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Articles by Dylan Haviland
Intelligent automation vs. RPA: Avoid these common mistakes
Customer service is demanding. On average a contact center associate needs to handle complex applications, urgent customer needs, and all the manual inefficiencies that come with service inquiries. They need the right tools for the job. Intelligent automation and robotic process automation (RPA) help free associates from simple, time-consuming tasks to focus on meaningful, high-tier, and often stressful customer requests.
How to win back the hearts of your at-home workforce
At-home work, once a necessity during the pandemic, has become a make-or-break characteristic for future career choices. Access to a wider selection of jobs and personal flexibility has made remote job positions incredibly tantalizing. Many workers ask, ‘why go back?’ This leaves the American workplace at a crossroads. Tensions surrounding the pandemic appear to be decreasing, polling from Morning Consult found that as of Feb.
What does the future of cryptocurrency and NFTs look like in the financial space?
Digital assets—tokens or any kind of data stored on a blockchain, such as images, audio, videos, and other files—are everywhere. NYC’s mayor Eric Adams converted his paycheck to Bitcoin and Ethereum, Nike invested in NFT sneakers for the Metaverse, and El Salvador planned to be the first country to adopt crypto as a national currency. Users are ready and eager to adapt. But is the CX space prepared? What are we doing wrong?
Contact center workforce 101: IVR vs. chatbots vs. agents
Customer service interactions can quickly evolve, requiring different channels and tools. A quick live chat with a bot, for instance, can rapidly escalate to an emergency call with an agent, which we refer to as an associate, and vice versa. The same is true for a call that begins with an interactive voice response (IVR) system. Leading contact centers understand that each person and tool has its strengths and weaknesses, and create a better customer experience when combined appropriately.
2021 Black Friday guide: 5 CX strategies for retailers this holiday season
Black Friday (plus Cyber Monday and the many weeks before and after) will be different this holiday season. Retailers will face customers supercharged by digital centricity who are fighting product shortages, higher prices, busy schedules, and holiday craziness. And this isn’t to say traditional brick-and-mortar shopping is dead, but brands need to be aware how to deliver a great hybrid experience of digital, physical, and everything in between.
Ecommerce vs. brick-and-mortar: Unlocking retail success in 2022
Retail is never set in stone. Success in the industry, be it ecommerce or brick-and-mortar, relies understanding customers’ core values and connecting with the right technology. Explore how physical and digital spaces can unlock amazing customer experiences (CX) in 2022. The state of brick-and-mortar Brick-and-mortar, physical retail locations, rely on being interactive spaces. Customers feel the product and build relationships with the brand. These attractions took a hit in the pandemic.
CSAT vs. CES vs. NPS: How to turbocharge key metrics for contact center success
The contact center industry is driven by customer experiences that are easy, difficult, joyful, stressful and everything in between. It’s incredibly important to take these everyday interactions from associates and customers and quantify them in a tangible way.
Women’s Volleyball: UConn beats Villanova, falls to Georgetown
Chalk up another win! We've won six of our last seven matches and are off to a 4-1 start in BIG EAST play. pic.twitter.com/j3JScodWPt — UConn Volleyball (@UConnVB) October 9, 2021 The University of Connecticut women’s volleyball team split its weekend road games this weekend, winning its first match against Villanova and falling in its second to Georgetown. With this split, UConn is now 12-6 overall on the season and 4-2 in Big East conference play.
Volleyball: UConn volleyball rounds out road trip
The University of Connecticut women’s volleyball team will finish off its four-game road trip this weekend with matches against Villanova and Georgetown. UConn is coming off a 1-1 split last weekend. It is currently 3-1 in Big East play and 11-5 overall. The Huskies are second in the conference in hitting percentage with .249, opponent hitting percentage with .162 and service aces per set with 1.77. Villanova will be UConn’s first test this weekend, and they will square off at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Get the conversation right: Chatbot vs. messaging
Customers want to reach brands on their own terms, whenever, wherever. Chatbot and messaging capabilities are the essential tools needed to provide this 24/7, personalized customer service. But these two platforms aren’t interchangeable. Chatbots and messaging each serve a vital role in the overall customer journey, and contact centers need to know when is the right moment to deploy an automated or human response. Let’s explore their differences to find the right fit for customer needs.
