In our first two blogs in this series, we set out to define what it really means to be a Connected Enterprise, identifying the top three characteristics that all connected organizations share. We discovered how Connected Enterprises enjoy far higher levels of workforce and customer engagement than their peers.

At the same time, they share a unique opportunity to raise the profile of their customer service team or contact center. With access to millions of customer calls, texts, emails, Tweets and Chats, the contact center has a pivotal role to play in turning raw customer data into valuable business insights to help build connectedness across the whole organization.

Aspire to connectedness for a winning CX strategy

Becoming a Connected Enterprise provides the next big step in the evolution of the contact center but what does it really mean for your customers? Connectedness benefits everyone, from customer service advisors to agents themselves. In an increasingly omnichannel world, this can break down data silos and expand cross-departmental capabilities.

Connected Enterprises also adopt simple, customer-centric processes—including a unified view for advisors where complete customer journeys are reflected, from the channels customers use to previous purchases and past conversations. With this system, agents deliver the fast, accurate, first-time responses people expect from their favorite brands, safe in the knowledge they also understand who they are, how they feel and what they want now and in the future.

3 ways to turn theory into practice

So, how can organizations become a Connected Enterprise that holds better customer conversations? Here are 3 tips:

1. Connected technology for a Connected Enterprise – opt for connected technology for maximum positive customer impact. Modern unified WEM solutions capture every customer interaction while providing a comprehensive view of things that affect customer service—such as agent engagement levels or whether behind-the-scenes processes are holding them back. Modern all-in-one solutions unify call recording, quality management, workforce management, multichannel analytics and Data Management for comprehensive IT connectivity and customer connectedness.The Enterprise CXI add-on for Calabrio Analytics is a good example of using technology to build these connections. Different functions and departments gets the VoC insights they need, and the contact center connects all departments to what customers are truly saying and thinking.Meanwhile, consider how your organization interacts with customers. Does it understand how customers want to interact with your brand and provide them with their preferred channels? To discover what channels matter to your customers, simply ask them. Then, focus on the clever stuff, utilizing automated analytics to reveal which channel is trending on a customer’s wish list to revitalize your organization’s multichannel capabilities and guarantee satisfying customer experiences every time.
2. Unlock the value of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Connected Enterprises integrate Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) with AI-driven analytics tools to understand the true value of their operations.For example, if you use speech analytics to understand what happens across 100% of customer interactions, then introduce Quality Management (QM) to identify the one word or phrase that keeps cropping up in customer conversations. This helps categories and priorities all contacts for a swifter, smoother customer experience. Pick a vendor that offers open APIs and closely partners with other contact center vendors to create this unified user experience where data flows between. Concurrently, deploy sentiment analysis to identify the mood of frontline staff as well as customers. The ability to spot agents who might be struggling to cope means contact center leaders can offer them the support and coaching they need to hold better customer conversations.
3. Draw inspiration from real-life success stories – over the past year, some of our customers have managed to overcome significant challenges by displaying a Connected Enterprise approach to customer service. One of our customers, a leading health food retailer is a great example.When demand for online orders soared at the start of the pandemic, telephone, Web Chat and email volumes rocketed. The company swiftly adopted QM analytics to connect the dots between what customers were saying and where the problems lay to accelerate contact resolution and restore service levels.Likewise, a multinational media conglomerate recently deployed quality and desktop analytics to connect the right data, giving them valuable contact center insights that have helped them to increase CSAT by 6.4% while generating an estimated 3% saving in operating costs. Both these trailblazers are demonstrating what it means to be a truly Connected Enterprise.