Page 3 - Telecom Reseller September-October 2018

September/October 2018
Telecom Reseller 3
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MIKE PATTERSON
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TELECOM RESELLER
TShould you replace telephony with chatbots? he way we communicate with our recovery. Hosted telephony services are via quickest way to communicate; the average person
occasionally fall short in practice, not because of the technology, but because of the approach, installation and support strategy.
The UC market provides a dizzying array of products, all with different specifications and capabilities. Many resellers are well-versed in
while building loyal customers in the process. Start with customer needs: Talk to your
customers - what do they really need? Is it
as simple as staying connected and boosting productivity, or are there other considerations, such as long-term growth goals, concerns with
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BOUGOURD
ethernet internet or a converged fibre broadband types 38-40 words a minute compared to 125-175 the years, evolving from letters to phone service, using the same wiring as your business’ words per minute when talking.
no getting away from the fact that you need a Applications Writer at TSG Hosted telephony sees a traditional method of communication methods for customers,
customers has changed dramatically over
calls to email and now website live chats. There’s Natasha Bougourd, Lead data network. It’s essential that, when it comes to
way for customers to quickly and easily contact you, but with so many methods available, which should you choose?
Chatbots and online live chat are considered the most modern communication methods, with live chat consistently coming up trumps in surveys. Over half of customers would prefer to chat to
a person in real-time online over a phone call (Harris Research); what’s more, it’s the channel with the highest customer satisfaction rating at 73% (Econsultancy). It’s so prolific that it’s now unusual to see websites without live chat options.
According to experts, chatbots are not only the next step up from live chat but are the future of customer communication. Gartner has estimated that 85% of customer interactions will involve chatbots by 2020, meaning the AI tool won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Evidence has shown that, when utilised effectively, chatbots result in a 30% increase in conversions than other communications. What’s more, 61% of customers would actively choose to interact with a chatbot
6 Steps for Successfully UDeploying UC Systems
(https://www.tsg.com/tsg-it- support)
communication brought into the 21st century with cloud hosting, making it more essential than ever. Not only does telephony communication provide customers with the opportunity to
have real-time, two-way communication, it also provides a personable experience favoured by many.
Whilst live chat has high customer satisfaction levels and customers are willing to buy from
a chatbot, implementing these solutions shouldn’t come at the expense of telephone communications. According to the Office of National Statistics, 90% of UK households have internet access, meaning 10% still don’t; how else will those people contact you?
We can’t ignore the fact that, whilst up-and- coming online communication solutions are seeing great results, telephony is still a hit with customers. A Google study found that 61% of consumers get in touch with a business via phone when they’re ready to purchase. Additionally, for urgent queries, a phone call is undoubtedly the
HOKE
by Ansley Hoke, Vice President, ScanSource Catalyst (https:// www.scansourcecatalyst.com/)
the surrounding environment, specific industry needs, or regulatory hurdles they’ll need to jump through? While customers may say they need a particular product or service, work with them to find the right solution for their specific industry and work culture.
Analyze the environment: The office structure is just as important as the technology in use. Whether it be echoes in conference rooms, loud open office layouts, or bright windows, the office space can present significant challenges. To
businesses can’t limit themselves. To meet consumer demands, businesses must not only have an online presence, but be available to speak to online whether that’s via a support agent on live chat or chatbots. The concern around the latter is that chatbots are still evolving and therefore won’t be able to answer all customer queries, which could leave them frustrated.
These online communication methods, however, shouldn’t come at the expense of telephone communication. Hosted telephony will allow businesses to save money on this traditional solution, thanks to the eradication of capex costs and built-in disaster recovery. Digital transformation, the use of technology to improve processes, customer experience and ultimately profitability, is achievable in so many ways.
By adopting a mix of traditional and modern communication tools, and particularly using cloud-based phone systems, business can respond to customers quicker and more efficiently whilst saving money rather than increasing outgoings. n
mitigate these factors, the installation of sound paneling, sun shades or other room modifications might be necessary to get the most out of the UC technology you are providing. In addition to the physical space, the company culture should be considered, particularly given remote teleworking employees have different needs than locally working employees – for both audio and video considerations.
Take time to test: Make time to use all the systems once installed in the office, before
the customer or their employees. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out a brand-new collaboration space is non-functional on day one. After testing is completed, consider a staged roll- out of the UC system to a small number of users
HOKE continuesonpage 7 ››
over a human for an immediate answer, and 21% would even buy from one.
It’s clear that businesses can reap significant rewards by implementing these digital-first communication tools, but they shouldn’t come
at the expense of the more traditional solutions. All businesses must be available on the phone
for customers who have urgent queries or for those who still prefer phone calls. However, many businesses are operating on outdated telephony systems, still dependent on ISDN despite its unreliability and the news that it will be retired in 2025. In response to the ISDN deadline, a number of businesses are making the move to hosted telephony.
For the uninitiated, hosted telephony is a cloud-based phone solution which eliminates the need for telephone system hardware. One of its key benefits is lower costs due to no capex and no maintenance costs thanks to built-in disaster
nified communications (UC) navigating these technologies, but at the end manufacturers have made tremendous of the day, the customer’s satisfaction with the progress in the last decade, developing complete UC experience is the only measure of
technology that helps businesses stay more success that matters. The following steps keep the connected than ever. However, UC systems focus of deploying UC systems on the end users,
Even Better Together.
A powerful combination of industry-leading audio and video conferencing technology makes remote collaboration easier and more natural than ever before.
CS-700 Video Sound BarTM
uc.yamaha.com
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