Standalone support channels create friction, disrupted experiences, and disjointed operations. For customers, converting from one channel to another throughout a support experience can feel jarring and disconnected.
You chat to an operator over live chat, to be told you need to call in to resolve your query. So you call in – to wait in line, then explain your issue all over again.
Or vice versa: you sit in a call, to be told you need to send files over. You then have to switch to chat to complete that transaction in real-time.
Enter WhosOn, and its capacity to bind your chat and telephone services lines together. Here’s a closer look at our omnichannel calling feature and how it works.
What is omnichannel calling?
Omnichannel calling is a WhosOn feature that bridges the gap between your chat and your phone support. It allows you to seamlessly switch from chat to call and back from inside a live chat session.
With omnichannel calling, your chat agents can call the customer they’re chatting to from within the chat client. So, if the support session calls for a swap to the telephone, there’s no hold-up for the customer. And there’s no clunky channel juggling for the agent.
Instead, the agent need only click a ‘call’ button from their chat conversation. And the customer need only answer their phone – chat session still running on if needed.
So, customers can get their service started right away via chat. If they then need to swap to a phone call, they can immediately connect to an agent that already knows their issue.
There’s no infuriating IVR, and no journey disruption. Just smooth, flexible and attentive support from channel to channel.
When would you use it?
Omnichannel calling is handy both during a chat or as a call-back outside of a chat.
During the chat, there are a few reasons you might opt to use omnichannel calling. One of these is to help a customer that’s struggling to understand. For some customers, hearing your explanation is more effective than reading it.
Another example is when the customer has a complex issue. If the solution they need is particularly lengthy, it’s sometimes more efficient to explain through voice than through text.
Then, some queries require call confirmation for added security. With omnichannel calling, there’s no need for this escalation to voice to prove frustrating or time-consuming.
Outside of a chat session, omnichannel calling provides an alternative way to follow up on missed chats or offline forms. Customers can leave their contact number and request a call-back. This means you can still offer real-time support to customers that fell through the cracks the first time.
How does it work?
WhosOn’s omnichannel calling gets its power from a rich Twilio integration. To unlock omnichannel calling, agents need a Twilio account and assigned telephone numbers or SIP addresses.
WhosOn can detect when the customer has provided a telephone number. This might come from a pre-chat survey, an offline form, or during the session itself, for example. When this happens, a ‘call’ option becomes available within WhosOn.
Once activated, WhosOn will call the customer, and then call the agent’s phone. Then, it bridges the two. If someone closes the chat or hangs up the phone during the support session, it does not affect the functionality of the other channel.
WhosOn also logs any calls made during a chat in the session and adds an audio link of the call recording to the chat transcript.
So, everything is clear, transparent and documented, without compromising on conversational fluidity.
Omnichannel calling
Your contact centre operations work best when your channels work together. And omnichannel calling is a powerful way to streamline.
With it, your chat channel merges with your telephony system in one frictionless flow. Not only does your real-time support offering gain flexibility, neither operator nor customer break stride in the process of flexing.
Try it out for yourself, with a 30-day free trial of WhosOn.