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In our multimedia world, customers now expect to be able to have contact with brands at a time of their choosing and through the channel that is most convenient for them. For contact centres, this has been a huge challenge.

The emergence of mass usage of the web, email and texting has produced new channels through which customers can communicate with brands and vice versa. But it has also produced a management challenge - to ensure a consistent customer experience, and to ensure that data can be analysed and used effectively.

It has never been more important to get the choice of channel right, says Stephen Bentley, chief executive of Granby Marketing Services: "Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about marketing and want to limit their contact with those brands that are targeting them with irrelevant information. The new multi-channel methods are considered to be much more personal - therefore it is important to consider the context in which these channels are used."

According to Nick McConnell, sales and marketing director of Broadsystem, it is the audience that determines the choice of channels. "We did work on the transition of a broadsheet newspaper to a new format, providing a helpline for people and soliciting feedback," he reveals. "About 60 per cent of the contacts were via email, which reflects the audience." Likewise, Broadsystem has done work for government drink, drugs and sexual health campaigns, where the sensitive nature of the subject means that people tend to seek out a more anonymous method of contact. "There is a generation that prefers to do things remotely rather than speaking to somebody," he says. "And they want the immediacy of a WAP link or email."

In this scenario, brands should think of each conversation, whatever the channel, as part of a consumer's journey, says David Barrow, president of vision for the solutions architecture division of Chordiant, a provider of contact centre software. Its systems collate information across channels to ensure that agents carry out the "next best action" in their conversations with customers, avoiding conversations that in the past may have been characterised by a clumsy upsell.

Although organisational data is often disparate, Barrow says one has to work with what one has. "If you wait to get all the data in the same place, you'll wait for ever," he explains. "Often the most significant information comes about during the conversation. For example, if it's about a change of address, is that because there was a mistake or has the customer moved? If the latter is the case, you might offer a particular product."

Barrow adds that mobile phone firm O2 has seen a 75 per cent response rate to sales offers when using the system.

Meanwhile, Jeff Ingvaldson, client development director of contact centre operator Teleperformance, says different channels are mutually reinforcing. His firm uses voice agents to set appointments for the national Blood Service, and sends confirmations and reminders via text message and email.

Dealing with data that come from different channels need not be problematic, he says. The solution is to establish the data input criteria in advance of any campaign, enabling analysis of developments.

Teleperformance systems can support web, email, text, voice and white mail. The company is even looking at how attachments of digitised voice calls could be added to customer records. The rationale is that the emotion conveyed in the voice can be a crucial piece of information for sales leads around high-end items, such as cars.

Another practice that is becoming increasingly important in the contact centre sphere is collaborative browsing, where the agent can actually see what the caller is doing on his or her computer screen, in order to better understand any issues they may have. The technology has been available for a number of years, but take-up has been slow, says Ingvaldson: "The public still have to catch up. There is a reluctance to see your computer screen being taken over by somebody else given online security concerns."

Teleperformance recently conducted a successful collaborative browsing pilot with the Passport Office, which is considering a wider rollout. "It's the ultimate tool, but it is resource-intensive, so you have to use it selectively," says Ingvaldson.

But some clients may not have the option of being selective. Claire Richardson, performance optimisation manager at Aspect Software, points out that contact centres are having to plan for a multimedia future in which customers are even more demanding than they are now: "If they do not respond to an email within 24 hours, then the customer will call up on the telephone anyway."

She adds that managing an increasingly complex workload can be difficult for those contact centre staff concerned. "Organisations can take a 'blended' approach where operators handle voice and email, but they are different skillsets," she says. "Others take a 'stripping' approach, where agents deal with calls during peak times and then have an hour or two with emails."

Phil Foster, call centre director at contact provider LBM, says recruitment and training policies have to adapt: "You can't have teams of all-singing, all-dancing agents. We have dedicated teams for email and telephony. There are some super agents who can do both well - but not many."

For contact over the web, LBM has also recruited dedicated teams. "With web chat, an agent might have three or four conversations on the go at the same time, whereas a phone call must always be one-to-one. Average handling time is longer, but people can multi-task."

