Why It Pays to Deploy an Integrated Cloud Phone and Contact Centre Solution from a Single Vendor
FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES
Table of Contents
It Pays to Have All Communications Tools in One Package
Get More for the Price with Our Cloud Communications Packages
Benefits of Integrated Cloud Communications and Contact Centre Solutions
Streamline Your Business and Operations
Achieve a Stronger ROI and Deliver Value
It Pays to Have All Communications Tools in One Package
Do you use more than one system for your communications and customer service needs? If you do, you are likely making the process more complicated and paying out more money than needed.
With multiple systems in play, there is usually a disconnect between the contact centre that assists customers and the rest of your business. This can complicate the customer experience, meaning your customers aren’t getting the great service they deserve. In turn, this can negatively impact your business’ revenue, all while increasing the costs.
The solution to this problem is an integrated cloud communications and contact centre system. This is a system that is fully integrated, combining all the tools your team needs all in one system. No more switching between systems and no more disconnect between your contact centre and your business. This type of integrated cloud communications and contact centre system is more important than ever with more people choosing to work remotely.
Research from the company Metrigy has shown that the less tools there are, the more value to your business. ¹ Integrated unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact centre as a service (CCaaS) can streamline your operations, provide enhanced customer service, and increase your revenue.
Let us show you how valuable the switch to cloud can be.
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No matter which cloud-based system you choose, RingCentral or NICE CXone, you can count on AllThingsCX to provide a communications software solution that is secure, reliable, and delivers results. Call today on 020 8124 3446!
The research by Metrigy shows the advantages to your business when you integrate UCaaS and CCaaS platforms:
Additionally, the participants in this research, who integrated their UCaaS and CCaaS platforms, also reported the following advantages: ₂
By looking at these results, it is clear that both UCaaS and CCaaS systems should be integrated into one platform. Luckily, both systems are built for the cloud, so making the move to an integrated cloud communications and contact centre system is simple.
Get More for the Price with Our Cloud Communications Packages
Before we dive into the main advantages of integrating your UCaaS and CCaaS systems, lets start by looking at why making the move to cloud-based systems is so important. Many businesses are now moving to cloud-based systems, and there is a reason for this.
Not only are cloud-based systems easy to set up and install, but these systems can increase flexibility, with 37% of businesses moving to cloud-based systems for this reason. Plus, these systems provide quicker disaster recovery, along with the ability to lessen staff workload, with 74% of businesses moving to cloud-based systems for this reason.₃
When you make the move to cloud-based systems, you will be able to save money when compared to an on-site system. But what will you be saving money on, exactly? We’ve answered this below:
₃.25 Must-Know Cloud Computing Statistics in 2020, Hosting Tribunal
- Maintenance and Upgrades – Your on-site hardware will require frequent maintenance, and the software will require constant upgrades. By moving to a cloud-based system, you can eliminate both hardware maintenance and software upgrades. Everything will be hosted in the cloud, so any maintenance and upgrades will be done automatically by the software provider. Plus, you can get easy access to support services online, usually at little to no extra cost.
- Hidden Charges – With cloud-based systems, there will never be any hidden charges to worry about. The full cost for the system will be shown in the package and, as everything is cloud-based, there will be no on-site hardware charges or monthly bills. Plus, if you choose to add to your system down the line and increase capabilities, you won’t need to invest in additional hardware, which can be costly. You can easily add to your system at a later date, as everything is cloud-based.
- IT Resources – Cloud-based systems will eliminate the cost and frustration of handling complex IT resources, from multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and session initiation protocol (SIP) trunking to any other telecoms connections.
- Stand-Alone Costs – You will be paying stand-alone costs for individual systems such as phone calls, video conferencing, fax, SMS, contact centre capabilities, and more when these are hosted through separate vendors. These costs can soon add up, especially if they are on-site hardware systems that require maintenance and support. Cloud-based systems can eliminate these stand-alone costs, as you pay a single, affordable monthly fee.
- Connect Across Locations – If you choose to scale and grow your company, you will need to connect across various locations. When you use on-site hardware, you will need to deal with MPLS and PSTN (public switched telephone network) issues. These are frustrating and can prove to be costly. With a cloud-based system, however, you can connect across various locations very easily, all without adding to your costs.
