Customer service and contact center
Customer service refers to the support organizations give customers after a purchase, and contact centers are the points where organizations can manage these interactions. Keep tabs on the evolution of customer service and contact center technologies and best practices to maintain service strategies properly.
Top Stories
-
Answer
12 Aug 2024
10 must-have contact center skills for agents in 2024
Contact center agents must have a wide range of interpersonal and technological skills to interact with customers and resolve their issues in a timely and empathetic manner. Continue Reading
-
Tip
09 Aug 2024
10 best practices for contact center quality assurance
To ensure quality and results in the contact center, businesses must define clear metrics, use real-time analytics, seek customer feedback, upskill agents and automate everywhere. Continue Reading
-
Feature
22 Apr 2022
Top 7 metaverse tech strategy do's and don'ts
Technology and business leaders must be strategic when entering the new world of metaverse projects. Here are critical tips that help provide guidance. Continue Reading
-
Feature
21 Apr 2022
UCaaS vendors take on cloud contact center market share
As the UC market matures, vendors are looking for new ways to attract customers. Some vendors have set their sights on CCaaS, but getting executive buy-in could be a challenge. Continue Reading
-
News
06 Apr 2022
Salesforce Marketing, Service Clouds add, rename features
Salesforce partners with Genesys, Google for telephony; adds AWS Contact Lens natively, among a raft of new features. Some are available now; some are coming in Summer '22 release. Continue Reading
-
Definition
30 Mar 2022
help desk
A help desk is the individual, group, organizational function or external service that an IT user calls to get help with a problem. Continue Reading
-
Feature
25 Mar 2022
UCaaS vs. CCaaS: What's the difference?
UCaaS and CCaaS feature overlapping communication channels, such as cloud calling and messaging, but CCaaS comes with additional tools that can support a contact center. Continue Reading
-
Guide
24 Mar 2022
Contact center of the future is now
AI, machine learning, NLP, advanced analytics, cloud-based tools and workforce management software are transforming the simple call center into multidimensional contact centers. Continue Reading
-
News
23 Mar 2022
Oracle amps up field service management mobile app support
As customer service and field service converge, software giants still build functionality for techs visiting homes and businesses to work on devices and machines. Continue Reading
-
News
22 Mar 2022
Amazon Connect updates contact center workforce management
AWS's Amazon Connect contact center as a service platform adds machine learning workforce optimization to predict customer contact volume, as well as staffing numbers to cover it. Continue Reading
-
News
21 Mar 2022
Google, Twilio release CCaaS tools and integrations
Google Contact Center AI Platform bundles its own tech with partners' for a complete contact center package. Twilio, meanwhile, releases Flex Conversations. Continue Reading
-
Tip
18 Mar 2022
How do experience maps vs. customer journey maps differ?
Customer experience maps and customer journey maps serve as the blueprints for buyer interactions. Despite these maps' similarities, they play different roles in organizations. Continue Reading
-
Feature
15 Mar 2022
The CIO's guide to understanding the metaverse
Metaverse definitions vary as do predictions on when it will arrive. But smart CIOs should familiarize themselves with the concept and ways it might affect their company. Continue Reading
-
News
15 Mar 2022
HubSpot gives customer service platform a makeover
HubSpot's refreshed contact center platform features self-service automation and Twilio telephony. The company hopes a fragmented market and user loyalty will spur its growth. Continue Reading
-
Definition
09 Mar 2022
bot
A bot -- short for robot and also called an internet bot -- is a computer program that operates as an agent for a user or other program or to simulate a human activity. Continue Reading
-
Definition
03 Mar 2022
Erlang C
Erlang C is a traffic modeling formula, primarily used in call center scheduling to calculate delays and to predict waiting times for callers. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
23 Feb 2022
Zoom CCaaS a big bet on the future of customer service
Zoom already integrates with the most popular contact-center-as-a-service platforms. So why has Zoom come out with a CCaaS of its own? Continue Reading
-
News
08 Feb 2022
Pegasystems releases contact center agent-assist tools
Pegasystems adds voice recognition and natural language processing agent-assistant 'copilot' tools for contact centers, based on 2021 acquisition of Qurious.io. Continue Reading
-
Tip
07 Feb 2022
How to manage remote call center agents
Managing remote call center agents can be difficult -- but with the right tools in place, supervisors can effectively lead their agents from a distance. Continue Reading
-
