Integrating the smartphone into customer service

Neil Titcomb looks at how the cloud is enabling companies to offer customers a truly mobile service.

It used to be the case that the contact centre used more advanced technology than the consumer. Now contact centres are in danger of being left holding the landline phone while the customer tries to contact them on any number of channels and increasingly, through their mobiles.

According to research, 7 in 10 people in the UK now own a smartphone and this isn’t the preserve of younger generations – as more than half of 54-65-year-olds also own a smartphone. Despite these figures, recent Genesys research found that only 20% of companies currently have a mobile customer service app.

Customer service needs to bridge the gap

Customer service has to bridge the gap between the smart consumer with the smartphone and the contact centre. Even though mobile applications are becoming increasingly powerful customer touch points, many companies are failing to leverage them in order to engage with consumers.

The cloud provides a solution to integrate mobile with customer service, providing the customer with a seamless link to the contact centre agent, as well as allowing the contact centre agent to view previous exchanges and contacts with the company.

The cloud also provides the bond between the app and the contact centre, thus simplifying the process for the customer of obtaining service and for the enterprise of supplying the service. The app itself is not hosted in the cloud – the customer just downloads the app from the device-dependent app store as usual – but there is a Genesys widget within the app.

The agent will have a full overview of who the customer is

When a customer using the app needs to contact customer service, they simply tap on the Genesys-powered contact icon, while remaining in the app. They then choose the preferred method of contacting the agent and the app will open up the selected communication channel. All relevant information is stored and can be used to route the call to the most appropriate agent to resolve the issue.

The agent will thus have a full overview of who the customer is and what they have been trying to achieve prior to the contact. This process ensures that the customer communicates with the best agent available to resolve their concern, while the agent will have the necessary information to resolve that concern, and to resolve it quickly.

Integrating the smartphone into customer service has to be seamless

Ultimately, integrating the smartphone into customer service has to provide a seamless experience for the customer. It enables companies to raise the bar on personalisation, delivering a customer experience that is increasingly dictated by the customer – when they want service, where, and over what channel.

Cloud can help in this process, by providing the vital link between a mobile app and the ability for companies to offer a truly personalised, customer experience.

With thanks to Neil Titcomb, UK and Ireland Sales Director for Cloud at Genesys