Digital Contact Solution

service as par for the course. Studies have shown that in the United States,

even when people love a company or product, 59% will walk away after multiple

bad experiences, and 17% after a single unpleasant experience. Each interaction

with the customer is an opportunity to further their loyalty. Because the

contact center is the channel that is on the frontlines of a customer’s service

experience, companies should begin thinking of contact centers as 'experience

centers'.

Automation

is the necessary life-blood of a modern contact center. However, more complex

customer needs require an empathetic human-in-the-loop. Service experience is

unique to every customer. Some might prefer the swiftness of automation in

solving problems. Others prefer a personal touch. Striking the right balance

between automation and human-led interactions is key to successfully engaging

customers in the channel of their choice.

PwC’s

Digital Contact Solution (DCS) is a set of tools and accelerators that delivers

this balance right out of the gate to empower the Experience Centers of the

Future. DCS uses predictive analytics and AI to deliver value via a more

comprehensive understanding of the customer’s needs. The inevitable results of

effectively deploying DCS are improved service experience, increased customer

satisfaction, reduced agent attrition, and optimized operational costs.

DCS

combines the power of the Microsoft Azure data platform with PwC’s expertise in

advanced analytics, AI, and industry know-how to create a 360-degree view of

the customer and develop unassisted self-service channels and technologies.

Smart agent tools empower customer service agents to efficiently handle complex

queries when needed and enable a smooth transition between automated versus

human-assisted support.

DCS leverages the following capabilities:

• Azure

Cognitive Services for language understanding to analyze frequently inquired

about topics, and Nuance to develop self-service conversational AI tools that

deliver a superior customer service experience.

• Azure

Machine Learning to segment customers based on key indicators for inbound

interactions and develop strategies for proactive engagement with the customer

upon occurrence of the trigger to deflect calls.

• Dynamics

365 for historical customer data to identify triggers and preferences (channel,

contact frequency) and Azure Communication Services to optimize outbound

campaigns and reduce inbound customer contact volume.

• Azure

Cognitive Search to guide customer and agent interactions through knowledge

articles, ‘next best actions’, and customer 360 view (comms preference,

interaction history, and customer loyalty index). This improves agent

experience, reduces agent ramp-up time, and improves first contact resolution

(FCR) rates.

• Various

Microsoft technologies (e.g., Azure Data Lake Gen2, Synapse, Purview) to enable

the decentralization and distribution of data ownership, create a

‘data-as-a-product’ for contact centers and other domains to utilize, and allow

for universal interoperability.

Our

perspective is to focus on value, business outcomes, and customer experience. PwC

has developed DCS accelerators (pre-built assets and reference architectures on

Azure) which help reduce implementation times by more than half. With a single

cloud-service platform, an organization can drive next-generation, cloud-based

innovation. This allows organizations to start solving critical business

problems much faster, unlocking insights previously unattainable to drive

organizational strategy and growth. To learn more, go to https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/alliances/microsoft/data-analytics.html.