Social media has changed the retail environment by becoming the new consumer watchdog and has bring forth new challenges. It has changed the way people see news and learn about new products. If used wisely, mobile, digital and social media can be a powerful business weapon. Another great weapon is Customer service!
For instance a good customer service where you resolve a problem quickly can have a great influence on repeat purchases.
By being ferociously committed to customer service you can contribute to the success of your company. We need to remember a few basics-

1- Understanding customer needs- its very important to listen and show interest in customer needs.

2-Stepping into your customer’s shoes- Human beings like to be treated nicely so it’s important to show the customers you care about them and they matter.


3-Providing extra benefits- Going beyond customer’s expectation insures speedy success.


Read more here- 


http://www.callcentertimes.com/Articles/tabid/59/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/407/CategoryID/1/NewsID/988/Default.aspx

To make the contact center more efficient one should have the right equipment for their business. This is one of the ways to keep the cost down. One such equipment is the agent headset which provides the staff with quality communication at an affordable price. Apart from the quality what matters is how the calls are managed and monitored. Once you have an adequate record of every call that is made to your network, it is much easier to measure and manage the performance of employees in terms of how they interact with customers and clients. ?Read more here: 

 http://www.callcentertimes.com/Articles/tabid/59/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/407/CategoryID/1/NewsID/992/Default.aspx

Use of cloud contact center results in low cost, increased efficiency and greater flexibility but cost centers need to consider a good cloud connectivity. Businesses generally use public internet to access cloud services which is not reliable.  Fast and secure service can be enjoyed with good cloud connectivity and customers will be loyal because complexity will be reduced with a single point of contact for all services. Read more at: 

 http://www.callcentertimes.com/Articles/tabid/59/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/407/CategoryID/1/NewsID/973/Default.aspx

Companies are recognizing the need of contact center analytics to gain more consumer awareness but problems like cost of hiring new staff and procurement of new equipment are holding back contact centers from investing in analytics. Other factors like funding and prioritization are to be blamed as contact centers are now seen as cost centers but terms like customer experience and customer journey are gaining exposure. Read more at:

 http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/news/4500246053/Contact-center-analytics-still-an-uncharted-frontier

Companies are recognizing the need of contact center analytics to gain more consumer awareness but problems like cost of hiring new staff and procurement of new equipment are holding back contact centers from investing in analytics. Other factors like funding and prioritization are to be blamed as contact centers are now seen as cost centers but terms like customer experience and customer journey are gaining exposure. Read more at: 

http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/news/4500246053/Contact-center-analytics-still-an-uncharted-frontier

Nowadays, most contact center uses cloud technology and a report by Frost & Sullivan forecasted that this number will increase to 90% by 2016. The reason for shifting to cloud solutions are that they are cost-effective, easier to scale alongside a growing business, and can be deployed in days or weeks, provides flexibility and enable them to be more responsive to customers. Read more at: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/957/Default.aspx

Personally identifiable information (PII) is needed when a caller personally needs to give credit card or Social Security number. In these scenarios IVR technology can’t be used. So, a new technology is emerging that uses dual tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) to capture PII securely while remaining on the same call , eliminating the risk of exposing data to the agent, the organization or the call recording system and improves call center efficiency and security, and in turn reduce costs and improves customer trust, satisfaction and loyalty. Read more at: http://telecomreseller.com/2015/02/09/new-dtmf-capture-technology-will-revolutionize-call-center-security/

Contact center managers should improve efficiency, reduce costs, and get good agent training, reduce turnover and, above all, an outstanding service experience as defined by the customer. Matt Lautz (CorvisaCloud, President), writes in his article link about some contact center predictions for 2015:  http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/931/Default.aspx

Technology is always changing rapidly. Contact centers are technology driven and therefore in the contact center industry, monitoring of new trends and implementing the changes becomes important. Mobility, social media, video and cloud technology are some of the communication services trends that will be dominating in 2015. Read more at: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/926/Default.aspx

2014 was the year of mobile apps, mobile payments, and mobile-friendly websites. But 2015 will be a year of customer centricity. Customer centric is all about the customer- understanding of a customer’s value and what their significance to the business profitability. Benoit Gruber (VP Corporate Communications, Sage ERP X3), writes in his article link about the strategies that will ensure your customer centricity: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/918/Default.aspx

Customer interaction analytics is gaining popularity nowadays. It provides information about contact center’s customers, workforce, effectiveness of current system and also strengths and weaknesses. Read more about how customer interaction analytics can benefit your contact center at: http://www.contactcenterworld.com/view/contact-center-article/4-reasons-you-need-customer-interaction-analytics.aspx?md=74f65882-a162-41dd-b17a-b0d20f0af75e&iz=3

