AWS Connect: A Complete Omnichannel Customer Service Solution

Businesses that thrive make it a point to ensure that their product surpasses their competitors’ product. And in modern business, customer service is not considered in isolation. It has, in effect, become part and parcel of the product being sold. That is why a customer’s journey does not end with the purchase; it only transitions to another phase: after-sales service. Providing top-notch customer service is key to creating and retaining a raving customer base. Enter AWS Connect in integration services.

This article explains AWS Connect, its omnichannel business strategy, and how AWS Connect works. It also highlights the salient features of AWS Connect, which make it a much sought-after contact servicing platform. 

Let’s start! 

What is AWS Connect?

Before delving into the intricacies of the subject, you must understand what is AWS connect. AWS Connect is Amazon’s omnichannel cloud contact servicing platform. The AWS connect service is an easy-to-use cloud-based customer service solution that aims to provide personalized customer experiences. AWS Connect began as a simple add-on for Amazon’s customer service machine. However, AWS connect tool is now available for whoever wants to use it.  

So, what is omnichannel, and how does AWS Connect work?  

What is Omnichannel?

Omnichannel is a multichannel business strategy that aims to offer consistent and seamless customer experiences. It is a comprehensive approach to providing customers with similar experiences across multiple platforms or channels.   

A company that offers you customer support via live chat, social media, email, and the phone uses an omnichannel customer service model. It is tapping into its customer’s journey through multiple touchpoints. AWS connect omnichannel approaches are usually employed by the marketing and sales departments. The same goes for omnichannel outbound services. 

But please note that omnichannel is similar to multichannel but there are significant differences. People often confuse the two. A multichannel marketing approach uses many different channels to connect with the end user. However, these contact centers are not integrated, unlike omnichannel. To understand how AWS connect service and AWS omnichannel are different let’s demonstrate further.  

AWS Connect is a cloud-based contact center service that focuses primarily on providing businesses with a scalable and efficient platform for managing customer interactions. On the other hand, omnichannel is a broader strategy intended to create a seamless customer experience across various communication channels, including phone, email, chat, and social media.  

This is the major difference between the two approaches. 

How does AWS Connect Work?

AWS Connect operates through a single User Interface (UI) to create chat or voice interactions. This UI can handle analytical tasks, queueing, and contact routing activities across multiple channels. Moreover, you can use all the features of Amazon Connect using one Contact Control Panel (CCP). Your agents can receive and transfer their service calls here.   

In addition, managers can use the interface to prioritize and assign tasks and automate jobs. Also, users can access real-time data, historical analysis, and customer profiles on the control panel. AWS Connect combines data from multiple applications to create unified profiles in one place, thus allowing you to offer customized experiences.   

So, what makes AWS Connect the ultimate omnichannel customer service solution? Its top-notch features!  

Let’s look at some of these.  

Features of AWS Connect

1. Telephony  

The best thing about Amazon Connect managed services is that with Amazon Connect, you do not need to manage multiple telephony vendors. Amazon or AWS Connect does this for you by offering a worldwide network of telephony vendors for your use! AWS telephony or simply Telephony services include toll-free numbers in over twenty countries worldwide and direct inward dial (DID).   

Moreover, AWS Connect is a telephony-as-a-service model that allows for scalable monitoring from telephony experts. And most importantly, you only pay for what you use! No monthly fees or charges. Isn’t that what everyone wants? isn’t AWS Connect just amazing?

2. Omnichannel Outbound Campaigns  

With Amazon Connect omnichannel, you can run outbound campaigns at scale and reach out to millions of customers every day. AWS Connect helps with omnichannel outbound service. When it comes to omnichannel outbound services, whether for marketing promotions, billing reminders, or delivering services, the AWS Connect admin console makes it a walkover for your team. You don’t even need any third-party integrations to reach the scale you want to operate for omnichannel outbound.    

3. Web & Mobile Chat   

Amazon Connect comes natively integrated with Amazon Lex, another AWS product. AWS Connect is used for building conversational interfaces using text and voice. Therefore, you don’t need to code to create chatbots possessing Natural Language Processing (NLP) capability. AWS Connect and Lex go hand-in-hand. Moreover, all the chats on AWS Connect are encrypted and secure.
Modern companies need to use secure tech platforms, as cybersecurity threats are evolving and increasing. 

4. Contact Center Automation   

One of the best features of AWS Connect is the automation of contact center processes. It offers intelligent automation and self-service tools like automated customer voice authentication and interactive voice response (IVR) solutions. And as mentioned earlier, it also offers natural language chatbots.   

Most importantly, AWS Connect prioritizes providing a seamless experience to all stakeholders – agents, managers, and customers. It uses skills-based routing to connect your customer with an agent most likely to resolve the customer’s issue. Before such routing, AWS Connect identifies the customer’s problem and needs and then accordingly assigns the customer to a suitable agent.  

5. Agent Application  

This Connect’s Agent Application combines all the AWS Connect features into a single, easy-to-use application that helps your agents become more efficient. It reduces agents’ time performing similar, repetitive tasks.  

Moreover, it brings together the Contact Control Panel (CCP) and Connects agent capabilities like customer information, task management, and knowledge assistance into a single UI.  

In other words, AWS Connect’s Agent applications empower your agents with efficient workflows and greater productivity. 

6. Unified Customer Profiles   

The Customer Profiles feature combines information from various applications into a single customer profile. This helps the agents enhance customer experience by automating interactions. Customer Profiles also comes with built-in connectors for third-party applications like Salesforce and Marketo, which allow you to aggregate customer data.   

7. Agent Assistance with Machine Learning   

AWS Connect Wisdom employs machine learning to help agents find relevant information to solve customer problems in real-time. Knowledge repositories are linked with built-in connectors for third-party applications like ServiceNow to aid the agents. Moreover, Wisdom uses ML-powered speech analytics in Contact Lens to automatically identify customer issues during calls and make appropriate recommendations to the agents.  

Conclusion

We have only scratched the surface of AWS Connect’s features in this article. It offers so much more! If yours is a company that wants to double down on enhancing customer service, you need not look beyond AWS Connect. It’s your one-stop solution to saving and making more money via better customer support! 

Xavor is a proud AWS partner. We deliver robust end-to-end digital solutions to our clients. 

If you want any help using AWS Connect, contact us at [email protected]. 

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