UConn sweeps Big East opener
The University of Connecticut women’s volleyball team opened up its Big East Conference play with a sweep of Seton Hall and St. John’s over the weekend. The Huskies started the conference season on Friday as they hosted Seton Hall. The first set wasn’t terribly competitive, as UConn dominated from start to finish and claimed a 25-16 victory. The second set saw the Pirates take an early lead, but in typical fashion, the Huskies went on a huge 9-3 run to take the advantage before closing out the set.
Volleyball: Dog Pound Challenge preview
Coming off a winning weekend at Dartmouth, the University of Connecticut women’s volleyball team will return to Gampel Pavilion this weekend to host the Dog Pound Challenge. UConn will welcome Bryant, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Yale to Storrs for the final non-conference play tournament of the season, as UConn begins Big East play next week.
Volleyball: Dartmouth Invitational preview
After winning two of three matches in their home opener last weekend, the University of Connecticut women’s volleyball team will look to add to its 3-3 record as it reaches the halfway point of its non-conference schedule. UConn will travel to Dartmouth University for the Dartmouth Invitational to play three matches over the weekend, all of which will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Cross Country: Huskies look to start strong in Marist Invitational
The University of Connecticut women’s cross country team will start another season this Saturday as they travel to Poughkeepsie, New York to run in the Marist Invitational. The Huskies enter the year as the best team in the Northeast Regional poll of the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, and are ranked No. 23 in the National Top 30 Preseason Poll. The Huskies will be led by All-Big East runners: seniors Mia Nahom and Randi Burr, and sophomore Jenna Zydanowicz.
5 retail strategies that are here to stay
At the 2020 National Retail Federation, on the eve of the pandemic, our writers noted that the future of retail was about removing barriers. Among so much change this much remains true, but how do we make retail experiences as easy and enjoyable as possible in our post-COVID world? How do we make interactions ‘effortless’ for customers? The modern retail customer craves personalization, seamless conversations, and communication at every point in the journey.
3 Ways to Incorporate Wellness into Content Moderation for a Healthy Workforce
Social media enables people of various backgrounds, cultures, and communities to connect and share special life events. It has also become an uncertain ground for malicious content. Misinformation, violent content, and other harmful media are everyday occurrences for users. That’s why firms are increasing investment in content moderators to monitor and track potentially sensitive footage with varying levels of severity.
Chat Vs. Messaging: More Than Meets the Emoji
Customers live on their phones, but not in the same ways they used to. Prior to COVID-19, chat and messaging capabilities catered to users always on the go, then it played a vital role in servicing those who were mostly homebound and needed essential services from groceries to healthcare. Chat and messaging both play an important role in servicing your customers, but these services are not identical, and we see opportunities for innovation in the latter.
3 Ways to Bring your Sales Game to the Next Level
A good salesperson doesn’t settle on satisfactory, they’re always on the lookout for new challenges and insights. To better understand how a salesperson can expand their playing field to the next level we met again with TTEC’s chief revenue office Judi Hand to explore 3 strategies your team can apply now. Act on urgency Buyers act on urgent, they don’t act on important.
Offshoring, Onshoring, Nearshoring: So Many Shores, So Little Time
The growing remote work culture has business leaders looking for the best talent not only in their locality but across continents. The rise of the open talent economy, remote work, and globalization has leveled the playing field: now you must decide which outsourcing option is right for you. What is onshoring? We begin right at home. Onshoring is when an organization outsources services and functions from within its own country.
Celtics Weekly Report: Welcome Evan Fournier and Mo Wagner and NBA Trade Deadline Bonanza
Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier (10) gets past Denver Nuggets guard PJ Dozier, left, for a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Wrapping up a disappointing week, the Celtics limped into the trade deadline at a disappointing 21-23 and are currently in eighth place in the conference.
