Navigating the AI-Powered Contact Center Landscape: A Roadmap for Success

With thousands of solutions in the contact center ecosystem, each claiming to offer “AI-powered, next-generation technology,” it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Many of these claims are valid, as AI and machine learning are transforming contact centers and improving customer experiences. But with so many options and combinations of AI-powered solutions, how can you be sure you’re making the right decision?

The answer is that it’s almost impossible without help. Trying to research and evaluate every solution on your own could take months or even years—by which time, the technology will have evolved. Plus, if you rely solely on information from manufacturers or software providers, you may only get a one-sided perspective that leads to “CCaaS FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out).

A More Objective Approach to the Contact Center Journey

While we can’t claim to be 100% unbiased, we take a unique approach. We start with your business, understanding your specific needs, culture, and processes before introducing solutions that fit. Not every top-rated solution is right for your business, and the roadmap below outlines how we help you navigate this complex landscape.

1. Involving Key Stakeholders

The first step is ensuring you have the right people involved—those with a vested interest in the contact center‘s success. It’s helpful to break these roles into three categories:

• Stakeholders: Directly responsible for decision-making.
• Contributors: Provide valuable input on critical issues.
• Advocates: Champion the need for change and drive momentum.

Having clear roles and expectations helps streamline the process and ensures everyone is on the same page.

2. Conducting a Contact Center Assessment

This discovery phase is crucial for identifying the key drivers behind your business needs. Each contact center is different, even within the same industry. That’s why a one-size-fits-all scorecard won’t work. It’s beneficial to bring in a third-party consultant with broad industry knowledge to conduct an assessment, offering valuable insights that help create a clear vision.

3. Creating a Unique Scorecard

Once you’ve completed your assessment, stakeholders can work together to establish a customized scorecard that reflects your business objectives. Whether customer service is your primary focus or you’re more telemarketing-heavy, this scorecard ensures that your solution is tailored to your specific needs. It’s also important to involve contributors and advocates in the process to gain widespread buy-in.

4. Scheduling Solution Demonstrations

With a solid scorecard in hand, it’s time to identify and evaluate vendors. A contact center consultant can help streamline this process. Scoring each solution based on how well it aligns with your goals keeps the focus on substance over flash, ensuring the right solution for your business.

5. Analyzing Scorecard Data

When reviewing the scorecard data, stakeholders should ask key questions:

• How should we interpret the data?
• What trends stand out?
• What are the most important factors for our business?
• Are there any surprising outliers?

This analysis ensures that decisions are data-driven and aligned with business goals.

6. Finalizing Vendor Selection-AI-Powered Contact Center Landscape

Once the data is compiled and a consensus is reached, it’s time to move forward with a contract proposal. Beyond the solution itself, discuss critical details like implementation timelines, ongoing support, and maintenance to set clear expectations and ensure accountability.

Financial Modeling: Justifying the Investment

Looking at your goals through a financial lens helps quantify the benefits of your contact center investment. For example, reducing average handling time by just 12 seconds across the company might result in cost-neutral savings. Similarly, reducing call abandonment by even half a percentage point can have a significant impact. These financial considerations help justify ROI and set expectations.

Partnering with Tectonic: Expertise You Can Trust

At Tectonic, we live and breathe contact centers. Our team of experts comes directly from this world, so we understand the challenges and opportunities. We’re here to help you navigate the complexities of the contact center ecosystem and bring clarity to your CCaaS journey. Contact us today to get started!

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