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To keep up with new customer habits and accelerate digital transformation, companies are increasingly multiplying their contact channels. However, when these contact journeys are managed independently, they create silos that prevent a seamless omnichannel view.
Each channel requires specific training, deployment costs, and dedicated project resources. Even more problematic, when a customer uses multiple channels for the same request, it leads to unnecessary repetition—creating friction and frustration. The consequences are direct: a degraded customer experience, lower loyalty, and increased pressure on support teams.
To reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction, and aim for First Contact Resolution, it is essential to break down silos by streamlining and unifying contact journeys. A unified approach is the key to smoother interactions, fewer touchpoints, and a stronger, long-lasting customer relationship.
The rise of digitalization has led to the emergence of new contact channels, offering customers more ways to interact with companies. However, these digital journeys, often developed in isolation, can sometimes require more effort than traditional channels. As a result, customers may reach out through multiple channels for the same request, which can extend the resolution time and create friction. In fact, 71% of customers expect companies to collaborate internally so they don’t have to repeat themselves.
In this context, the phone channel remains a common choice, sometimes out of habit, sometimes due to its perceived speed. To ensure a consistent experience, it is essential to harmonize the Customer Effort Score across all channels.
Frequently, each channel is managed as a separate project, with its own investments, configurations, and reporting tools. While companies often aim to make every channel capable of handling all customer requests, this well-intentioned approach can lead to operational complexity.
That’s why it's crucial to design more connected and seamless journeys. A customer who starts by browsing the FAQ, then sends an email, and eventually calls customer service, should not encounter three disconnected experiences. By streamlining transitions between channels and promoting mutualized contact journeys, companies can reduce repetition, enhance service quality, and ease the workload of customer service centers.
An effective contact journey is, above all, one that accurately addresses the customer’s initial intent. However, when companies are unable to qualify this intent early in the interaction, they tend to broaden the range of choices offered to users. While this approach may seem intuitive, it increases the risk of multichannel repetition, where a customer tries several channels before receiving a satisfactory response. Yet few companies today are equipped to measure this repetition in a reliable and comprehensive way.
This is why it is essential to mutualize and streamline contact journeys, by designing a single unified journey accessible from all channels. To achieve this, three key steps are needed: comprehensively list all customer intents, match each intent with the most appropriate resolution method, and define the relevant contextualization criteria (such as business hours, languages, customer segmentation, wait times,...).
For example, a simple intent like checking a bill is best handled through a self-service channel such as the customer portal. In contrast, a more complex intent, such as subscribing to a new service, requires human interaction, either in real time when the contact center is open, or via a scheduled callback outside business hours.
Once the mapping of customer intents is complete, the next step is to mutualize contact journeys. With an omnichannel orchestration platform, customers can be directed to the most appropriate solution through the most relevant channel, relying on a shared knowledge base accessible across all entry points (website, IVR, email, ...).
By centralizing all contact journeys within a single solution, the company gains a comprehensive view of interactions, supported by consolidated reporting that spans both voice and digital channels. The data collected enables continuous optimization and refinement of contact journeys.
Another key advantage: business teams can manage orchestration directly, without relying systematically on IT departments. This improves responsiveness and avoids the long, costly development cycles typically associated with technical updates.
The objective is clear: achieve First Contact Resolution. Beyond providing a smooth, seamless customer experience, this approach helps reduce repetition, lower overall contact volumes, and ultimately generate significant operational savings.
