Customer service and contact center
Customer service refers to the support organizations give customers after a purchase, and contact centers are the points where organizations can manage these interactions. Keep tabs on the evolution of customer service and contact center technologies and best practices to maintain service strategies properly.
Top Stories
-
Answer
29 Jun 2023
Is it time to automate customer satisfaction surveys?
With automated customer surveys, organizations can get data in real time to improve their marketing, sales and customer service strategies. And AI's role is still growing. Continue Reading
-
Tip
22 Jun 2023
4 knowledge base article templates
Knowledge bases can improve CX and employee productivity, but organizations may not know where to start. Discover four templates to help teams write knowledge base articles. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
15 Jun 2023
Monitor generative AI in customer experiences -- or else
As marketers and customer service leaders deploy generative AI tools that tech vendors are rapidly commercializing, they should monitor U.S. FTC guidance. Continue Reading
-
Feature
09 Jun 2023
UCaaS vs. CCaaS vs. CPaaS: What's the difference?
It can be difficult to make sense of popular cloud communications service models. Compare UCaaS vs. CCaaS vs. CPaaS to understand their differences and how they can be used together. Continue Reading
-
Answer
05 Jun 2023
How to calculate call center utilization rates
Customer service leaders use metrics like call center utilization rates to track performance and CX. Leadership must learn the effects of these rates and how to calculate them. Continue Reading
-
Feature
01 Jun 2023
4 important skills of a knowledge management leader
KM programs need a leader who can motivate employees to change their routines. This leader needs a long-term mindset and the ability to translate KM ideas into business language. Continue Reading
-
Feature
31 May 2023
What does a knowledge management leader do?
Knowledge management teams often include IT professionals and content writers. But at the head, they need a central leader to make connections and guide people. Continue Reading
-
Tip
31 May 2023
6 risks of ChatGPT in customer service
Despite ChatGPT's customer service benefits, organizations must understand the technology's risks, such as fabricated information, bias and security concerns. Continue Reading
-
Answer
19 May 2023
What are the different types of SMS marketing?
How should marketers text their audiences? First, ensure customers opted in to receive texts. Then, promote, incentivize and update customers on products and orders. Continue Reading
-
Tip
17 May 2023
CPaaS brings cloud contact center features to on premises
Organizations with on-premises contact centers don't need to make a full cloud migration to modernize their systems. CPaaS can enable cloud features and drive key business metrics. Continue Reading
-
News
17 May 2023
Zoom takes on Anthropic's AI assistant for Contact Center
The video and collaboration platform vendor has allied with OpenAI spinoff Anthropic and is integrating Anthropic's chatbot, Claude, for a decentralized approach to training AI. Continue Reading
-
Feature
16 May 2023
What are the benefits of a knowledge base?
As a knowledge base lets customers and employees quickly find answers, it can boost an organization's customer satisfaction score and overall efficiency. Continue Reading
-
Tip
11 May 2023
How to build a WordPress knowledge base
A knowledge base lets customers quickly find answers to their questions, which benefits CX. Organizations can use WordPress plugins and themes to build their own knowledge bases. Continue Reading
-
News
10 May 2023
Zendesk out with generative AI-supported tools for better CX
In partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI, the customer service vendor introduces smart CX tools such as sentiment analysis for faster workflows and bots for contextual replies. Continue Reading
-
News
03 May 2023
Salesforce brings GPT to customer service, sales platforms
The CRM giant brings generative AI capabilities to its sales and service platforms for fast, relevant email, message and article creation, as well as multilanguage transcription. Continue Reading
-
Feature
27 Apr 2023
How to use ChatGPT for customer service
Customer service teams can use ChatGPT to automate tasks, generate responses to customer inquiries, summarize email threads and power human-like chatbots. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
27 Apr 2023
Customer service drives retention, operational efficiency
In times like these, organizations often prioritize and invest in service and support, as they need technology that helps retain customers. New data shows it is happening again. Continue Reading
-
Infographic
25 Apr 2023
The evolution of chatbots and generative AI
Customer service chatbots have evolved to include advanced NLP. The three evolutionary chatbot stages include basic chatbots, conversational agents and generative AI. Continue Reading
-
News
25 Apr 2023
Salesforce brings Einstein GPT to Field Service Mobile
The CRM giant harnesses generative AI to let Field Service Mobile users create drafts and discuss customer problems on Slack and help them find self-service tools. Continue Reading
-
News
14 Apr 2023
Zendesk teams with OpenAI for new AI-backed CX tools
The CX giant's partnership with OpenAI brings new tools to help CX personnel summarize content, create knowledge bases and macros, and quickly compose ticket responses. Continue Reading
-
Tip
12 Apr 2023
6 customer success plan templates for common situations
Customer success teams can follow the same general processes to onboard, renew or offboard customers. These templates can help shape those outreach strategies. Continue Reading
-
Tip
07 Apr 2023
Top 8 knowledge base products in 2023