News
13 Jan 2022
Genesys CEO on the future of contact center tech
In this interview with Genesys CEO Tony Bates, we discuss the intersection of empathy and technology, as well as the future of video in the contact center tech stack. Continue Reading
-
Feature
29 Dec 2021
How bad writing, templates and chatbots kill customer service
Leslie O'Flahavan, a writing coach specializing in contact center communications, discusses how humans, AI and bots can work together to provide good customer service. Continue Reading
-
Tip
23 Dec 2021
Top 5 challenges in field service management
Many organizations overlook field service management in their customer service strategies, yet this area -- and its challenges -- are critical to CX success. Continue Reading
-
Tip
20 Dec 2021
Call center security best practices to protect customer data
If customers know an organization can keep their data safe, they have more positive experiences. These best practices can help establish trust and keep data safe in call centers. Continue Reading
-
Feature
14 Dec 2021
Top customer service certifications and courses
Here are some customer services courses to help frontline employees provide customers with a better experience. Continue Reading
-
News
09 Dec 2021
Automating customer service empathy a work in progress
Bots and AI tools can help clean up customer service texts, emails and chats -- and make them more consistent. But finding empathy is still mainly the purview of humans. Continue Reading
-
Tip
09 Dec 2021
How to train agents on call center fraud detection
Poorly trained call center agents are easy targets for bad actors. Organizations must prepare for call center fraud with proper agent training and anti-fraud technologies. Continue Reading
-
News
03 Dec 2021
Amazon Connect adds quick bot setup, call summarization
AWS' Amazon Connect CCaaS offering comes into sharper focus with new features for contact center managers, agents and data scientists setting up bots. Continue Reading
-
Feature
02 Dec 2021
10 customer service best practices to follow
As customer service evolves into a multidimensional force, agent training and experience, performance analysis, virtual assistance, customer sentiment and net promoter scores rule. Continue Reading
-
Feature
02 Dec 2021
10 examples of AI in customer service
AI and AI-enhanced tools drive efficiency and cost reduction throughout the customer service team. Continue Reading
-
Feature
29 Nov 2021
15 customer service skills and how to develop them
Some customer service skills include problem-solving, empathy, product knowledge and patience. Continue Reading
-
Definition
24 Nov 2021
contact center as a service (CCaaS)
Contact center as a service (CCaaS) is a framework that combines contact center hosting principles and cloud-based contact center infrastructure. Continue Reading
-
Feature
24 Nov 2021
The future of customer service: 12 trends to watch
Advanced technologies continue to shape customer service goals to streamline digital workflows, increase positive experiences, lower agent turnover and improve contact center ROI. Continue Reading
-
Definition
23 Nov 2021
customer service and support
Customer service is the support that organizations offer to customers before and after purchasing a product or service. Continue Reading
-
Definition
22 Nov 2021
contact center
A contact center is a central point from which organizations manage all customer interactions across various channels. Continue Reading
-
Definition
22 Nov 2021
call center
A call center is a centralized department that handles inbound and outbound calls from current and potential customers. Continue Reading
-
Feature
19 Nov 2021
9 steps to create a customer service plan
Crafting a customer service plan is a key step to improving customer satisfaction and building loyalty for an organization. Continue Reading
-
News
16 Nov 2021
Genesys, Google bolster contact center connections
Genesys and Google broaden multi-year partnership to include running Genesys applications on Google Cloud with Kubernetes; Genesys embeds apps in Chrome browser. Continue Reading
-
Feature
02 Nov 2021
The 3 types of chatbots for beginners and how to build them
Various types of chatbots exist, but three types, in particular, are easiest for beginners to learn and build independently. Find out more in this chapter excerpt. Continue Reading
-
Feature
02 Nov 2021
Beginner's guide to essential chatbot best practices
In this Q&A, author Andrew Freed lays out key chatbot best practices for beginners, the biggest challenges and how organizations can tell when to adopt chatbot technology. Continue Reading
-
News
01 Nov 2021
Zendesk to acquire SurveyMonkey parent Momentive
Zendesk's burgeoning customer experience platform, which grew out of a customer service technology stronghold, lands key tech to gather customer feedback. Continue Reading
-
Definition
29 Oct 2021
cloud contact center
A cloud contact center is managed by an outside vendor in a remote location. Continue Reading
-
Feature
28 Oct 2021
What does a customer service manager do?
