CCaaS or Contact Centre as a Service solutions have grown in popularity in recent years, as consumer habits have changed in the digital-era, with more businesses than ever before needing multiple, synchronised communication channels to their customers.
Additionally, running a traditional contact centre can be complex and costly, and CCaaS solutions can help remove some of that complexity while reducing costs and improving business efficiency.
What Is Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS)?
CCaaS refers to the delivery of a cloud-based customer communication platform suitable for businesses of all sizes, hosted by a third-party provider in their own Cloud network infrastructure. The ‘as a Service’ element refers to the fact that ownership of the hardware is not required by the end customer, and instead they are ‘renting’ their space within the solution and paying for the service that comes with it.
These solutions are designed to replace traditional contact centre products, which were based on powerful on-site PBX (Private Branch Exchange) hardware, allowing for large number of phone calls to be managed by agents, populating various call queues and ring groups usually within a large, purpose-built office space.
Because CCaaS is cloud-based it enables smaller businesses to access features that were previously only available to larger enterprise businesses, providing a scalable customer experience platform, that also offers a huge amount of flexibility when compared to legacy, on-premises solutions.
The most modern, leading CCaaS solutions may also add omnichannel capabilities to customer service teams. Agents can use web or app-based software to view every customer touchpoint, regardless of their contact method. These contact methods include phone calls, live chat, email, SMS, and social media.
Benefits of Contact Centre as a Service
There are many reasons why companies adopt cloud-based contact centre technology, such as convenience and accessibility. Here are the top benefits of CCaaS:
Cost savings and scalability
One of the key advantages of CCaaS systems is the cost reductions they can provide. The fact that CCaaS does not require the purchase of expensive PBX hardware is the main source of this saving, with expensive upfront CapEx payments replaced by manageable OpEX monthly costs.
Additionally CCaaS allows businesses to reduce physical office space and the number of IT staff required to manage their service, as most parts will be managed by the provider. This also allows the use of hybrid working policies if needed, not only saving further cost but also helping with employee satisfaction and retention.
Plus, because infrastructure is cloud-based, the space is almost limitless, allowing businesses to instantly scale to meet business and customer demands – including the ability to add or subtract the number of agents.
Businesses avoid paying for excessive licensing fees and features they don’t want or need. Instead, they purchase the functionalities and number of seats they require, and only scale up over time. Meanwhile features are added automatically, whenever they become available.
Improved omnichannel customer experience
Customers want brands to support them using the channel of their choice when seeking help, and the last thing they want to do is repeat information on multiple channels.
Leading CCaaS platforms let you help customers regardless of their mode of communication. No matter if they arrive via phone, email, WhatsApp, web chat, or social media, you’re covered.
With a centralised timeline for interactions across channels and the option to either use an inbuilt CRM solution, or integrate with leading solutions including Salesforce or Dynamics, agents can easily view information such as internal notes and customer contact details, all in one place.
Integrations may also include e-commerce software such as Shopify, marketing solutions such as Mailchimp, or even accounting products like Xero, allowing for truly unified customer experience, where agents can track order status, payment information, or returns information all in one single screen.
Enhanced data from analytics
Using a cloud contact centre to streamline communication channels allows you to better track your KPIs. Keeping track of all contact channels allows you to make informed decisions, faster. You can also look at how many interactions it takes to resolve customer complaints. You’ll be able to identify and improve any flaws in your support procedure this way.
Modern CCaaS platforms leverage artificial intelligence to deliver automated customer service. They also provide reporting and analytics tools enable businesses to:
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Track the number of abandoned calls
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Record and review calls to identify insufficient training
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Obtain context-sensitive call scripts
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Monitor and automatically adjust call queues and IVR menus instantly
They can also track customer wait times and high call-volume periods, enabling you to adjust resources accordingly and deliver a better customer support experience.
Increased productivity and agent experience
Most CCaaS migrations start with the general goal of improving customer experience. But improving the contact centre can have a significant positive impact on agents as well.
When agents’ jobs are made easier, they perform better. Working in a contact centre can be a stressful job, often leading to high employee turnover.
Agents are frequently under extreme time constraints and must deal with unhappy customers throughout the day. Therefore, whenever possible, it’s critical to make the agent’s job as frictionless as possible.
Agents have one place of focus in an omnichannel contact centre. Customer account information can be brought through from different sources such as Twitter or Facebook, and straight into their window. There’s no need to switch between different channels to fulfil their duties.
CCaaS solutions also allow automation of manual, repetitive tasks, so that agents can work smarter and faster while improving efficiency and eliminating mistakes.
CCaaS solutions support remote working, flexible time and a work-life balance for agents.
Happier employees are more productive, which contributes to employee retention and reduced turnover costs.
TelcoSwitch’s CCaaS solution, 3Sixty, provides users with a seamless, unified customer experience
3Sixty makes having multiple channels manageable and easy, you’ll never lose a conversation regardless of where it started. Each customer has a preferred method of communication and opening these channels allows your business to reduce the friction with customer contact.
Features include:
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Omnichannel presence with a unified timeline
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CRM and other SaaS integrations
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Process automation
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360° customer view
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Live chat and chat bots
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Supervisor or Agent view