A knowledge base can help organizations increase brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. Top knowledge base products include Heroic KB, ProProfs and ServiceNow. Continue Reading
-
Feature
04 Apr 2023
AI takes center stage in the future of contact centers
Generative AI has disrupted the technology world, and contact center vendors are already looking to add it to products. Here's what AI in contact centers could mean for agents. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
29 Mar 2023
How generative AI will sink or swim in customer service
Generative AI may have captured the tech world's mindshare, but it will have to be commercialized well for customer service applications in the contact center. Continue Reading
-
News
28 Mar 2023
Cisco updates Webex and RoomOS for better video views
The digital communications vendor injects virtual conferencing tech with higher-resolution video, enhanced user detection and AI-backed chat summary features. Continue Reading
-
Tip
24 Mar 2023
8 customer success software platforms to consider
Proper customer success requires the right tools to keep customers satisfied. Here, dive into eight popular platforms on the market, including their features and benefits. Continue Reading
-
Feature
24 Mar 2023
Enterprise Connect 2023 highlights Microsoft Teams, ChatGPT
The annual unified communications conference once again spotlights current and future industry trends as IT leaders weigh their business and technology investments. Continue Reading
-
Tip
08 Mar 2023
7 customer success best practices
Customer success aims to ensure a positive CX after the sales process is complete. These best practices can help teams stay on track and keep customers satisfied. Continue Reading
-
News
08 Mar 2023
Qualtrics' customer experience tools enter rage-filled times
Qualtrics rolls out new customer experience tools while it ponders a buyout from Silver Lake, a private equity firm. Continue Reading
-
News
06 Mar 2023
Microsoft's new Dynamics 365 Copilot uses generative AI
Copilot accelerates routine tasks for marketing and sales teams like creating email responses and collecting customer insight data, intensifying the AI race in CRM software. Continue Reading
-
News
01 Mar 2023
Generative AI-supported tools coming from Pegasystems
CRM platform Pega Infinity will incorporate artificial intelligence language tools for quicker task management, insight visualization and app development. Continue Reading
-
Feature
28 Feb 2023
Customer success vs. customer support: What's the difference?
Customer support and customer success sound similar, but they're distinct business practices. Differences include approach, metrics, maturity and skills. Continue Reading
-
News
24 Feb 2023
CRM titan Salesforce is squeezed in a competitive market
CRM and CX giant Salesforce is plagued by an activist investor, slower business growth and pressure to increase profit margins with layoffs as the CRM market gets more competitive. Continue Reading
-
Tip
13 Feb 2023
10 customer success KPIs and metrics to track
What's the best way to tell if customers are satisfied? These 10 customer success KPIs and metrics can gauge everything from potential customer churn to retention. Continue Reading
-
Answer
27 Jan 2023
What are the key issues in knowledge management?
Knowledge management systems help employees find important information. However, implementation can pose challenges with user adoption and content maintenance. Continue Reading
-
Tip
19 Jan 2023
Field service management software vendors to know in 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic turned nice-to-have field service features -- like remote project management and automation -- into vital capabilities. Find out which features vendors offer. Continue Reading
-
Tip
18 Jan 2023
The future of field service management and trends for 2023
Contactless, cashless and self-service abilities mark the new standards for field service. The future of field service brings flexibility and convenience for workers and customers. Continue Reading
-
Feature
10 Jan 2023
Ultimate guide to customer service for businesses
Good customer service can make or break a business -- which is why it's more important than ever to understand customer service and develop a strategy to implement it. Continue Reading
-
News
04 Jan 2023
Salesforce 2023 layoff plans follow recent executive exodus
Changes continue to shake up Salesforce, with a 10% workforce reduction and office space closures this year following recent departures of top executives. Continue Reading
-
Opinion
22 Dec 2022
AI bots lack one critical skill for customer service jobs
Experts -- including ChatGPT itself -- debate the extent to which customer service AI tools can help contact center agents amid rising demand and high turnover rates. Continue Reading
-
News
29 Nov 2022
Amazon Connect users get Contact Lens AI chat analytics
Contact Lens expands into chat channels. Also on tap in Amazon Connect: Agent performance monitoring and expanded, machine learning-driven workforce management tools. Continue Reading
-
Feature
22 Nov 2022
10 real-world use cases of the metaverse, plus examples
The potential for metaverse projects exist across a range use cases. Here are enterprise-focused and consumer-focused examples that business and IT leaders may want to explore. Continue Reading
-
Tip
14 Nov 2022
Business benefits of a customer self-service strategy
Self-service channels can save organizations money while improving CX -- if done right. Explore these benefits and tips to keep in mind when building a self-service strategy. Continue Reading
-
News
09 Nov 2022
Zendesk updates focus on customer service AI 'ticket triage'
Zendesk incorporates intelligent triage -- AI-guided routing of tickets based on sentiment, urgency and complexity -- into its customer service platform. Continue Reading
-
Feature
01 Nov 2022
What's the difference between WFM and WFO?