Customer service managers are an integral part of contact centers. They are the team leader, trainer and policy maker. Continue Reading
-
News
28 Oct 2021
Salesforce Field Service adds scheduling, Lightning web tools
Salesforce turns its attention to field service technology development, bringing mobile app and web experiences more in line with consumer-grade customer service. Continue Reading
-
Answer
26 Oct 2021
How do you create a chatbot and connect it to Salesforce?
Salesforce users have two ways to create a chatbot: using an outside platform and connecting finished creations through Salesforce Lightning, or writing it in Salesforce Einstein Bot. Continue Reading
-
News
22 Oct 2021
Genesys contact center cloud gets acquisition boost
Olivier Jouve, executive vice president of Genesys Cloud, and Mike Szilagyi, a senior vice president at Genesys, discuss how customer service will recalibrate after last year. Continue Reading
-
Definition
21 Oct 2021
field service management (FSM)
Field service management software enables companies to manage dispersed workers and resources. These workers can gain access to schedules, work orders and customer information via mobile devices. Continue Reading
-
Definition
12 Oct 2021
contact center infrastructure
A contact center infrastructure is a framework composed of the physical and virtual resources that a call center facility needs to operate effectively. Continue Reading
-
Tip
05 Oct 2021
Benefits of moving to a cloud contact center
Cloud contact centers have various benefits for organizations, including cost savings, more interaction channels and staying with -- if not ahead of -- the competition. Continue Reading
-
News
02 Oct 2021
Contact center agents' post-pandemic future
The pandemic changed how contact centers operate and the technologies used to provide customer service. In this Q&A, ICMI's Brad Cleveland predicts what's next. Continue Reading
-
News
30 Sep 2021
Amazon Connect adds voice ID, agent assist features
AWS adds tools to search knowledge bases for answers based on terms picked up via in-call voice recognition, as well as voice ID to confirm identities of callers. Continue Reading
-
Tip
22 Sep 2021
How to train contact center agents remotely
As businesses began to work remotely due to COVID-19, contact center managers had to learn how to train contact center agents remotely. Here are seven tips to get started. Continue Reading
-
Definition
13 Sep 2021
speech recognition
Speech recognition, or speech-to-text, is the ability of a machine or program to identify words spoken aloud and convert them into readable text. Continue Reading
-
News
02 Sep 2021
FACE Act aims to improve government CX
The bipartisan bill that would codify the measurement of customer experience for federal agencies cleared the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Continue Reading
-
News
28 Jul 2021
Nice expands contact center AI offering with ContactEngine buy
Nice acquires ContactEngine conversational AI technology to support customer self-service and live agent conversations across multiple digital channels. Continue Reading
-
Answer
17 Jun 2021
How do omnichannel vs. multichannel marketing differ?
While multichannel marketing connects customers and companies through various forms of communication, omnichannel marketing takes it further and removes any silos. Continue Reading
-
Tip
02 Jun 2021
On-premises vs. cloud contact center: What's the difference?
On-premises and cloud contact centers differ in terms of costs, staff requirements and management. Organizations must weigh both options to find the right fit. Continue Reading
-
Feature
19 May 2021
ServiceNow's vision for AI, customer service management
ServiceNow's John Ball discusses the Now Platform's approach to AI, customer service and field service management, and why he left Salesforce as EVP of product for Einstein. Continue Reading
-
Tip
18 May 2021
6 steps to create a contact center RFP
As CX leaders plan a contact center RFP, they should follow these six steps -- including conducting research and asking relevant questions -- to ensure a successful result. Continue Reading
-
Tip
05 May 2021
How to define contact center technology requirements
Whether launching a new contact center or updating an existing one, CX leaders must evaluate their contact center technology requirements before selecting a provider. Continue Reading
-
News
04 May 2021
Pegasystems to release Process AI amid hyperautomation surge
Pegasystems will add intelligent automation features to its Pega Platform that apply event stream processing, machine learning and natural language processing to business actions. Continue Reading
-
News
04 May 2021
Pegasystems enhances customer service, CX workflows
Pegasystems users get access to long-awaited Process Fabric automation tool, as well as new vertical-specific customer service tools and AI for interactive voice response. Continue Reading
-
News
21 Apr 2021
Salesforce Service Cloud to add features, partners
Salesforce will announce partnerships this fall to connect new telephony providers to Service Cloud as contact centers reconfigure their teams for post-COVID-19 work. Continue Reading
