When call centers started to be relabeled as contact centers because of the Web, email, SMS, and even social media, many heralded the end of the voice interaction. The premise was that people have learned to hate dealing with people. Face-to-face interactions weren’t as important anymore. Let’s use machines to service customers.
Of course, that’s further from the truth. As much as people avoid using the phone to call an IVR, it’s still a must-have technology for any organization wishing to provide decent customer service. There’s a surge in SMS usage, but people still use mobile phones to talk, not text. Email usage is essential in our daily lives, but more often than not we attach our phone numbers in the end of our emails or follow up with a phone call. Web behemoth Google has its tentacles into every online service, and that includes a mobile phone platform (Android) and Google Voice (formerly GrandCentral). Twitter is the hottest new interaction channel today, yet global VOIP provider JAJAH finds it worthwhile to develop a voice service, JAJAH@Call, to enable voice call initiation via a tweet.
It’s apparent that nobody can deny the importance of the voice interaction when it comes to today’s multichannel world. Your company may operate many contact centers, but I bet the agents still wear headsets and use the phone on the desks.
Eugene