WFM and WFO systems can automate employee schedules. However, WFO platforms include contact center features, such as call recording, to improve agent performance. Continue Reading
-
Tip
28 Oct 2022
How to create the right self-service content for customers
Organizations should provide useful content to customers to help them solve problems without contacting customer service. Effective content gives customers answers quickly. Continue Reading
-
News
26 Oct 2022
Contact centers weather pandemic, but are very different now
As customer service leaders dig out from the pandemic, Great Resignation and Great Relocation, they must deal with growing volume while competing for agents. Continue Reading
-
Tip
26 Oct 2022
5 benefits of workforce optimization in contact centers
In an industry with high turnover, contact center leaders must engage with their agents. Workforce optimization tools can help improve employee satisfaction and productivity. Continue Reading
-
News
25 Oct 2022
Salesforce releases cloud contact center update
New capabilities in Salesforce Contact Center give agents AI tools for analyzing voice conversations, AI bots for self-service and call routing, and more. Continue Reading
-
Tip
21 Oct 2022
Top 8 workforce optimization software tools to consider
Workforce optimization platforms combine scheduling features with gamification tools to help contact centers boost productivity. Top tools include Nice CXone, Genesys and Five9. Continue Reading
-
News
19 Oct 2022
CRM and BPM vendor Pegasystems adds new AI features
The CRM and business process management vendor, looking to scale up, introduced new features for business users, service representatives and call center customers. Continue Reading
-
News
19 Oct 2022
Qualtrics tackles contact center experience measurement
Can employee experience improvement, especially in the contact center, improve the customer experience? Qualtrics wants users to measure it and find out. Continue Reading
-
News
19 Oct 2022
Oracle pushes forward with CX tech amid layoff cycle
Rumors of the demise of Oracle marketing, CRM and customer service turn out to be unfounded, as the company forges ahead with vertical-specific CX offerings. Continue Reading
-
News
12 Oct 2022
Microsoft adds conversational AI to Dynamics 365
At Ignite, Microsoft Dynamics 365 users get AI-based automation capabilities with emphasis on conversational intelligence for sales and customer service. Continue Reading
-
Tip
05 Oct 2022
10 tips to enhance and promote self-service platforms
Self-service platforms should be visible to customers, emphasized across all touchpoints and meet customers' needs. These tips can help enhance and promote self-service. Continue Reading
-
Answer
30 Sep 2022
Why is customer self-service important for contact centers?
The advancement of conversational AI coupled with customers' growing desire for empowerment has made self-service channels critical for contact centers. Continue Reading
-
Feature
23 Sep 2022
Industries leading the way in conversational AI
Learn how companies in vertical markets are using conversational AI and even partnering with AI developers for software that's tailored to their unique business needs. Continue Reading
-
Tip
16 Sep 2022
6 customer self-service best practices
Customer self-service best practices, such as the use of virtual assistants and omnichannel access, can reduce contact center wait times and enhance overall CX. Continue Reading
-
News
15 Sep 2022
Jabra provides sentiment analysis with first AI software
The new SaaS offering voice coaches agents and provides self-coaching assessments and personalized evaluations. The vendor also introduced two new headsets. Continue Reading
-
News
14 Sep 2022
Salesforce adds automation features across Customer 360
Salesforce's upcoming Customer 360 features include automation tied together with CDP data for sales, marketing, service and e-commerce. Continue Reading
-
News
31 Aug 2022
DOT dashboard, Biden regs address airline customer service
The U.S. Department of Transportation's new dashboard shines light on airline passenger rights, and President Biden proposes new rules to make fees more transparent. Continue Reading
-
News
30 Aug 2022
Panera's AI drive-through test addresses labor concerns
The restaurant chain is using Tori, a voice assistant from startup OpenCity. The company says its goal is to redirect employees from the drive-through lines to other tasks. Continue Reading
-
Tip
30 Aug 2022
9 disadvantages of self-service options
Customer self-service platforms free up live agents for more complicated issues, but if organizations don't keep this software up to date, its disadvantages can frustrate users. Continue Reading
-
Feature
16 Aug 2022
Facing labor shortage, pizza franchise turns to AI phone bot
Jet's Pizza says OrderAI Talk frees up employees, keeps consumers from enduring long wait times and is an option for those who prefer using the phone to text ordering. Continue Reading
