The latest CloudCall Insight research piece, Perfecting the Art of Conversation: how businesses are managing increased call volumes, explores why telephony is on the rise and how businesses are coping with those increases. The phone call is allowing more efficient communication with consumers in a multi-channel environment.

Multi-channel interaction with customers can be problematic, and for many a lack of a single CRM across channels is holding businesses back. When the COVID pandemic brought the world to a standstill, many businesses became inundated with inbound contact from customers. As businesses start to move out of crisis mode, many will be wondering how they could have been better prepared.

During March 2020 CloudCall received a 42% increase in contact to our customer service department, and a 45% increase in website visits month on month.

Customers flooded businesses across the globe with requests for help and advice. To their annoyance, many customers found that once they managed to make contact, there appeared to be very little knowledge of their previous interactions and account details. Businesses recognise that customers expect and require multi-channel communication, but most are still trying to implement it.

Our research uncovered that only 38% of businesses store their data in one CRM, despite the channel of origin. For many, this is rarely a situation they choose to be in. Only 30% of those businesses who have information split across multiple systems made a decision to do so. The remainder are having to deal with an infrastructure that was inherited or attained at different points in its history.

Did you know: 78% of businesses state that providing customers with access to the right channel at the right time is a priority. 45% of those believe this will be crucial to their success in the future. 

Customer contact with businesses is becoming increasingly multifaceted, and there is a need for improved integration between the multiple channels. 83% of the businesses we surveyed believe this will be a priority in the coming year and is evidently something that would be welcomed by their customers.

*This research was conducted before the COVID-19 crisis.