Customer Acquisition vs. Retention: The Perfect Balancing Act
The art of attracting and keeping customers is a balancing act, and the pandemic was an anvil thrown onto the scale. The brands that survived the shift in everyday life knew how to not only bring in new customers, but nourish the relationship with empathy and personalization. To better understand this, we need to consider the fundamentals of customer acquisition vs. customer retention. Both strategies are essential to keep a business going, and one cannot be completed without the other.
3 Ways Contact Centers Can Deliver on Digital Expectations
The pandemic accelerated digital adoption of messaging, web, and cloud at light speed, and in doing so contact centers have been at the front-line of large volumes of people in need for support, comfort, and information. Fostering these digital-first experiences for customers will take innovation, people and technology will need to be optimized to handle unexpected volatility and volume surge.
Another Round of CX Happy Hour: 3 Employee Experience Tips for 2021
In 2020, we can always use another round of happy hour. Luckily, TTEC’s Liz Glagowski reunited with CX expert Dan Gingiss for their second LinkedIn Live ask me anything, EX for What’s Next: Most Standout Trends in Employee Experience for 2021. Here’s a recap of Dan’s best insights for driving positive and productive employee experiences in their happy hour discussion. Cheers (again)! Takeaway #1: Champion the champions A memorable customer experience starts with employees who feel valued.
3 Hot Takeaways from CX Happy Hour
2020 has been a wakeup call for customer experience, but not everything will stick. In TTEC’s first-ever LinkedIn Live happy hour, guests from around the world raised their glasses (and coffee mugs for our Australian folks) for a Q/A discussion with famed CX coach and author Dan Gingiss: CX for What’s next – 2021 What’s Hot and What’s Not? Between sips of my hot cocoa here are the three biggest customer experience takeaways I took from TTEC’s own Liz Glagowski discussion with Dan.
NBA Bubble Recap Part 4: Breaking down each team’s bubble performance and future
The 2020 NBA season finally wrapped up and the bubble champion Los Angeles Lakers emerged victorious. In a truly bizarre year that saw the season stretch 355 days from start to finish, basketball fans were treated to some of the best basketball you could ask for. With so much basketball over the past three months, it can be hard to remember all the great moments and breakout stars; but it is crucial to keep these in mind as we move into the 2021 season and the futures of each bubble team.
NBA Bubble Recap Part 3: Breaking down each team’s bubble performance and future
The Los Angeles Lakers pose for a picture after winning the 2020 NBA Finals. Originally tweeted by Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) on October 12, 2020. The 2020 NBA season has finally wrapped up, and the bubble champion Los Angeles Lakers has emerged victorious. In a truly bizarre year that saw the season stretch 355 days from start to finish, basketball fans were treated to some of the best basketball you could ask for.
AI and Data Top CX Trends in Forrester Predictions
At the recent Forrester Data Strategy & Insights 2020 virtual conference, analysts described a future where people and technology work together to bring out their best capabilities. In particular, connecting humanity and technology through AI and data strategy are emerging as key priorities to improve the digital-first customer experience and help shape the future of CX.
NBA Bubble Recap Part 1: Breaking down each team’s bubble performance and future
Members of the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat listen during the national anthem before Game 5 of basketball’s NBA Finals Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Photo by John Raoux/AP The 2020 NBA season has finally wrapped up, and the bubble champion Los Angeles Lakers have emerged victorious. In a truly bizarre year that saw the season stretch 355 days from start to finish, basketball fans were treated to some of the best basketball you could ask for.
Unlock Relevant Sales Experiences with Speech Analytics
The at-home environment has put digital, convenience, and proactive service into hyper-drive. This applies to sales as well as customer service. Inside sales associates are turning to new ways to meet and beat sales targets. One important digital sales tool is speech analytics.
