ModernizingCommunicationEven if chats are worth their weight in gold for customer contact, they make up only a part of the communication options as it is, for instance, often more practical to simply communicate via video.

As a business, you should be aware of what you are missing out on without additional features like video and screen sharing, or that you can address your customers with follow-up or upsell campaigns by monitoring real-time data.

The market researcher Forrester states in its report Visual Engagement Drives Relationships and Revenue for Customer Service as well that more and more companies are using visual elements such as video, co-browsing, screen sharing, and note functions in their customer communication, preventing that way the conversation from becoming too chaotic. Not to mention that it makes it easier to be understood and build a more personal relationship with the consumer.

Communicating via video is also in line with the current consumer trend, as research has shown that two thirds of all customers worldwide video chat with companies more often than a few months ago. For consumers who want a personalized experience or have a complex problem to solve, video is their first choice for communication.


Better reputation and lower costs


If your customers are bothering to contact your company, be well prepared. Even if they value your brand, one third of consumers drop out after just a single bad experience, while 90% of them only become unfaithful after two or more incidents.


With video and screen sharing, you can increase the number of contact center channels you have and make your communication more flexible, intelligent, and personal. Video and screen sharing shorten the average processing time, increase the first-time solution rate, and lower the costs of customer-related processes. In other words, it leads to a higher productivity of the contact center. But what’s more important, is it having a positive effect on your company and your brand.


Customers experience the greatest frustration when they cannot reach a service or a service provider and there is no other channel through which to solve their problem. Many engagement studies have shown this in the past and make clear why video calls should become part of the communication mix. It is quite possible that consumers do not always need the video function, but if it is not offered at all the risk of migration is significantly greater.


Easy implementation and full access to all functions


Regardless of whether your customer or your employee starts the session, video calls and screen sharing are simple and straightforward: the customer can clarify his request and provide further details via video or a photo that is sent from any device. And the contact center employees have on their side direct access to tools such as analytics tools, reports, conversation (speech) analysis, screen recordings, AI, and CRM data. At the same time, the contact center supervisor could see live which employees are currently in a video call, besides being able to call up old reports of video interactions and even check which agents have access to the video function.


With these tools and insights, visual contact will soon be a given as a further means of communication in the omnichannel experience for customers and employees alike.


Not to mention that video and screen sharing are also suitable for areas that go beyond the traditional contact center:

 

  • Customer service: mistakes that have occurred can be better identified in a video call and corrected in a professional manner.
  • Sales office: products can be demonstrated to interested parties via live video link to increase the number of sales.
  • IT service desks: video calls with screen sharing make it easier to solve complex technical problems.
  • Financial services: bank advisors can use video to help their customers read documents and fill out forms.
  • Health: with a prevention hotline, eye contact conveys security and competence.


Without a doubt, video and screen sharing can improve communication and create trust through direct visual contact, contributing to a customer relationship that offers a completely new understanding, besides securing sales and loyalty. Finally, they help reduce travel costs and keep communication going in times of travel restrictions.

 

By Daniela La Marca