The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the service industry. With remote work on the rise, here’s how cloud telephony becomes a saviour.
India has the fastest growing service sector in the world that contributes 66% to the country’s GDP. However, the new normal, or better yet, our new reality has made the situation complex and uncertain, to say the least.
Many businesses are hunkering down to stay safe and afloat. Small businesses are facing a particularly hard time. According to Accenture, 95% of consumers agree that they have made lasting changes to their lifestyle given the work-from-home culture, and hence, the way they shop has also changed.
But, the question is: how to adapt to these changes and keep up with the latest trends while providing omnichannel service to the customers?
The one and only solution to it is a cloud-based communication system.
Let’s understand how various service sectors can benefit from cloud telephony solutions during a pandemic and after.
Healthcare Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the value of a strong healthcare infrastructure. India, due to its high demand for beds and other vital healthcare supplies, has witnessed its collapse.
In times like these, seamless communication is not just a frill but a necessity.
Be it communication within the facility—among doctors and other staff—or external communication with the patients and their families. Arranging for medical equipment, medicines and other paraphernalia becomes all the more laborious with a bumpy flow of information.
For the past few years, cloud technology has been helping healthcare providers to connect over audio and video conferencing and avoid physical interactions as much as possible. Since frontline workers are among the most exposed population to the virus, they need to exercise utmost precautions.
Apart from this, let’s have a look at other challenges faced by this industry:
- Lack of a proper appointment system
- Lack of appropriate tracking of appointments
- Disorganised laboratories
- Lack of a proper CRM
- Inability to track patient conversations
It took some time but finally, the healthcare industry switched to cloud telephony solutions.
The nature of communication in and around medical facilities is sensitive and vital. It is the hospital’s responsibility to be available round the clock. Moreover, it is also expected that patients are always kept in the loop during these conversations for a stress-free experience.
Let us understand the impact cloud telephony has on the healthcare industry.
a) Establishing a proper appointment system with the help of IVR solutions
Cloud telephony automates the whole procedure of standing in queues and getting patient’s details registered at the doctor’s clinic with a simple IVR solution. The Interactive Voice Response takes input from the keypad and helps book slots with any available doctor.
It also sends an SMS alert confirming the appointment. This saves the time and effort of the patient trying to get through a slot.
b) Tracking appointments
Cloud telephony allows easy access to all call-related details such as missed appointments, missed calls, answered and dropped calls. Using the online portal you can access and track the progress of any appointment.
c) Easy access to test reports
Many diagnostic labs are using cloud telephony to deliver test reports to their patients. Usually, a voice broadcast solution is used to spread awareness about the results which patients can access using their respective usernames and passwords from the lab’s website.
d) Enable easy tracking
With the help of cloud telephony, one can easily track appointments, patient’s prescriptions and medications using the online portal that comes along with these solutions.
Financial Services Industry
The digital revolution has given rise to many financial service providers as well as growing customer demands. To ensure a pleasant experience for your customers, the first point of contact needs to be powerful. This is where cloud telephony comes into the picture to support a fluent customer experience.
Let us understand how cloud telephony uplifts the finance industry, taking it to greater heights.
a) IVR to automate important processes:
Listening to a pre-recorded message while calling the bank’s support number is a common affair. For instance, say, ‘press 1 for Hindi’ and ‘press 2 for English’. Apart from greeting the customer and providing them with navigation options, IVR also assists the callers with:
- Checking their account balance
- Generate new ATM pins
- Update their contact information and details
- Loan status
- Instalment details
- Credit card payments
- Frauds and unauthorised transactions
- Feedback
b) SMS services to generate OTPs for authentication
When the banking system first came up, there were no OTPs in the picture. One Time Pins came into being when hackers and cybercriminals started misusing personal details of the customers. OTPs allow for multiple authentications.
They are hard to crack, and not everyone can access them, making them appropriate for financial services industries.
Cloud telephony offers OTP services and reduces the risk of fraudulent transactions.
Travel Industry
Travel and tourism contribute majorly to the country’s GDP. India ranks 34th in the Tourism Competitiveness Index. It is the fastest growing industry globally, which can be attributed to the advancement in technology and increase in the modes of commuting. It is also a very competitive industry.
To stay ahead of the competition, the tourism industry needs to strengthen its distribution network and maintain a robust customer base with insightful data to promote its services effectively.
Cloud telephony allows these organisations to reinvent the way they engage with the customers and deliver a more personalised experience. Cloud solutions can be used by airlines, travel support centres and logistics companies to offer a streamlined customer journey.
Let us understand how cloud telephony can assist the tourism industry.
a) Personalised experience
Tools like IVR and interactive chatbots can come in handy to create a personalised experience for customers. It helps agents refer to and connect with the customer’s history and serve them better.
The power of cloud technology supported by intelligent integrations aids smooth coordination between your CRM and communication tools. When a customer is approached with all the information they have shared in the past, agents can save a lot of time and energy to solve their issues.
b) Ensure confidentiality to customer’s private data
Cloud telephony offers solutions like click to call and maintains privacy too. Information like a customer’s call details are guarded and a proxy number is displayed in its place.
Moreover, by making use of robust analytics, the travel industry can increase its operational capabilities manifolds.
Education Industry
Out of all the industries we talked about previously, the education industry remains the most transformed. Be it the COVID-19 pandemic or other reforms in general, the education system has taken big leaps with cloud telephony.
With cloud telephony, not only communication has improved but also the accessibility to education for many—it is no longer confined to four walls!
a) Keep parents informed always!
Easy setup, flexible expansion and hassle-free scalability and much more, is what cloud telephony offers to the education sector. With the help of solutions like virtual numbers, IVR and auto-attendant, parents are well-informed about the test grades, parent-teacher meet and a lot more.
This can also be done using bulk SMS services to stay in touch with the parents at all times. It builds trust and reduces manual errors while exchanging information at the right time.
b) Stay more accessible
Students and parents are the main customers of any educational institution. The easier it is to reach you, the more engagement there will be. Use cloud telephony features like click to call to be more accessible. Moreover, all the conversations are recorded so one can refer to them in case of any conflicts or confusions.
Conclusion
Cloud telephony is a phenomenal technology to rely on for any industry no matter what niche they are in. It is the superpower that intersects service and scale in the 21st century.
Solutions powered by the cloud are easy to scale, install and use as opposed to the traditional telephony setup. They offer credibility and added security to your business. Furthermore, these solutions let you stay ahead of the competition.
What are you waiting for? Opt for cloud telephony now by calling Servetel Communications at 1800-120-4132.