Forrester’s 2020 CX Index Report: CX Scores Rise Even During COVID
Businesses in every industry are continuing to deal with the effects of COVID-19. With many previous predictions on the US economy now registered moot, experts are now weighing on what it means to deliver relevant customer experiences. Forrester’s 2020 US Customer Experience Index Report captured the early effects of the pandemic. This glimpse at the early days of COVID-19’s reach helps paint a vital picture on how uncertainty can affect customer experience.
Rethink the Contact Center of the Future
The contact center industry has always needed to look forward. It’s a business so ingrained in the trends and innovations of every industry from healthcare, travel, banking, and more. But the Coronavirus pandemic forever changed our hopes for the future. We understood that most industries were on the road to digitalization, but the crisis led to a tectonic shift in how people live.
5 Strategies to Accelerate Digital Transformation
Rich Text Editor, edit-field-body-und-0-value, Press ALT 0 for help Countless mentions of “digital transformation” gets us no closer to a clear understanding of what it is and its impact across an organization. Even more frightening, it seems that “digital transformation” is in itself transforming. Thankfully, customer experience futurist Blake Morgan brings more clarity in her latest webinar, Accelerating Digital Transformation to Enable Effortless Experiences.
3 Ways Resiliency Helps Companies Shift Back
A forward-thinking strategy is the best solution for overcoming uncertainty. For CX-leaders in the contact center space to overcome the fallout from COVID-19, the digital, remote, and perseverance strategies that carried them through the crisis in the first place may be their best move. TTEC’s webinar, Shifting Back: How to prepare for what’s next in the contact center, discussed the innovations needed to build a long-term digitally resilient organization. Here are three strategies worth embracing.
3 Ways to Revolutionize Customer Service After the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated change in customer service. Daily at-home life for customers and agents has forced organizations to look closer at digital transformation as a serious opportunity to provide scale and cost savings to human touch to people when they need it most. On Shep Hyken’s Amazing Business Radio podcast, he recently spoke with Jonathan Lerner, president of TTEC Digital, about what it means to move beyond the new normal.
How sustainability is reshaping relationships with consumers and clients
On Feb. 17, Jeff Bezos announced the “Bezos Earth Fund,” pledging $10 billion against what he deemed Earth’s biggest threat, climate change. “It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals,” posted Bezos on Instagram. Sustainability, and consequently climate change, have become an intense area of conversation as organizations and experts fear drastic tipping points.
Enter a New Reality of Employee Training
When virtual reality (VR) technology first came out it was a novelty primarily seen as an innovative way for gamers to dive into a digital world. It has grown into something so much more—a collaborative and interactive application that is a key tool in any modern workplace’s arsenal. Organizations that want to meet the expectations of the millennial and Gen Z workforce need to understand the types of technology they prefer to use, both for personal and professional use.
Decoding RPA and Intelligent Automation in the Contact Center
Today’s customers are fast. The rise of messaging apps and smart phones have enabled them to reach whomever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want. That’s why your contact center associates need to be faster and better prepared to handle increasing demands while delivering superior service. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Robotic Desktop Automation (RDA) are emerging software that contact center leaders are deploying to tackle the mundane tasks that burden associates.
Say I Do to Customer Service
New York City is a hub of startups. One subway ride reveals a rich tapestry of companies looking to disrupt nearly every industry. Being innovative is tough work and not every organization survives in the big city. According to the Small Business Association, over a quarter of new businesses fail during their first two years. So, what does it take for a startup to thrive as a hypergrowth success story?
A First Look at 2020 Retail at NRF’s “Big Show”
New decade, new retail. At National Retail Federation (NRF) “Big Show” conference in New York City, business leaders defined what will make for exceptional customer experiences in 2020. For some it was a fight to make robotics a coworker, not the be-all-end-all stealer of jobs, for others it was about creating more memorable in-store experiences. But above all, these leaders recognized that times were changing, and they need to adapt.