-
News
11 Mar 2021
ServiceNow Customer Service Management grows in Quebec
ServiceNow telecom and financial services users targeted for growth as the company expands customer service offering in Quebec, its latest platform release. Continue Reading
-
Guest Post
10 Mar 2021
How AIOps investment improves customer service, boosts ROI
Before reaping the benefits of AIOPs -- such as improved customer service and easier collection of customer data -- companies need to determine if it is a good fit. Continue Reading
-
Tip
09 Feb 2021
4 tips for effectively handling emails in a call center
New service channels emerge, but email remains a popular way for customers to contact businesses. Call centers should use the proper email management software and strategies. Continue Reading
-
Tip
29 Jan 2021
5 ways to improve a customer self-service strategy
In today's digital world, self-service options are a must to inform, engage and retain customers. Here are some ways businesses can improve those self-service options. Continue Reading
-
News
27 Jan 2021
Google DialogFlow CX brings industry-specific chatbots
Google releases DialogFlow CX, a chatbot and voicebot platform geared for multi-channel enterprise customer service. It connects to leading telephony systems. Continue Reading
-
News
21 Jan 2021
AWS contact center AI services expand to Salesforce, Avaya
Cloud contact center vendors that compete with Amazon Connect for customers will push AWS AI-powered intelligent search, speech recognition and language processing services. Continue Reading
-
Tip
30 Nov 2020
10 technologies to transform customer experience in 2021
AI-powered technologies such as sentiment analysis, chatbots and real-time transcription can help customer service organizations improve the customer experience. Continue Reading
-
Tip
20 Nov 2020
8 customer service metrics to measure call center success
Measuring call center metrics and KPIs benefits organizations by showing where issues occur. Average handle time, service level and cost per call are a few metrics to start with. Continue Reading
- E-Zine 17 Nov 2020
-
News
10 Nov 2020
Zendesk, WhatsApp cozy up with co-development partnership
Zendesk and WhatsApp team up to break bottlenecks in customer service conversations over Facebook messaging apps -- including Instagram -- by building it into Zendesk Support. Continue Reading
-
Feature
09 Nov 2020
7 ways to avoid remote work burnout in call centers
Many factors contribute to remote work burnout, including juggling too many tasks, isolation and a work-life balance. Here are some tips for managers to help minimize burnout. Continue Reading
-
Tip
03 Nov 2020
8 best practices for call center monitoring programs
To create the foundation for an advanced quality monitoring program, contact centers need to invest in call monitoring and speech analytics software. Continue Reading
-
Tip
28 Oct 2020
5 benefits of developing diversity in customer service
Creating an environment of diversity and inclusion within customer service teams is essential in today's market. Here are some ways that businesses can benefit. Continue Reading
-
Guest Post
26 Oct 2020
Mobile wallet mania: Contactless payments are here to stay
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected a lot of B2C industries and one aspect of customer experience that is likely permanently shifting is the increase in mobile wallet adoption. Continue Reading
-
Infographic
21 Oct 2020
The evolution of customer service
Today's customer service meets the consumer where and when it is convenient for them, with multiple contact channels, self-service and always-on coverage. Continue Reading
-
News
20 Oct 2020
Salesforce Work.com gets customer, employee experience tools
Salesforce continues to build out Work.com as a place for broadcasting pandemic-specific employee and customer communications, as well as to enable remote work. Continue Reading
-
Answer
19 Oct 2020
8 ways to improve call center agent performance
Side-by-side evaluations, reinforcement, training resources and coaching can help call center agents improve their performance and catch up to the pack. Continue Reading
-
Feature
08 Oct 2020
Call center customer experience ROI is more about metrics
When measuring contact center ROI, don't get caught up in dollar signs. Focus on CX metrics, including the length of customer calls, wait times and net promoter scores. Continue Reading
-
News
08 Oct 2020
Twilio adds video developer tools, field service app, Flex apps
The developer-centric UCaaS vendor Twilio offers users new tools to support video chat, field service workers and aggregation of customer activity data. Continue Reading
-
Tip
29 Sep 2020
AI improves customer experience, call center efficiency
Customers and employees can benefit from the use of AI in contact centers. Businesses can use AI to provide customer self-service options and help make agents more productive. Continue Reading
-
Tip
08 Sep 2020
Evaluate call center outsourcing costs and benefits
