• Sign Up, It's Free
  • Get Our Newsletter Plans & Pricing
    Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors
  • Categories
    • Hybrid Work
    • Video Conferencing
    • Cloud Calling
    • Collaboration Devices
    • Innovation
    • Customer Experience
    • Event Management
  • Hybrid Work
  • Video Conferencing
  • Cloud Calling
  • Collaboration Devices
  • Innovation
  • Customer Experience
  • Event Management
 
  • Blog home
  • >
  • Customer Experience
  • >
  • Is the Contact Center Getting Smarter?
Collaboration, Customer Experience

Is the Contact Center Getting Smarter?

Oct 19, 2020 — Zack Taylor

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Call Center, Contact Center as a Service, Machine Learning, Webex Contact Center

The Need for Intelligent Contact Centers

The recent global pandemic elevated digital interactions and contact centers in particular to the forefront of worldwide commerce. Shopping malls emptied and contact center interactions soared to new levels, comprising a greater portion of customer engagement than ever before. The at-home agent population expanded to where an estimated 75% of call center agents across the globe are working remotely. With these new realities firmly in place, the need for intelligence infused into the contact center value chain is happening now.

The Search for Uncommon Knowledge

The Latin phrase “scientia potentia” is better known as “knowledge is power.” The notion is that by gaining knowledge, a person can overcome mental and physical limitations and at times, a superior adversary to achieve success. In competitive terms, the more insight available, the better the odds that success can be accomplished . Companies have consistently  built competitive teams to better understand and apply strategies to overcome market headwinds and increase win-rates.

Wherever we go, There we are

Knowledge is only powerful when insights are turned into action, which activates the power behind the knowledge. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) captures vast amount of data, and that data is stored as information – but the bridge from information to knowledge is often missing. In human terms, understanding and learning from experience and the mistakes of others, builds essential knowledge for future engagements. AI accelerates this process via machine learning (ML).

Watch the experience:

Always Moving but Going Nowhere  – and Doing the Wrong Thing Right

As an example, a major retailer selling cosmetic products calls out special days for employees’ to highlight and promote specific labels. This same retailer rates each store and employees on the highly touted Net Promoter Score (NPS). Managers are rewarded on NPS and employees are well aware of what a 9 or 10 NPS  rating means. A recent promotion of a well-known label underscores a no-win situation. The sales associate is asked to sell a product at a price up to 60% higher than a major big box retailer and 30% higher than local grocery stores. A study shows 80% of respondents said they would do an online comparison of products – some before and others after making a purchase. If the sales associate makes the sale and the customer compares the price later on, how will that reflect on NPS and customer satisfaction?

So is the Contact Center Getting Smarter – Yes, with Qualification

Contact centers can be the richest source of information on any customer journey. I recall once telling a CEO if they wanted to know what is going on in their business, putting a headset on and spending an hour in their contact center would be their fastest path to insight. And yes, contact centers are getting smarter – both by necessity and by design. Necessity by being now at the end of complex customer journeys, putting pressure on the contact center to perform to much higher standards than ever. By design through the advent of the practical application of AI, freeing agents up to work with the most critical customer exceptions and finally, delivering low-effort self-service to customers.

A New Position in the Enterprise Requires New Sources of Uncommon Knowledge

The contact center’s elevated enterprise profile and its position often at the end of complex journeys, have caused the realization that customer sentiment along all enterprise touchpoints is now critical to successful customer experiences. At Cisco, we’ve anticipated this paradigm shift and introduced Webex Experience Management. This solution captures real-time customer sentiment via integrating into seventeen touchpoints that may be present in any customer journey. These “listening posts” allow an organization to deliver this sentiment directly to contact center agents. Sentiment savvy agents are the next step in the intelligent contact center – and Cisco is leading the way.

Find out more about Webex Experience Management or Visit our Cisco Contact Center solutions

The Safe at the Office, Productive Anywhere series highlights new AI-driven experiences that enhance the remote experience & provide a safe return to the office

Learn More

Cisco is Identified as a Leader in Aragon’s Globe for Intelligent Contact Center 2020

Future of Work Webinar with Guest Forrester Research: Demystifying the Contact Center’s Role in CX

Monthly Update: Boost Your Net Promoter Scores and Workplace Collaboration with Cisco Contact Center Solutions

 

Webex by Cisco and AWS announce two new synergies for collaboration and customer experience
Nov 27, 2023 — Connie Tang

5 things to know about Webex Hologram 1.0
Nov 17, 2023 — Brett Bralley

HD Voice: crystal clear audio powered by AI
Nov 15, 2023 — Ferdinando Olivieri

Announcing Webex Insider: inspired by and built for Webex customers
Nov 13, 2023 — Damien McCoy

Webex Shines In New ZK Research Report
Nov 9, 2023 — Craig Burnham

Connect With Us
  • This newsletter is for you.

    Our monthly newsletter, The Collaboratory, features fresh insights from collaboration experts, plus tips & trends, new product announcements, and the latest on the biggest events of the year. Sign up to stay in the loop!

Webex logo
Get started for free.
Additional features, storage, and support start at just one low price.
Sign Up, It's Free See Plans & Pricing
Small Business
  • Pricing
  • Webex App
  • Meetings
  • Calling
  • Messaging
  • Screen Sharing
Enterprise
  • Webex Suite
  • Calling
  • Meetings
  • Messaging
  • Slido
  • Webinars
  • Events
  • Contact Center
  • Experience Management
  • imimobile
  • Security
  • Control Hub
Devices
  • Headsets
  • Cameras
  • Desk Series
  • Room Series
  • Board Series
  • Phone Series
  • Accessories
Solutions For
  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Government
  • Finance
  • Sports & Entertainment
  • Frontline
  • Nonprofits
  • Startups
  • Hybrid Work
  • Integrations
  • Developers
Resources
  • Downloads
  • Help Center
  • Join a Test Meeting
  • Online Classes
  • Accessibility
  • Inclusivity
  • Live & On-Demand Webinars
  • Webex Community
  • News & Innovations
Company
  • Cisco
  • Contact Support
  • Contact Sales
  • Webex Blog
  • Webex Thought Leadership
  • Webex Merch Store
  • Careers
  • Webex Leap
© Cisco and/or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Statement
  • Cookies
  • Trademarks
  • English
    • Chinese (Simplified)
    • Chinese (Traditional)
    • French
    • German
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Portuguese (Brazil)
    • Spanish
  • 简体中文 (Chinese (Simplified))
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese (Traditional))
  • English
  • Français (French)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • Português (Portuguese (Brazil))
  • Español (Spanish)