A First Look at 2020 Retail at NRF’s “Big Show”
New decade, new retail. At National Retail Federation (NRF) “Big Show” conference in New York City, business leaders defined what will make for exceptional customer experiences in 2020. For some it was a fight to make robotics a coworker, not the be-all-end-all stealer of jobs, for others it was about creating more memorable in-store experiences. But above all, these leaders recognized that times were changing, and they need to adapt.
Make Every Voice Heard With Speech Analytics
There’s an old saying that says sometimes you have to look back to move forward. In the contact center space, interaction analytics, also known as speech analytics, provide organizations with 20/20 vision on their customer interactions and a path for action to enhance them. As contact centers become increasingly digital and add new voice-based channels, more organizations are looking to speech analytics for insights.
3 Magical CX Lessons from Disney Plus
On Nov. 12th Disney Plus entered the streaming world and effectively started the Streaming Wars. Amassing 10 million users on day one and possibly matching Netflix’s 60 million in the future, if this were Game of Thrones, Disney Plus is Daenerys coming to claim her throne. And soon more services will battle for the streaming kingdom. NBC’s Peacock launch in April 2020 will undoubtedly rock Netflix and Hulu with its reclamation of The Office and Brooklyn 99.
Tell a Story With IoT
IoT (Internet of Things) devices, products that are connected to multiple channels (think Google Home or any smart home device), are redefining how consumers interact with technology, just look at the UK baby whose first word was Alexa. The recent Connected Future Summit gathered experts and pioneers in this field to contemplate a world that is becoming more connected. Where is IoT now?
Alexa, What’s the ROI of Voice and Chat Assistants?
New research finds that customers increasingly want their voices heard by brands, literally. Capgemini Research Institute’s Smart Talk: How organizations and consumers are embracing voice and chat assistants study surveyed more than 12,000 consumers who use chat and voice assistants, as well as 1,000 executives representing top industries. The study highlighted the growing popularity of conversational assistance and the business benefits the marketplace is seeing as a result.
CX Experts Share Tips and Tricks for Getting Messaging Right
The future of customer service rests on an organization’s ability to recognize and meet customers where they are. Incite Group’s 9th Annual Customer Service Summit in Brooklyn focused on a growing and increasingly relevant platform: messaging. Messaging, text-based conversations on smart devices or platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, or SMS text messaging, is the go-to tool for customers who live on their phones.
Aldo Crowns User-Generated Content King
Ask any millennial what an influencer is and you will hear about vibrant social media stars who flaunt the latest trends in food, fashion, and health. These players have transformed who has a voice across many industries, for better or for worse. And now retailers are testing just how influential they themselves can be. Organizations have begun to tap into user-generated content (UGC) by sharing media created by people who are wearing or using their products.
4 Best Practices to Redefine Back Office Services
Whether it be politics, athletics, or business, what happens in the backlines is just as important as the front. An organization’s back office services work, which includes non-customer facing transaction processing, is fundamental to any great customer experience. That’s why it’s essential to keep back-office operations running effectively. What happens behind the scenes will influence the success of customer-facing interactions.
Excellent CX Eludes Most Brands
New research from Forrester finds that the quality of customer experiences is largely at a standstill. Forrester’s 5th annual U.S. Customer Experience Index report found that the overall quality of the U.S. customer experience grew only by an anemic 0.4 points, to 70.2 from 2018 to 2019. According to the report, 81 percent of customer experience stayed the same, while only 14 percent of customer experiences improved, and 5 percent declined. In addition, elite brands remain stuck.
Human Resources Adapts to a Changing CX Workforce
Anyone working in the contact center space knows that finding and engaging top-performing front-line employees is a challenge. Companies are hard pressed to attract and retain customer care workers in the midst of low unemployment rates, expanding competition, and changing expectations from potential staff about what they want in a workplace environment. A strategic use of human resources can be the secret weapon to help a company stand out among competitors.
3 Ways to Create a High-Performing Employee Culture
For years a close family member suffered from severe migraines and, in a desperate attempt to find a cure, visited a holistic healer. Holistic medicine practitioners believe that the whole person is made up of interdependent parts and if one part is not working properly, all the other parts will be affected.
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