-
Feature
29 Jul 2022
AI chatbots don't need to be sentient, they just need to work
Chatbot users, vendors and ex-Google engineer Blake Lemoine discuss what is needed to make current chatbot tech more effective for customer service organizations. Continue Reading
-
News
27 Jul 2022
Ex-Google engineer Blake Lemoine discusses sentient AI
Ex-Google engineer Blake Lemoine discusses why LaMDA and other AI systems may be considered sentient and explains exactly how much AI systems know about consumers. Continue Reading
-
Tip
27 Jul 2022
5 ways to use social media in supply chain management
Amid a supply chain crisis, customers often turn to social media to voice frustration. Organizations need honesty, empathy and informative content to help disgruntled customers. Continue Reading
-
Tip
21 Jul 2022
Contact centers evaluate CPaaS vs. CCaaS benefits
The contact center-as-a-service market is ripe for growth as businesses move to the cloud. That's inviting a new crop of vendors -- among them CPaaS providers -- to pitch products. Continue Reading
-
News
19 Jul 2022
Microsoft releases cloud contact center platform
Contact center platform technology buyers have another option: Microsoft assembles a CCaaS from Nuance, Power Platform, Teams and -- for those who need it -- Dynamics 365 tech. Continue Reading
-
Feature
19 Jul 2022
15 customer service interview questions and answers
Customer service is a big industry, and it takes the right person for the job. Here are some common questions that could be asked at your next interview. Continue Reading
-
Tip
15 Jul 2022
The role of customer service in the supply chain
Amid a supply chain crisis, delays can cause customer satisfaction to plummet. Organizations must use transparency, personalization and empathy to enhance customer service efforts. Continue Reading
-
News
29 Jun 2022
Salesforce users get more low-code automation, including RPA
Salesforce integrates MuleSoft RPA and Composer with Salesforce Flow, which avails low-code process automation and bot creation to line-of-business users. Continue Reading
-
Tip
24 Jun 2022
4 real-world customer journey map examples
Real-world examples of customer journey maps in action can help brands understand how customers feel amid the buying process and benefit customer relationships moving forward. Continue Reading
-
Feature
24 Jun 2022
10 metaverse dangers CIOs and IT leaders should address
The metaverse poses many of the same risks and security pitfalls that the internet does. Here's a look at 10 of those issues and how IT leaders should address them. Continue Reading
-
News
23 Jun 2022
Microsoft Viva Sales takes on Salesforce-Slack tandem
The Salesforce-Microsoft rivalry reignites as CRM applications vendors focus on employee experience by automating tasks that subtract selling time from a sales rep's day. Continue Reading
-
News
23 Jun 2022
Salesforce Financial Services Cloud features focus on EX
Salesforce for Financial Services adds employee experience tools -- a nod to evolving digitization of banking, wealth management and insurance users' operations. Continue Reading
-
News
20 Jun 2022
AWS Amazon Connect adds case management tools
The AWS contact center as a service, Amazon Connect, previews tools to manage cases. The features will drive more self-service workflows based on case data. Continue Reading
-
News
13 Jun 2022
Alternative data, multimodal AI tech produce new insights
AI fuels the delivery of new sources of investment and corporate information, such as satellite imagery, contact center audio logs, employee sentiment and social media data. Continue Reading
-
News
06 Jun 2022
Contact center orchestration features on tap from Genesys
Genesys is set to productize contact center technology from LogMeIn Bold360, Exceed.ai and Pointillist acquisitions to better compete with Microsoft, Zoom and Salesforce. Continue Reading
-
Tip
01 Jun 2022
Compare pros and cons of live chat vs. phone support
Phone support offers personalized experiences, but live chat agents can answer simple inquiries more quickly. See how these service channels stack up against each other. Continue Reading
-
Feature
26 May 2022
10 myths about outsourcing contact centers
Some misconceptions include greater risk of security breaches and a loss in quality of service. Continue Reading
-
News
20 May 2022
Oracle plugs customer data platform into customer service
Oracle Service adds Unity CDP integration to afford contact center agents a historical view of customer interactions and new features. Continue Reading
-
News
16 May 2022
Customer experience technology's next phase as teams regroup
In this Q&A, Eastern Bank CX head Rich Dorfman discusses how the pandemic shifted approaches to tech, transformation, and measurement of customer and employee experience. Continue Reading
-
Tip
