Organisations must ensure they have the most personalised contact centre system in place to gain competitive advantage
76% of UK consumers rate technology over call centre agents for secure payments, but “human touch” is still critical to overall customer satisfaction
Voice is still a preferred channel for consumers, but 81% are comfortable using Interactive Voice Response systems
Guildford: Research reveals that UK consumers don’t value a wholesale approach to customer service in the contact centre, instead wanting different types and levels of technology involvement depending on the nature of interactions and their seriousness. The conclusions come from a report commissioned by Avaya, the global provider of business collaboration and communications services, and Sabio, the contact centre technology specialist, which surveyed 2,000 UK consumers.
The results show that businesses are missing an opportunity to gain competitive advantage through their strategic approach to customer service. Consumers want more stringent technology and automation for more sensitive interactions, but not for all of them. For example, 81% said they are comfortable using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) when dealing with financial matters, while 55% of respondents would be happy using voice biometric technology when checking their account balance. But only a minority (35%) see biometrics as an option for more general and less sensitive tasks such as renewing car insurance.
Similarly, while consumers’ enthusiasm for self-service and new media remains strong, they still appreciate personal interactions with agents to get the appropriate support and assistance when dealing with more complex services and products. With 60% of organisations now asking for security details when there is no need, it’s hardly surprising that one in two consumers becomes frustrated with call centre agents when there are security or identity problems. Once connected, if the transaction involves payment, only 5% of consumers think speaking to an agent in a UK call centre is secure, and this reduces to just 2% for overseas call centres.
As well as highlighting an openness to embrace numerous contact centre technologies, the research also delivers six important insights into consumer feeling about data breaches and the risk of payment and identity security within contact centres.