We live in an era where customer service and experience are organizations' biggest differentiators. In this scenario, your organization's success hinges on how well-equipped your contact center agents are to handle complex queries.

We delved into the state of customer experience in India by surveying 380 organizations. It revealed a landscape where self-service capabilities have become the norm for routine queries, which means the agents handle the complex queries.

This raises a pressing question.

Are agents adequately prepared to handle the rising complexity of the queries that reach them?

Snapshot of our survey

Our survey uncovered intriguing statistics, mirroring a larger trend observed in the contact center industry.

A staggering 75% of organizations have embraced self-service capabilities, signaling a strategic move to offload routine transactions. However, 63% of contact center agents reported that customer queries are becoming increasingly complex, leaving them grappling for solutions.

Tools and knowledge gaps

A separate survey commissioned by eGain and Benchmark Portal painted a vivid picture of contact center agents' challenges.

64% of respondents admitted lacking tools to guide them through customer interactions, while 54% struggled with a fragmented view of customer interactions across channels.

A noteworthy 49% of agents faced the dilemma of managing multiple systems to find answers, often resulting in information discrepancies and a time-consuming search process.

Furthermore, 56% highlighted the absence of integration between self-service and agent-assisted service, leading to a disjointed customer experience.

The Work-From-Home Dilemma

Adding complexity to the equation, a whopping 76% of contact center agents continue to work from home, amplifying the need for robust support tools.

Without the luxury of in-office colleagues for immediate collaboration, agents are left to themselves to tackle complex customer queries.

A roadmap to success

The key to overcoming these challenges lies in a two-pronged approach – omnichannel integration and adding Business intelligence to the mix.

Omnichannel integration – a unified customer view

Omnichannel capabilities must extend beyond channels to include systems, providing a seamless single view of the customer journey.

Consider a scenario where a tech-savvy customer initiates a conversation with a virtual assistant on your mobile app, seeking guidance on a product glitch.

The conversation seamlessly transitions into a live chat with an agent when the issue's complexity exceeds the virtual assistant's capabilities.

With omnichannel integration, this transition is not just smooth for the customer, but it's also illuminating for the agent. Now armed with a comprehensive view of the previous virtual assistant interaction, the agent can pick up the conversation seamlessly.

This eliminates the frustration of repetition and showcases a company that truly understands the value of a unified customer experience.

Here is another example.

A work-from-home contact center agent found herself in a challenging situation while dealing with a customer's billing dispute.

She didn't have access to any help except perhaps the integrated omnichannel system.

With a click, she reviewed the customer's interactions across various channels, gaining invaluable insights.

Armed with a 360-degree view, she seamlessly resolved the issue, leaving the customer impressed by her efficiency and expertise.

Business Intelligence – empowering agents with knowledge

Building a comprehensive FAQ repository is the foundational housekeeping step, continually updated with new queries encountered by agents.

For complex queries, a step-by-step guide should be created in the form of videos, allowing your customers to go through them and fix things themselves.

Besides, adding intelligence into self-service capabilities can address a significant portion of complex queries, enhancing overall efficiency.

Look at this scenario.

Picture an agent faced with a complex query from a disgruntled customer.

Instead of relying solely on personal experience or sifting through disjointed documents, imagine if the agent could access an intelligent, step-by-step guide tailored to the specific nature of the query.

This isn't just a hypothetical scenario.

A leading appliance company, recognizing the need for enhanced agent support, implemented an intelligent knowledge base.

The result?

Agents not only had quicker access to relevant information but were also guided through intricate problem-solving processes.

Customer satisfaction soared as agents transformed from mere responders to knowledgeable guides in the customer's journey.

Here is another example.

A financial institution decided to revamp its customer service approach.

They integrated their self-service capabilities with an intelligent system that could analyze patterns in customer queries.

Over time, this evolved into a proactive knowledge platform. All the agents now tap into this platform for instant guidance whenever they encounter complex queries.

The result?

A significant reduction in query resolution times and a boost in customer satisfaction.

If not a solution, intelligence would at least point you toward solving the queries.

As the customer experience function leads the charge in digital transformation, investments in omnichannel experiences, self-service capabilities, and analytics are driving positive change.

The true empowerment of agents lies in integrating seamlessly, empowering them intelligently, and transforming your contact center as the core of customer experience.