Mobile Apps And Contact Centers

October, 2014

Omnichannel
Mobile apps are commonplace these days. But for businesses offering a mobile app, how joined up is it with their contact center, and does it need to be?

Mobile apps are commonplace these days; everyone with a mobile phone or tablet will be aware of them and most likely have downloaded a few. But for businesses offering a mobile app, how joined up is it with their contact center, and does it need to be?

In most instances apps are rated providing potential customers with a view of others users’ recommendations. It is therefore in the supplier’s interest to make the app as appealing and helpful as possible, especially in accessing the contact center.

Two key simple rules to start:

  • Firstly, make sure the app is fit for purpose on the mobile device and not something that was designed for a desktop and subsequently mashed into the mobile realm as an afterthought.
  • Secondly, correctly set the customer’s expectations and provide services and information the customer will want and find useful. This may sound obvious, but frequently the customer is frustrated when they want to self-serve what appears to be a straightforward activity but end up having to place a voice call because the app failed to provide what they consider to be a basic level of information. If the app includes functionality for the customer to communicate with the business, using voice or chat, then it must be obvious such functionality is available and be simple for the customer to activate. However, if the app is more limited and does not accommodate these services, the customer must be able to find the information they need but clearly understand that communication with the company will require additional work on their part, such as noting a number down and manually dialing.

Development of a mobile app should therefore not only put the customer at the heart of its design, but the contact center should also feature in its planning. By making sure the customer knows what to expect when using the app, both the agent and the customer will enjoy a positive experience should the process result in a communication. And of course, the customer will decide how they choose to communicate, it may be via; voice, chat, email, text or any other method offered.