How to use cloud-based communication tools to drive customer loyalty
Cloud-based communication tools are becoming ever more popular among online businesses, and it’s not difficult to see why.
Not only are they cost-effective, but they also come with several features that make it much easier to deliver the kind of top-tier customer service clients expect.
In this article, we’ll explain what cloud-based communication is and what’s so great about it.
We’ll also explore exactly how it can improve the customer experience, and hopefully keep your customers coming back over and over again.
What is cloud-based communication?
Even in today’s digital multichannel era, phone calls remain a major part of everyday life for many businesses.
Whether that means inbound calls from customers seeking support or outbound calls for sales purposes, it would be difficult for many companies to operate without some kind of business telephony solution.
With the advent of cloud computing, a wide range of cloud-based solutions are now available, and many companies are flocking to them as they undergo the process of digital transformation.
These tools are revolutionizing the whole concept of business phones and offer many advantages over traditional phone systems.
Unlike traditional systems, which consist of physical phone lines connected through a private branch exchange, cloud telephony solutions use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
This means that all you need to use them is an internet-connected device and a stable internet connection.
As you can imagine, this puts cloud communications platforms well within the reach of most businesses, whether they be small startups who just need the basics or major corporations looking for a high-end enterprise VoIP system.
Although these systems can be used for all kinds of internal communication purposes too, we’re focusing here on customer service.
So, let’s take a brief look at the two main ways contact centers are usually organized using a cloud communication platform.
-
Cloud contact centers: This describes any contact center that uses a cloud-based communications platform. They are often situated in a traditional office building, where agents work in a shared space.
-
Virtual contact centers: These are contact centers that take advantage of the capabilities of cloud communications solutions to enable a distributed work model. It’s a terrific solution for hybrid teams since agents can work remotely.
The benefits of cloud-based communication platforms
It’s worth examining the advantages of cloud communication tools in more detail. If your business currently uses traditional phone lines, it may seem that moving to a cloud platform would be a major challenge.
Luckily, that isn’t the case. Here are a few of the benefits you’ll see if you decide to move to a cloud solution.
1. Ease of implementation
One of the big problems with traditional telephony systems is that they involve a lot of hardware. Every time you want to onboard new team members, it means installing more physical phone lines.
And that takes time and planning. You need to schedule technicians to install the lines, and if the timing isn’t right, your new staff could be without a phone for hours or even days.
With cloud communications, this doesn’t happen. Adding new accounts is as straightforward as clicking a few buttons on a screen.
All you need to provide is an internet connection and an internet-enabled device like a laptop that has the appropriate software installed. In other words, implementation is fast and easy to do.
2. Cost savings
Because you don’t need to worry about maintaining a physical system, the cost savings can be immense.
For one thing, you don’t have to pay technical staff to keep everything running. In addition, you don’t have to buy expensive telephony equipment that needs to be regularly upgraded, costing even more.
Image sourced from tech.co
If you’re running a virtual call center, the cost savings are even better because you don’t even need to rent office space! It’s perfectly possible to run your entire customer service operation completely remotely.
That’s because you can usually integrate cloud communication systems seamlessly with other software such as management tools and collaboration platforms.
3. Flexibility and scalability
Regardless of what line of work you’re in, the ability to cope with change efficiently is crucial. This applies whether you’re selling fashion to teens or registering domain names on behalf of B2B clients.
It doesn’t matter. In the modern business world, being able to respond quickly to changing circumstances is vital. The more agile your operation, the more slick your customer service will be.
One of the most useful characteristics of a cloud communications service is that it’s so flexible. You can add or remove accounts in moments, so new staff can get up and running immediately. Or, if your field of work is seasonal, you can take on temporary staff at peak times, then remove their accounts when they’re no longer working for you.
The pricing plans these cloud-based communication platforms use to feed into this flexibility as well.
Usually, you’ll be looking at a choice of pricing tiers calculated per user per month for unlimited calling. That means you’ll always know down to the penny how much you have to budget for the service, and you’ll never be left paying for phone lines you’re not using.
4. Reduced downtime
If your phone system goes down, that’s a problem. Downtime costs money and can be extremely frustrating for customers, who won’t be shy about leaving customer reviews to complain about it. So, anything you can do to reduce it is worth exploring, right?
Cloud providers make sure their server resources include built-in failover backups. In other words, if one of their servers goes down, you won’t notice because your service will immediately be switched over to another one.
The only thing you need to make sure of is that you invest in a high-quality internet connection.
Image sourced from marketresearchfuture.com
How cloud-based communication tools improve customer service
So, how does implementing cloud communications impact the customer experience?
Well, it can lead to some improvements, and even make it possible to offer some services that might not be doable otherwise.
Makes always-on service possible
For one thing, a cloud-based system makes it much easier to offer customer service around the clock. Traditionally, this was the sole province of larger enterprises that had the budget to staff enormous contact centers or maintain several in different locations.
Now, small and mid-market companies can offer the same, because the ability to employ hybrid teams means it’s relatively straightforward to recruit agents across multiple time zones.
Deploying a virtual contact center lets you do this even if your customer service team as a whole isn’t particularly large.
The potential for improved customer satisfaction here is obvious.
You no longer have to balance the convenience to the customer of providing always-on service against the hugely increased costs of doing so. That’s because cloud telephony platforms enable your business to offer this service while keeping costs relatively low.
Advanced features to boost performance
The kind of cloud-based technology these platforms use means businesses can get a lot more out of them than just voice calling. It’s not uncommon to find unified communications platforms that also provide features including:
-
Video conferencing,
-
Instant messaging tools,
-
File sharing,
-
Screen sharing.
In other words, they function as an all-in-one solution on a single platform, greatly enhancing the potential for the kind of advanced customer engagement that keeps your customers coming back for more.
But that’s not all. Cloud-based services also often include advanced features to help your agents in real-time.
For instance, some communication tools incorporate elements of artificial intelligence such as sentiment analysis tools. These can trigger tips that show on your agent’s screen to help them during a call.
It all makes for a much smoother interaction.
And when your customers trust you to provide the kind of top-quality service they expect, that creates the foundation for a valuable and long-lasting relationship.
Intelligent use of customer data
Because cloud communication services come with so many features, you can use them to capitalize on your customer data in new ways.
Many cloud solutions come with multiple integration options, so you can link them up to your CRM and other analytics tools.
As soon as they answer each call, your agent will be able to pull up the customer’s entire purchase and customer service history on screen.
That means the customer will never have to suffer the frustration of needing to explain their issue repeatedly. Your agent will be able to resolve it as quickly as possible.
In some cases, the system may even be able to identify good cross-selling or upselling opportunities tailored to that specific customer and alert the agent to them. Cue: one impressed and happy customer who appreciates the fact they’re being treated as an individual.
A solution for the modern business
Cloud-based communication has democratized business in the sense that it allows smaller companies to play with the big hitters in how they deliver customer service.
Any online business operating today that isn’t already using cloud telephony should seriously consider making the switch.
After all, with the resulting cost savings, flexible implementation, productivity boost, as well as the potential for vast improvements in customer service — what’s not to love?
