How does the Internet of Things Contact Center Work?
At the heart of Internet of Things CX is the digitally-enabled device (the ‘Thing’ in question). These devices become ‘Digital Customers’, able to reach out to your contact center in the same way a human being would. They can contact agents, get issues resolved and provide information without the need for the human customer to take action.
And the efficiencies don’t stop there. ‘Digital Customers’ can communicate with Machine Agents. The Internet of Things contact center relies on this Machine-to-Machine communication. IoT devices are able to their report their own faults and seek technical support. They can provide real-time data to the contact center, supporting later customer interactions.
Some applications of M2M communication include:
- Wearable smart medical devices that report essential patient data in real-time to hospital systems. This allows caregivers to stay up-to-date on a patient’s condition, even when they’re not in the hospital.
- Smart meters that allow utilities providers to check network status at the click of a button. When a customer reports a fault, the contact center can verify that there is a network problem before dispatching an engineer.
- Internet-enabled appliances can reach out to the contact center in the event of a fault, receive a diagnosis, and then pass that information on to the customer without them having to lift a finger.
M2M communication is a first step toward contact center automation. The Internet of Things contact center introduces next-generation efficiencies to your CX ecosystem.
Digital Automation with the Internet of Things Contact Center
Internet of Things CX opens up opportunities for automation, and automation enhances the contact center in a host of ways. Machine to Machine automation will save hours for agents, taking routine and repetitive tasks off their plates. This, in turn, leads to improved employee engagement, and huge cost savings. The Internet of Things Contact Center is not a cost-sink, but a source of real value for businesses.
One key application is the automation of transactions originating from a digital source. Smart meters can authorize the payment of energy bills, and those payments can be received, without the need for an agent-customer interaction. This ensures maximum security for your contact center. Customer payment details are kept on a ‘need-to-know’ basis, to prevent any risk of information leakage.
And that’s not the only benefit of automation in the Internet of Things Contact Center:
- When a customer requests changes to a policy or a service, those changes can be made to any supporting smart devices without needing to replace them.
- Data from your entire network of smart devices can be brought into a single, intuitive reporting interface, and incorporated into flexible custom reports.
- An unlimited number of digital customers can be integrated into your contact center through custom APIs.
Next-generation CX depends on your ability to incorporate Internet of Things devices into your contact center. Once this is done, you can take the first steps into a bright future.
Agent Experience in the Internet of Things Contact Center
In the Internet of Things contact center, the human element is more important than ever. In 2022, half of CX leaders reported an increase in agent attrition. M2M automation takes some of the pressure off your agents, but improving Agent Experience (AX) is an ongoing battle. Internet of Things devices benefit more than just your agents.
The single agent interface makes the work of the agent easy: Every channel of contact, including contacts from digital customers, are brought into a single app. This creates a truly omni-channel, blended queue, saving time and effort for agents.
Once your agents have the tools to succeed, they need active support from supervisors. In the future, agent surveys and AI tools will be supplemented by wearable Internet of Things devices. Agent vitals can be monitored, allowing supervisors to keep track of which agents are facing difficult interactions, struggling to find solutions for customers, and which agents are at risk of burnout.
In the Internet of Things contact center, agent support is more consistent and more tailored than ever. Agent attrition is greatly reduced; you can truly invest in your top talent, whilst achieving massive cost savings.
