How To Improve Customers Shopping Experience with Cloud Communications

July 23rd, 2018 by admin

How To Improve Customers Shopping Experience with Cloud Communications

Buying a car has to be one of the most complex and pricey transactions a consumer ever makes. That’s because the road to a new car is almost never straight: Instead, buyers must twist and turn through automotive marketing, conducting their own research, evaluating options and connecting with potential dealers.

During their journey, car buyers tap into website resources, reach out for recommendations on social media, visit dealerships and follow up with questions. From the shopper’s perspective, this is a single, ongoing conversation, not a series of disjointed discussions. Yet, while many dealerships – like other retailers – believe they’re engaged in omnichannel retailing, they’re really pursuing a multi-channel strategy. All too often, their infrastructure has created silos. For example, they may have one phone number for their physical store and another for their e-commerce division. As a result, they engage with consumers in each channel separately. For many, this is the result of legacy telecommunications systems that fall short. These platforms make it impossible to stitch all of their channels into a cohesive whole. But cloud communications technology enables retailers to transform their approach and deliver the way consumers expect it to be: as a single, ongoing conversation. “It’s time to stop focusing on distinct channels and instead run the total business in a way that puts the consumer first,” advises Andrew Hogenson, Advisory Principal for Consumer Products & Retail, West Region, Ernst & Young LLP. He argues that omnichannel is becoming the standard approach to retail. Indeed, as shoppers move seamlessly between channels – from website to chat to in-store visit and back to the website again – they don’t make a distinction among channels. Consumers expect retailers to know everything about their journey to date – and provide appropriate service at each touchpoint.

Retailers can meet these expectations with cloud communications. Here’s how it works.

CRM integration. By integrating customer information and history into the contact center, agents can enter a conversation midstream and pick up the thread. The customer doesn’t have to repeat information, and the experience moves forward, rather than stalls. Mobility. The moment a customer makes the decision to buy is critical for retailers. If the salesperson misses the consumer’s call, they risk losing the sale as the buyer moves on to the next competitor on the list. Cloud communications enables retailers to equip their sales team with mobile apps and devices. Not only do missed calls become a thing of the past, but the salesperson has seamless access to the customer’s details and history of engagement. Social media. As more shoppers seek opinions about possible purchases on social media, retailers have a line of sight into potential sales. Using the cloud, social media can be integrated into contact center and communications applications. Retailers can move buyers from social media to chat with ease, which enables them to build trust and, ultimately, customer loyalty. From bot to human. In the research phase, 90 percent of consumers will visit the company’s website. It’s common at this point to have more questions, and buyers will expect fast answers. Chat bots help retailers respond in these moments of need. At any point in the conversation, buyers can ask to speak with a representative and the chat bot will transfer them to a person. Such seamless and personalized interactions significantly enhance the customer experience. By putting the customer first and designing a journey based on the customer's expectations, retailers eliminate the danger of silos and deliver a true omnichannel retailing experience. And that’s what builds customer loyalty.

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Source: Mitel.com

Posted in: Uncategorized, Business Phone Systems, Cloud Communications, Unified Communications, Video Conferencing, Cloud Phone Systems