A recent 2014 North American Call Center Survey has revealed that approximately 78 percent of today’s call centers are premised-based and 70 percent considering a move to the cloud. It was further found that 52% of consumers utilize three or four channel platforms (phone, email, video, text, chat, social media) when looking for customer care. In recent studies it was found that 67% of customers prefer self-service over speaking to a live representative. Salesforce and Forrester Research group found “Personalizing Customer Service Interactions” is among the top key trends facing customer service organizations. Robert Killory (Chief Customer Officer, 3CLogic), writes in his article about the top customer service trends facing contact centers for 2015. Read more at: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/899/Default.aspx

TCN, a cloud based call center systems provider, is making its product Platform 3 Vocal Vision to work with Job Access with Speech (JAWS) technology, which allows visually impaired call center agents to navigate TCN's cloud-based contact center suite. This will help to improve agent productivity and also create new employment opportunities for the visually impaired. JAWS assists computer users with visual impairment to operate a mouse and Vocal Vision helps the agent navigate Platform 3.0's workflows via hot keys that use JAWS functionality during both incoming and outgoing calls, while audible tones signal the connection of an incoming call. Features of Vocal Vision support incoming and outgoing calls, agent dashboard along with reporting and call analytics. Read more at: http://betanews.com/2014/12/02/new-call-center-technology-adapts-to-visually-impaired-employees/

Today's contact center must leave traditional approaches behind and transit itself into a real-time customer engagement center. According to Donna Fluss (founder and president of DMG Consulting), real-time analytics is quickly becoming a necessity in customer service. Recent innovations gives an organization a practical approach to use real-time input from customers and enterprise business intelligence solutions to optimize service experience. Real-time speech analytics takes traditional speech analytics to the next level, looking at interactions while they are happening. According to Frost & Sullivan's "2014 Big Data and Analytics Survey", it was reported that 75 percent of firms have either deployed or plan to deploy a real-time analytics solution in their organizations. Read more at: http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Editorial/Magazine-Features/5-Hot-Customer-Service-Technologies-100524.aspx

In Voice over IP (VOIP) one can link data, record, transcribe, search-enable, translate, authenticate, analyze, and act on conversations, treating each call as a source of information. It has the ability to add and extract value from a phone call. There are some ways to add intelligence to phone calls and increase the speed of transactions to use the untapped data flowing into business through private exchange and contact center. To know more, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/voip-news/7-ways-to-add-intelligence-to-your-phone-calls-64634

It is generally said that “happy agents=happy customers”. But it is found that organizations generally make little effort to drive happiness and also less effort is taken to allow the agents who are happy to properly transfer that satisfaction to the customers. So, ultimately the result is that the interaction between agents and customers are inefficient and ineffective and instead customers impose their own frustration on the agents. Organizations must make an effort to attract more customers and this must begin with an investigation of the 5 Ws. To know more about 5Ws, follow article link of Brian Cantor (Contributor) at: http://www.callcenter-iq.com/agent-engagement/articles/5-ws-of-contact-center-agent-engagement/

Provider of cloud-based call center technology for enterprises, TCN Inc., has announced the release of new features for Platform 3.0 (a cloud-based call center technology that eliminates the need for complicated hardware and improves connectivity between agents and customers, thereby increasing efficiency without the need for additional staff). The new features are Extended Conditional Dialing and Aggregate Reporting. These are designed to enhance the usability of Platform 3.0. Read more at:http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2340989

Organizations are in a dilemma whether to invest in an on-premises or cloud based infrastructure solution, which solution will return a greater ROI. We have to remember that what works in one location might not work in another location. But if any organization wants to get the best value, a cloud provider can offer as much security, control, visibility and network as you would find in an on-premises solution. To know more, follow Geoff Mina (CEO, Connect First)’s article link: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/887/Default.aspx

NetFortris (Provider of cloud-based voice and data networking solutions), has launched a new version of Enterprise Contact Center solution. This version has new features which includes PCI-compliant credit card security, multimedia queuing, and skills-based routing. This new credit card security helps consumers to use a secure virtual keypad to enter credit card information. To know more, follow: : http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/CRM-News/CRM-Across-the-Wire/NetFortris-Enhances-its-Enterprise-Contact-Center-Solution-100334.aspx

According to a recent study by CareerBuilder, it was found that 43% of retailers plan to hire additional workers for the holiday season. Now with the approaching holiday season there is an increase in call volumes. Companies need a way to handle all of these inbound calls. So, many companies are turning to virtual call centers. A virtual call center can help companies cut costs while still providing customer service. To know more, follow: http://www.business2community.com/sales-management/strategy-managing-high-call-volumes-holiday-season-integrated-virtual-call-center-01050802