The contact center industry is saturated with new technology companies that promise to be the next big thing., but technological adoption for the sake of adoption should be viewed with some healthy skepticism.
The contact center industry is rife with technological horror stories which involve picking the wrong technology, disastrous implementations, and poor alignment with business needs.
Define Processes First
Don't fall prey to the flash and dazzle of new technology! If you select a new technology platform without fully understanding how it will affect your business processes, you will be in for a massive headache.
A thorough assessment of your current state business needs and future state vision will help you define and fine-tune your customer processes, which will help you select a technology platform that best supports your needs.
Buy for Needs Not Wants
When considering features and functionality, automate when possible and think in terms of real must-haves versus unnecessary bells and whistles. Evaluate your core reasons for wanting new technology. For example, do you need to do a better job offering omnichannel support? Do you need to do a better job gathering customer feedback?.
Adding more technology to areas that you don't really need to add can make your processes too complicated, which contributes to inefficiency and can create an unnecessary drain on your budget.
Take a Peek at the Competition
Do a Competitor Analysis to find out what your most successful competitors are implementing for their processes and technology? While this in itself shouldn't be your only criteria for evaluation, it certainly helps to understand what your competitors are doing right and what they may need to improve. Looking at their customer feedback can give you information about this.
Involve the Necessary Parties
Always involve key stakeholders in your selection process. Aside from leadership, include the contact center agents and other end-users so you can identify loopholes and potential areas that need to be addressed before signing the dotted line.
Know Who You Are Serving
Involve customer preferences and audience insight when choosing the right technology for your business. For instance, Chatbots are not seen to be very appealing to an older audience, but younger audiences tend to adopt such new technologies quickly.
Best Practices for Implementation
It's a good idea to have an implementation plan in place to ensure that the integration of your technology is a smooth and seamless experience.
