In today’s ever-evolving business landscape, contact centers play a vital role in customer interactions. Yet, traditional contact centers, which are confined to fixed locations, come with their fair share of limitations. To remain competitive, mobile applications must play a significant role as extensions to the contact center.

This article was written by Ruben Opdenakker, Head of Product Management at Ideal Systems, a Genesys AppFoundry Partner.

In today’s ever-evolving business landscape, contact centers play a vital role in customer interactions. Yet, traditional contact centers, which are confined to fixed locations, come with their fair share of limitations. To remain competitive, mobile applications must play a significant role as extensions to the contact center.

In this blog, we’ll explore how a shift to mobile apps can enhance the contact center — improving security by shedding light on hidden interactions, offering unprecedented flexibility to your workforce and leading to substantial cost reductions.

Uncovering Unregistered Interactions: Analytics and Data Security in the Mobile Age

In organizations where contact center technology lacks a mobile version, interactions often occur through these devices, but remain hidden. Workers, committed to providing exceptional customer service, constantly use their personal smartphones for business purposes. A salesperson might follow up on a promising lead via his mobile device; a nurse will answer a patient’s urgent call while on the road. These interactions happen every day, but they’re hidden for the organization.

Unfortunately, these concealed interactions occur without proper tracking, leaving companies unaware of the existence, outcomes and quality of the interactions. Furthermore, there’s a risk of exposing customer data that resides on personal cell phones or other personal devices. Quick notes on smartphones and text messages related to customers are obvious examples of personal data circulating uncontrollably.

Enhancing cybersecurity remains a top priority for CIOs as threats continue to increase. It’s imperative to take control of these interactions and enforce security across your organization, including the implementation of a robust mobile contact center strategy to safeguard personal data.

A Mobile-First Workforce: The New Norm

It’s a reality that a significant portion of your workforce likely isn’t tethered to desks and computers all day. Sales representatives travel to meet clients; financial or insurance advisors work from different locations; doctors are constantly on the road. The reality is that workforces are becoming increasingly mobile.

In fact, technology enables 54% of employees to move to remote work from locations other than the office. Moreover, 62% of the workforce expresses a desire to work from home, which means the pressure to provide flexibility will only continue to rise.

To ensure that these mobile workers can effectively assist customers anytime, anywhere, it’s essential to provide them with contact center functionalities on their mobile devices in line with your overall contact center strategy. This not only benefits your workforce but also improves the customer experience, aligning with their expectations of professional and secure customer service.

Divide and Conquer: Cost Reduction Through Flexibility

Conventional contact center setups demand substantial physical infrastructure and a constant juggling act to predict the right number of agents required at any given time. By extending your cloud-based contact center capabilities to mobile devices, you can engage other employees within your organization to step in during peak demand.

Imagine a showroom employee answering calls from local customers or a field technician on the road providing immediate support to a client. The possibilities are endless. Executed effectively, this mobile approach can yield significant cost savings for your contact center operations.

Engage Anywhere, Anytime: The Power of Mobile

This shift toward mobile operations isn’t just about convenience; it’s a game changer in enhancing engagement on multiple fronts. First and foremost, customers are among the primary beneficiaries.

While contact centers are often in central locations, sometimes far away from customers, the ability to provide support via mobile gives the option to enable support from local shops or branches with a more local touch and tailored service.

For employees, particularly those who are part of the mobile-first workforce, the benefits are substantial. Mobile contact center capabilities empower them to be more responsive and agile in serving customers. Sales representatives, for instance, can promptly address customer inquiries while on the move, showcasing dedication to excellent service. This not only boosts employee morale but also contributes to a more efficient and productive workforce.

In essence, the mobile wave is a win-win for customers, employees, your bottom line and the entire organization. It increases your overall security and transforms customer engagement by making it more accessible, convenient and cost-effective. That ultimately drives business success in an increasingly complex customer environment.

Do you have untapped potential within your organization that could be enabled by introducing a mobile contact solution? Mobile Office for Genesys is a mobile app, available on iOS and Android, that allows you to handle all types of interactions directly on your phone in a secure manner. Mobile Office serves as a valuable extension to your desktop version of theGenesys Cloud™ platform.

Check outMobile Office for Genesys in Genesys AppFoundry® Marketplace to learn more.