- Unpredictable Expenses – The cost of maintaining on-site hardware can fluctuate over time and depending on the situation, which can lead to unexpected expenses. With a cloud-based system, however, you won’t be facing any unexpected expenses, as cloud providers are clear and upfront with their pricing, usually offering fixed rates. Since everything can be easily accessed online, any upgrades and extensions can be easily fulfilled without an attached cost.
- Speedy Data Recovery – All businesses are worried about losing important data and never being able to recover it. With cloud-based systems, you can gain complete peace of mind. These cloud communications systems host all your data in remote data centres, and they are superior when it comes to speedy data recovery in addition to business continuity. In the event of an outage, your business will stay connected and operations can proceed uninterrupted. If your staff can’t get into the office, they can still connect to all business functions from their smartphones or laptops, as everything is hosted on the cloud.
We understand that moving your systems to the cloud can seem daunting and like a huge move for your business. But trust us when we say that migrating to a cloud-based system is the best decision you can make for your business. Not only will you save time and money on hardware systems, but you will enhance both your employee and customer experience.
Benefits of Integrated Cloud Communications and Contact Centre Solutions
You might already have your business communications systems set up, and you might not think you need dedicated customer service technology. While a few years ago you might have been right, these past years have shown us that change can be important. There has been a changing landscape in recent years, with many businesses shifting to remote working, and we need to keep up with the requirements of today.
A recent Gartner study shows that contact centre as a service (CCaaS) will become the preferred system in 50% of contact centres₄, so it is good to get ahead of the trend and integrate your systems early.
₄. Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contact Centre as a Service, Gartner
You might be wondering how having a fully integrated, cloud-based communications and contact centre solution will benefit your business. We have outlined the benefits of such a system below:
Customer Loyalty and Trust
By investing in an integrated cloud communications and contact centre system for your business, you can build your customers’ loyalty and gain their trust. These systems increase your employees’ engagement and productivity, which will result in them providing an enhanced customer experience. In fact, there are a few ways that these cloud-based systems can help, which we have outlined for you here.
- The coaching and support tools that are available make it far easier to train your employees. Many of these systems have something called whisper mode, where supervisors can provide advice to the customer service agent whilst on a call, all without the customer hearing the intervention. Supervisors can even join the call or take over the entire call if required, allowing the supervisors to support agents better during customer interactions.
- The live call analytics and reporting capabilities can provide powerful insights. Your business can take advantage of new data and analytics, helping you to discover any areas for improvement regarding customer interactions. Your agents will be better informed regarding their performance, which means that can provide a better service to customers.
- You can personalise customer experiences with integrated customer relationship management (CRM). On the CRM, you can log your customer interactions, storing any information about callers for future reference. This allows you to build a caller profile, and your agent can pull this information up during customer calls.
- Call recording capabilities can increase workforce engagement. Many cloud-based systems provide a range of solutions to help in this capacity, which is especially important at a time where employees are working remotely and aren’t physically connected. With call recording, you can dive into an agent’s call histories, identifying what is going right and what is going wrong. This allows you to identify whether an agent’s interactions with customers are engaged.
- You can optimise agent schedules with workforce management tools (WFM). Simply turn WFM tools on and you can maximise coverage whilst minimising downtime, ensuring your customers aren’t left waiting during peak times.
- With intelligent routing, you can match your customers to a specific expert. This ensures that your customers get the correct agent, one that is best matched to assist their specific requirements. In turn, your customers are more likely to receive the response they are looking for first time, increasing customer satisfaction.
- With better communication systems, you can decrease employee turnover. The integrated UCaaS and CCaaS solutions make it easier for your employees to communicate with customers and with each other. Everything from video calls to messaging will be easier, keeping your employees happier. The easier they find their job, the more likely they will remain with the company.
Streamline Your Business and Operations
Integrated cloud communications and contact centre solutions help to bridge the gap between your business and customer service, which is a major advantage. These solutions strengthen this connection, enabling your employees to more easily share knowledge and provide a more customer-centric service. You can streamline your business and operations with cloud-based systems.
- With a unified directory, your employees can stay connected to the entire organisation. Your employees can instantly ask experts in another department important questions using the unified directory and messaging application. So, if a customer service agent has a question regarding billing, they can look up the relevant expert and contact them for an answer. This can enable real-time changes as you are able to instantly contact an expert.
- You will never lose customer calls with call transfer controls. With integrated cloud communications and contact centre solutions, you can keep track of all calls and easily transfer them. Customer calls can be transferred from the contact centre to the main business and back, enabling you to efficiently solve issues.