Outsourcing call center operations can take some financial burden off businesses -- depending on what partner they choose. But there can also be some drawbacks. Continue Reading
-
News
03 Sep 2020
Emerging Genesys cloud strategy makes Amazon friend and foe
Amid a leadership change, Genesys retools cloud strategy, adds partnerships with Infosys, Adobe and others as its relationship to Amazon and AWS veers toward 'co-opetition.' Continue Reading
-
Tip
31 Aug 2020
How video chat improves customer service and engagement
As restrictions continue due to the COVID-19 crisis, many organizations adopt video chat capabilities to continue business operations and keep customers engaged. Continue Reading
-
News
28 Aug 2020
Twilio Flex deployed for COVID-19 contact-tracing agents
Tech teams supporting agents working remotely on COVID-19 surveillance efforts in several U.S. cities and the state of Illinois eschew traditional IT and opt for cloud platforms. Continue Reading
-
News
25 Aug 2020
Zendesk Support, Sunshine CRM expand data sharing, analytics
New Zendesk Explore Enterprise analytics and data visualization tools enable small and midsize users to create dashboards to share across organizations. Continue Reading
-
Guest Post
07 Aug 2020
What to consider for a contact center remote working strategy
Colin Taylor suggests 11 areas that a good contact center work-from-home policy should address, including who provides equipment, workforce management, coaching and more. Continue Reading
-
Tip
07 Aug 2020
Average handling time calculation is critical to contact centers
Knowing how to calculate average handling time is an essential component of contact center management, as it helps to determine proper staffing levels within the department. Continue Reading
-
Tip
27 Jul 2020
A look at contact center technology and support costs
With so many technology options available to contact centers, per-agent spending can vary greatly. It's up to businesses to figure out what technology matters most to them. Continue Reading
-
News
14 Jul 2020
Broken Pega RPA bots can heal themselves with new AI feature
Pegasystems robotic process automation tools, popular in contact centers, add AI capabilities that allow some RPA bots to fix themselves. Continue Reading
-
Feature
04 Jun 2020
10 ways to improve CX when developing virtual agents
Consider these 10 methods when building new virtual agents for your clients to help balance design, user experience, technical feasibility and business value. Continue Reading
-
Tip
28 May 2020
How data from APM tools helps businesses improve CX
Businesses have many options when it comes to analyzing customer experiences. APM tools can help contact center leaders improve agent experience, as well as CX. Continue Reading
-
Feature
27 May 2020
4 best practices for call center management
An effective contact center is a result of strong management and knowledgeable agents. Management teams must invest time and energy in training their employees properly. Continue Reading
-
News
15 May 2020
Talkdesk adds virtual agents, rebrands CCaaS suite as CX Cloud
Talkdesk refocuses it CCaaS suite on customer experience by adding 20 features, including virtual agents and remote work features for contact center agents. Continue Reading
-
Tip
12 May 2020
How speech analytics can benefit call centers
Speech analytics software in call centers helps organizations pinpoint areas of weakness to address in an effort to improve customer experience and efficiency. Continue Reading
-
News
08 May 2020
Pega adds unified messaging to customer case management
Pega Customer Service Unified Messaging Edition, built from last year's In The Chat acquisition, adds omnichannel messaging to the company's customer support cloud platform. Continue Reading
-
News
05 May 2020
ServiceNow CSM navigates pandemic, partners with Adobe
ServiceNow connects its Customer Service Management environment to Adobe Experience Manager to improve support experience through deeper personalization. Continue Reading
-
News
04 May 2020
Customer service agents, chatbots dial up empathy in pandemic
AI virtual assistants can provide help for embattled customer service agents during the pandemic, but adapting them to changing customer needs and new business models isn't simple. Continue Reading
-
News
01 May 2020
Conversational AI to help with high demands in contact centers
Replicant and Nuance Communications have announced tools aimed at curbing the influx of calls during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited the number of customer service reps. Continue Reading
-
Tip
23 Apr 2020
How remote contact centers benefit businesses, employees
As businesses move to remote contact center models amid the COVID-19 crisis, they're finding benefits in the form of real estate cost savings and happier employees. Continue Reading
-
Tip
17 Apr 2020
Renewed focus on contact center trends in 2020
As contact centers move from office settings to remote work environments, businesses renew push for sustainable work-at-home programs, enhanced AI and cloud technologies. Continue Reading