The company has implemented the system for PC World, allowing its contact teams to deal with enquiries at the point of sale without having to cut their contact with the customer while they consult another member of staff. Instead, they contact a central centre and receive instructions on-screen.

The pace of change is not slowing. With the latest generation of video phones, for instance, call centre staff will be required to adopt a new set of skills - as well as look the part.

TRAINING NEEDS

According to John Price, director of Price Direct, training is essential to conveying the essence of a brand. "It's always been more of an art than a science," he says. "We are asking people to convey emotion, and yet they are often treated like battery chickens. I wouldn't trust my brand to be dealt with like that."

In the multi-channel world, recruitment and training are even more crucial. Productivity and quality of response can be degraded by training failures.

"There are different mindsets," says Aspect Software performance optimisation manager Claire Richardson. "With a call, the onus is on dealing with it as quickly as possible, whereas with an email you need to take a bit more time and ensure the response is correct."

It is also interesting how multimedia in the call centre can affect company culture. Team spirit has always been a valuable tool in motivating staff, but email and web work can mean a more subdued environment and create a challenge in keeping the vibe right.

THE NEW-TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE

Research by Datamonitor shows that 2007 will be one of the most challenging years in contact centre outsourcing history.

Peter Ryan, contact centre outsourcing and services analyst, says: "The need to satisfy demand from multiple contact channels as opposed to strictly voice-based services will be crucial for success over the long term. Those outsourcing vendors that properly target industries with realistic and tailored programs - and are able to accommodate cross-channel solutions - are certain to succeed."

Datamonitor says outsourcing vendors will need to examine multi-channel tools such as web chat, SMS and email should they wish to remain in the vanguard. However, Ryan predicts that voice will remain dominant, accounting for 75 to 80 per cent of contacts.

Jeff Ingvaldson, client development director of contact centre operator Teleperformance, agrees: "Other channels are not a replacement for the phone, but an addition. The best customer service is driven by the consumer, and just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Offer a meaningful choice to consumers and they will choose what is best for them."

So, technology should not be used for technology's sake. Some techniques, such as web chat, have taken years to gain any sort of appeal. Ultimately, though, there is a cost-benefit case to be made.

EFFICIENT CONTACT

In many organisations, legacy issues mean customer data can be spread over different databases. The key to any successful contact centre operation is to record customer history in one place.

By building up a program over time, you are in a better position to understand future needs, says LBM call centre director Phil Foster.

"Build up the customer profile every time you contact a customer," he says. "You must have a consolidated view because the customer is probably going to speak to a different person every time they call."

He adds: "Ask people how many times they want to be contacted, at what times and by what methods. That first contact, with a 'welcome call', is crucial to establishing the relationship. It also tends to make people more loyal if the first call is not trying to sell them something -that just puts their backs up."

Analysis of the data produced by a multi-channel approach can help to determine future marketing, says Broadsystem sales and marketing director Nick McConnell.

"You start to build up a picture of how certain groups like to deal with an organisation," he notes. "It's great for response advertising. You can tailor your ad so it doesn't have a phone number, so you don't have to schedule hundreds of agents."

CASE STUDY: ROYAL AIR FORCE

The Royal Air Force has taken a multi-channel approach to recruitment. Recognising that it was targeting a younger generation that interacts in new ways, it turned to Broadsystem.

Starting off as an 0800 information request line, the service has developed to become more in line with the RAF's audience. Website RAFcareers.com acts as a portal to manage the whole candidate experience - from the initial enquiry and booking an interview, to pre- and post-interview discussions.

"We realise that we have to excite younger people with a career in the RAF, and the site does that," says Broadsystem sales and marketing director Nick McConnell.

A section called Altitude targets eight to 18-year-olds with information on careers, as well as online games and downloads. Members sign up to receive information through their channel of choice.

Data analysis has also helped the RAF tailor its contact. After a shortage of engineers became a concern, Broadsystem found that many engineer candidates were in their early thirties - yet 30 was the age limit for joining the RAF. By changing the age limit for engineers, the problem was solved.

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