- With an automated dashboard, agents can keep up to date with operations. The automated dashboard will highlight any issues or delays in customer response times, allowing you to rectify and improve on the specific issues being faced. If agents aren’t handling the required amount of customer calls, this will be picked up by the automated dashboard.
Achieve a Stronger ROI and Deliver Value
With an all-in-one integrated cloud system, you can achieve a stronger return on investment and deliver exceptional value, all while reducing costs.
- A cloud-based system makes it easier to scale your communication capabilities as you control demand and resources. You can always ensure that there are the right number of agents on the line in your customer service centre. You can scale up your capabilities through periods of high demand with more agents manning the lines. Then, when demand slows down, you can effectively scale down your capabilities. Cloud-based systems allow you to optimise your resources based on demand, providing you with a level of flexibility not available with hardware systems.
- You can achieve operational agility with real-time analytics. The integrated system provides you with access to scalability, as described above, but it also offers you real-time analytics. You get access to customer, agent, and operations data, enabling you to make informed decisions.
- You get more worth with one vendor supplying your cloud-based system. Managing multiple vendors and systems can not only be costly, but complicated. With just one vendor and one integrated system, you can streamline your operations through sales, support, and more.
Contact AllThingsCX today on 020 8124 3446 to see how we can help you integrate RingCentral into your business.
Provide an Omnichannel Experience
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the implementation of digital systems has increased as more businesses rely on remote working. You still need to provide exceptional customer service and will want to stay ahead of the curve regarding customer experience.
More digital channels are coming into the picture daily, with social media, live chats, video conferencing, and more. Communicating with your customers correctly and at the right time is crucial to your business’s success, and integrated cloud-based systems make this far easier to accomplish. You can meet your customers in their preferred channel.
- Omnichannel routing will support over 30 digital channels. An omnichannel experience means allowing your customers to reach out to your business on a convenient channel. This could be by email, live chats, social media, SMS, or just a phone call, but your communications software must support the various channels. Cloud-based communications systems provide access to a range of digital channels, ensuring your customers can reach out to you in the form they prefer.
- With simplified tools, employees can instantly connect with other employees for assistance. Agents will have access to a range of communications, all in one app and available through one dashboard. This makes it far easier to communicate across departments in order to solve customer problems.
- Multiple customer interactions can be handled at the same time with cloud-based systems. Your agents can manage multiple customer interactions, across varying digital channels, all at the same time, enabling you to assist more customers.
- With intelligent service bots, your business can always be online and available for assistance. Even if your agents are away, your business can be online 24/7 to serve customers. Customers can handle routine operations by themselves over the phone with interactive voice response (IVR). Chatbots can assist by routing customer enquiries to the correct agent.
- You can achieve faster contact resolution with AI and machine learning tools. With the power of AI and machine learning, your business can auto-populate responses, providing faster customer resolution.
Next Steps with AllThingsCX
You will now have a better understanding of integrated cloud communications and contact centre solutions and the many benefits of implementing these systems. The next question you will ask yourself is which vendor you want to work with when implementing these cloud-based systems.
The answer at this point should be simple – AllThingsCX. We are the first-choice team for business owners looking for industry-leading contact centre and unified communications services and support. Regardless of your business or communications requirements, we will have a solution to suit your needs at AllThingsCX.
We are on hand to guide you through finding, implementing, and optimising your business’s cloud engagement technologies, and we do this through consultancy, implementation, and support services. With our knowledge and resources, we can transform your customer experience.
We offer two technologies – UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) and CCaaS (Contact Centre as a Service)- fully integrated cloud-based platforms that offer communications tools for your business. With these systems, you can streamline processes and enhance customer experience.
At AllThingsCX, we work with two leading providers in the communications industry, RingCentral and NICE CXone.
RingCentral is a world-class cloud phone system inside a single app, which will unite your essential conversations on one platform. It improves business communications and customer experience through innovative features such as call recording, supervisor modes, etc.
NICE CXone is a cloud-based contact centre solution that unifies digital and voice channels into a single intuitive platform. This system will streamline your customer journey and make it easier for agents to handle interactions and enhance customer satisfaction.
No matter which cloud-based system you choose, RingCentral or NICE CXone, you can count on AllThingsCX to provide a communications software solution that is secure, reliable, and delivers results.
