The associate may ask them to restate their problem, perhaps transfer them to another department, before the problem can finally be resolved. It is no wonder customers are easily frustrated.

New or existing CRM systems should be used to eliminate or avoid friction and enable omni-channel experiences. For instance, the context of the online journey should pass through to the voice channel and chat channel so the customer is properly routed to resolve their issue. Companies should consider rewarding customers who try to self-service online by providing a temporary toll-free number unique to the customer that allows them to bypass the IVR and limits additional authentication requirements.

Simplify the interaction flow

CRM vendors spend millions of dollars to make their applications easy to use with out-of-the-box implementations. Workflow design is critical, yet sometimes companies provide too much flexibility in their workflow design, enabling contact center associates to skip valuable steps when attempting to fast-track problem resolution. However, the quickest answer may not actually be the most effective to resolve the problem for the customer.

One large banking client wanted help implementing CRM in its contact center. We were asked to look at ways to improve efficiency. We observed that the contact center had no structure for customer call interaction and each associate followed his or her own path for how a call was handled. We implemented workflow design principles and within its new CRM system, leading to a drop in average handle time (AHT) from 12 minutes to eight minutes in only a few months.

Orchestrate information access

The contact center is under pressure to leverage current technology investments, and sometimes it uses multiple applications to serve customers. Add to the fact that organizations must capture all customer journeys during their omni-channel interactions, and it becomes clear that call centers have many information sources to manage.

CRM is a great platform to serve as the central source to orchestrate all customer interactions and their supporting data. The platform can provide information access to backend systems and leverage omni-channel enablers such as voice, chat, text, and social interactions to provide a holistic look at customers and interactions. This “single pane of glass” allows your CRM system to focus on providing all the channel enablers and information to the associate without copying the business data living in other systems.

Single Pane of Glass Information Sources (illustrative)

For example, when managing billing interactions, transaction records are updated in the source billing application. In this case, use the CRM platform to note and track the service request while either the associate or a billing back office resource receives the request and completes the changes as part of a workflow process.

We recommend creating an information access strategy to determine how data will be connected. Look at your systems and data sources to determine if information should be only viewable in CRM, or if it should be pulled in so the data can be manipulated within the CRM tool. This is a primary step in your CRM architecture. In addition, channel integration also plays a major role in orchestrating information access, such as determining how voice and digital channels are managed within your CRM. As companies look to CRM in a service context, keep the focus on simplifying the experience. Make the complex seemingly simple for your customers.