable and easy to use platforms. Jos: “3CX is an excellent solution if your company simply wants to be reachable by phone, and customer service is an extension of your office and shop telephony. If your customer service is a fully-fledged department and you need a more extensive contact center solution; Xcally is a better option. This offers extra functionalities and a wider choice of customer contact channels.”
Find out more
As a customer contact expert, Sound of Data is more than happy to guide you through the world of customer contact solutions. And if we think another platform is a better fit, we’ll be honest about that too. So do you want to find out more or see a demo? Simply get in touch.
You can also download our omnichannel customer contact platform guide. This includes even more information about customer contact platforms, the benefits and how you can choose among the wide range of platforms. Check out the download.