13 May 2022
5 upcoming CCaaS trends to watch
As organizations plan to increase CX spending over the next few years, they should pay attention to CCaaS trends, like agents changing workspaces and integrations with UCaaS. Continue Reading
-
News
11 May 2022
Zendesk enhances CRM, low-code customer service chatbots
Zendesk's Answer Bot moves past the knowledge base and gets a low-code interface so that business users can orchestrate automated conversations. Continue Reading
-
News
10 May 2022
SAP reboots Service Cloud, adds retail recommerce
SAP venture-backed Feather by SAP integrates marketplaces for retail users to give their customers a place to resell goods they've bought from them. Continue Reading
-
Tip
03 May 2022
Best practices for initiating chatbot-to-human handoff
Contact centers perform a balancing act between AI and human agents. Support teams must train bots on chatbot-to-human handoffs and design AI aware of customer frustration. Continue Reading
-
News
29 Apr 2022
Contact centers struggle to improve employee experience
AI, better workforce management tools and conversation intelligence are key technologies to help customer service teams get through the current rough patch. Continue Reading
-
Tip
29 Apr 2022
How the convergence of UCaaS and CCaaS affects businesses
The UCaaS and CCaaS markets began to converge so organizations could handle internal and external communications on one platform. But integration requires planning and consideration. Continue Reading
-
News
27 Apr 2022
Salesforce-Slack sales, marketing, service integrations in beta
Slack integration apps for Salesforce Service Cloud, Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud move into beta; MuleSoft takes on API management and governance. Continue Reading
-
News
27 Apr 2022
Qualtrics hardwires sentiment analysis into contact center tools
Qualtrics beefs up its contact center offering by embedding new sentiment detection tools as well as social listening across review sites, social media and other digital channels. Continue Reading
-
Feature
22 Apr 2022
Top 7 metaverse tech strategy do's and don'ts
Technology and business leaders must be strategic when entering the new world of metaverse projects. Here are critical tips that help provide guidance. Continue Reading
-
Feature
21 Apr 2022
UCaaS vendors take on cloud contact center market share
As the UC market matures, vendors are looking for new ways to attract customers. Some vendors have set their sights on CCaaS, but getting executive buy-in could be a challenge. Continue Reading
-
News
06 Apr 2022
Salesforce Marketing, Service Clouds add, rename features
Salesforce partners with Genesys, Google for telephony; adds AWS Contact Lens natively, among a raft of new features. Some are available now; some are coming in Summer '22 release. Continue Reading
-
Tip
30 Mar 2022
Call center compliance checklist for hybrid workforces
As many call centers embraced remote work amid the COVID-19 pandemic, compliance became difficult to monitor. A checklist can help call center managers maintain proper compliance. Continue Reading
-
Feature
25 Mar 2022
UCaaS vs. CCaaS: What's the difference?
UCaaS and CCaaS feature overlapping communication channels, such as cloud calling and messaging, but CCaaS comes with additional tools that can support a contact center. Continue Reading
-
Guide
24 Mar 2022
Contact center of the future is now
AI, machine learning, NLP, advanced analytics, cloud-based tools and workforce management software are transforming the simple call center into multidimensional contact centers. Continue Reading
-
News
23 Mar 2022
Oracle amps up field service management mobile app support
As customer service and field service converge, software giants still build functionality for techs visiting homes and businesses to work on devices and machines. Continue Reading
-
News
22 Mar 2022
Amazon Connect updates contact center workforce management
AWS's Amazon Connect contact center as a service platform adds machine learning workforce optimization to predict customer contact volume, as well as staffing numbers to cover it. Continue Reading
-
News
21 Mar 2022
Google, Twilio release CCaaS tools and integrations
Google Contact Center AI Platform bundles its own tech with partners' for a complete contact center package. Twilio, meanwhile, releases Flex Conversations. Continue Reading
-
Tip
18 Mar 2022
How do experience maps vs. customer journey maps differ?
Customer experience maps and customer journey maps serve as the blueprints for buyer interactions. Despite these maps' similarities, they play different roles in organizations. Continue Reading
-
Feature
15 Mar 2022
The CIO's guide to understanding the metaverse
Metaverse definitions vary as do predictions on when it will arrive. But smart CIOs should familiarize themselves with the concept and ways it might affect their company. Continue Reading