Five9 Blogs

Over the years exasperated customers have aired their frustrating interactions with contact center agents on social media. Some of these have gone viral creating public relation nightmares for the companies involved and giving other frustrated consumers a platform to pile on. Read this guest post by Joanna Jones of Impact Learning Systems to see what happens when social media customer service goes viral:

Imagine the chaos during peak times for customer service: florists on Valentine’s Day, retailers during the holidays, tax planners around April 15th and the application period for online schooling. One of the biggest challenges contact centers face is being able to quickly address staffing surges and peaks in activities in a short amount of time. Today, cloud technology and at-home agents are helping mitigate some of that chaos... Read on to hear advice from Liz Osborn on addressing contact center surges:

It’s increasingly costly and complicated to win a new solar customer in the United States. According to GTM research, it costs 49 cents per watt to acquire a customer in the U.S. or about $3,000 for the typical 6-kilowatt residential rooftop. Meanwhile, a report by Lawrence Berkeley Labs estimated a cost of less than 7 cents per watt in Germany. Marketing, advertising and sales made up the majority of the cost (41 cents) while system design accounted for 8 cents per watt. There has been lot of discussion about why it costs so much to acquire a new residential solar customer in the US – especially when compared to other countries. Read further for a few frequently cited explanations:

We know that mobile is here to stay, at least until the next big disrupter comes along. Until then, mobile devices are dominating how consumers shop, search, educate and connect. As the trend continues away from computers, companies have an opportunity to develop, from the ground up, customer-service strategies for mobile devices. The good news is that...

Contact centers are under pressure to adapt to the rapidly changing technology landscape and consumer expectations. There are seven key trends that will impact contact centers as they evolve to meet these shifting expectations. Read on to learn about trends #2 & #3:

There is no doubt that we're in the midst of a sea change when it comes to consumer behavior. New technologies have completely transformed consumer expectations and buying behavior, making it more difficult for brands to acquire new customers and earn their loyalty. Contact centers are now under pressure to adapt to the rapidly changing technology landscape and consumer expectations. There are seven key trends that will impact contact centers as they evolve to meet these shifting expectations.

Contact center outsourcers are striving to differentiate themselves based on their ability to hire and retain the most highly skilled workforce in the customer care field. Managing this workforce has traditionally been a challenge, but outcome-based reporting has shown a great deal of promise in removing much of the uncertainty. Defining Outcome-Based Pricing: