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MaxContact partners with TForge, a leading contact centre software provider in South Africa, to deliver enhanced omnichannel customer experiences.

Manchester, UK. 13.03.2024 – MaxContact, a provider of cloud-based contact centre solutions, today announced its partnership with TForge, a leading software provider with a deep understanding of contact centres, with a large customer base in South Africa. This collaboration will enable TForge to provide its clients with a true omnichannel experience and enhance its ability to deliver outstanding customer experiences across all interaction channels.

TForge, established in 2013, boasts a proven track record of success in a range of industries but has vast experience in working with debt collection and financial services organisations. With its commitment to providing cutting-edge technology to maximise its client’s productivity, TForge has earned a reputation for providing clients with the solutions they need to differentiate their offerings and improve business performance.

By partnering with MaxContact, TForge will gain access to MaxContact’s cloud-based contact centre technology, integrated with their own solutions to provide their clients with a unique solution for the South African market.

This partnership will unlock new capabilities, including:

• True omnichannel: Seamless integration between voice and digital channels in a single interface, improving both customer and agent experience.
• Advanced outbound features: Delivering conversation outcomes and customer insights to generate more revenue, compliantly.
• Real-time and historical business intelligence: Allowing Tforge’s clients to make proactive decisions that improve performance.

“We are thrilled to partner with TForge and support their journey towards providing market-leading technology within the contact centre industry in South Africa,” said Richard Coward, Enterprise and Strategic Partner Director at MaxContact. “This partnership is not just based on us providing a software solution. For us, it’s about working with a company that matches our values, has a passion for providing excellent service and delivers solutions which solve customers’ problems and adds value to their business. Working together will transform both of our businesses and is the start of a long-term partnership which will continually evolve over the coming years.”

“When we teamed up with Ben Booth, the CEO, and Richard Coward, it immediately became clear that we had found a company that shared our values and aspirations,” said Francois Van Der Mewe, CEO at TForge. He also added, “The innovative and forward-thinking approach of the MaxContact team perfectly aligns with our own, and we’re confident that our partnership will revolutionise the contact centre industry. Our shared culture of excellence and commitment to solving real customer challenges with our cutting-edge innovation sets us apart from the competition. We’re both determined to go above and beyond to serve each other and, more importantly, our customers. Together, we’re greater than the sum of our parts, and we’re excited to lead the way in omnichannel contact centre technology.”

About MaxContact:

MaxContact is the best cloud contact centre platform for delivering conversation outcomes and customer insights to generate more revenue – compliantly. Our cloud-based contact centre platform allows you to have more productive conversations and automatically connects the right people for better call outcomes.  MaxContact has unrivalled outbound dialling capabilities as well as inbound and omnichannel functionality, plus advanced reporting.

About TForge:

TForge is a leading performance-enhancing contact centre technology provider, serving almost 400 contact centre clients with a total of over 35,000 agents. Our Executive Management Team comprises industry experts who have owned and managed large contact centres, giving us a unique perspective in addressing the actual challenges faced by our clients. Relentless innovation is then at the heart of our team to solve these ever-increasing performance challenges. Our flagship product, OmniSense, developed by MaxContact, is supported by various other advanced products and services that boost productivity, drive strategic outcomes, improve customer experience, and empower agents. Find out more about TForge here.

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We caught up with Ben Booth, CEO of MaxContact, Matthew Yates, VP of Engineering at MaxContact, and James Revell, Director of Whistl Contact Solutions to discuss the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in the contact centre. In this blog, taken from the rich discussion in a previous webinar, we explore the meteoric impact AI is having on customer experience and contact centres. We’ll look at the explosion of interest in AI over the past 12 months, why businesses can’t afford to ignore it, and what the future may hold as these lightning-fast technological shifts unfold.

The Dawning of a New Era

We are undeniably in an era of rapid advancement for AI and machine learning. From chatbots to speech analytics, AI-driven technologies are evolving quicker than ever before – and the customer experience landscape is being fundamentally reshaped as a result.

According to recent research, worldwide annual spending on conversational AI for contact centres is predicted to rise substantially by 15% to $18.6 billion in 2023 alone. These staggering stats make it clear that AI-powered solutions are the future for many businesses across all industries. Those who embrace AI with a robust strategy and an eye toward human collaboration will gain a competitive edge.

Automation for Efficiency, Insight for Innovation

For customers, AI promises highly personalised, consistent, and always accessible service. As Matthew Yates, VP of engineering at MaxContact, noted, “AI can help understand the intent behind customer questions, and it can do two or many more things like instantly fast-track consumers to an agent trained to solve my specific issue. Or if I’m a caller with a simple query who wants it resolved as quickly as possible, I can speak to an AI chatbot.”

For agents, AI eliminates the most tedious and time-consuming administrative tasks, freeing them up to focus on more complex interactions. And for businesses, conversational AI unlocks invaluable data insights to spot trends and opportunities for optimisation.

AI-powered systems are already spurring exciting developments across the board:

• Automated identity verification and intent detection can fast-track customers to the right solutions without lengthy wait times or repetition of information.

• Real-time call summarisation with metadata tagging equips agents with instant case notes and critical context on each interaction.

• Aggregate data analysis allows managers to quickly identify changes in contact drivers and agent performance over time. When applied strategically alongside human skills and abilities, AI promises to optimise efficiency, consistency, innovation and more across the entire customer journey.

But it is not a silver bullet…

The Perils of Viewing AI as a Silver Bullet

In the pressure cooker environment that many companies find themselves in today, there is a very real risk that AI could be viewed as a quick fix, a silver bullet to instantly solve all business problems.

As Ben Booth, CEO of MaxContact, cautioned, “There is a bit of an arbitrage around AI’s neck currently.” The reality is never so simple. Automating certain emotional interactions – like debt negotiation calls – may increase efficiency but lacks human empathy. Overuse of AI without careful consideration for collaboration with human agents is likely to cause backlash from frustrated customers.

As Booth emphasised, while AI cannot match the innate human abilities to build rapport, interpret emotion, and creatively problem-solve in real-time, there are “always improvements in overall customer experience, but also agent and business efficiencies.”

Contact centres must work to find the balance between AI and human interaction. This means mapping AI to appropriate use cases where it excels while retaining readily available human touchpoints for addressing complex queries. Those contact centres that embrace AI as an optimisation tool rather than an outright replacement are far more likely to unlock its full potential.

The Future Role of The Human Agent

Will the explosion of AI spell the end for the contact centre agents? Our webinar panel unanimously agreed this is highly unlikely. However, the role of agents will inevitably need to adapt and evolve along with advancing technology. As James Revell, Director of Whistl Contact Solutions, noted, AI technology, such as speech analytics, will allow each agent to “get up to speed faster” by providing “real-time knowledge appropriate to the conversation.” It is expected that up to 70% of current repetitive tasks could be automated by 2030, freeing agents to focus purely on high-value customer interactions. This transfer of mundane responsibilities to AI assistants broadly signals positive news for employees. Rather than displace human roles, AI should augment inherently human strengths like emotional intelligence, judgement calls and creative problem-solving.

However, dealing exclusively with the most challenging issues may take an additional toll on agent well-being even as routine matters are automated. This demands more significant consideration from employers around updated training, coaching, incentives, scheduling, stress management and more to keep human agents positively engaged as automation expands.

With proper change management, cultural integration, and updated skill-building, forward-looking contact centres can empower their people and technologies to collaborate and combine forces for exceptional customer and employee experiences. The agents of the future will not be replaced outright by machines but rather continually reinvented.

Navigating the Road Ahead

From data analytics to automated self-service interactions to enhanced human performance, it’s clear that AI harbours the nearly boundless potential to transform contact centre operations. But to build sustainable success, the companies that thrive will be those that embrace AI as an optimisation tool rather than a replacement for existing roles. This winning strategy plays to the strengths of both intelligent machines and thoughtful people skills.

While the benefits may be profound, rapid AI advancement also raises pressing challenges around ethics, security, privacy and compliance. Legal and regulatory frameworks are struggling to keep pace with such fast-moving technological innovation. There are likely growing gaps that urgently need addressing regarding social impacts, transparency, accountability and more as AI permeates existing business processes. Both private companies and public policymakers need to work diligently to get ahead of these rising challenges.

In the meantime, contact centres must take stock of their unique responsibilities today. This means thoroughly vetting any AI systems to safeguard against issues like bias or misuse of customer data. It also requires open, transparent communication with staff to cover intended AI applications and how their roles may need to adapt. Like any transformation, success will be determined not merely by the technology itself, but rather by the thoughtfulness of the associated change management and cultural integration.

The Future Remains Bright

In closing, the future remains exciting. Conversational AI still has a vast, largely untapped scope to transform operations through human and machine collaboration. But sustainable success lies in integrating human intelligence and artificial intelligence in a responsible, ethical and supportive fashion.

The metaphorical butterfly effect is already in motion today, with much greater change still to come across industries. Contact centres have an opportunity to lead responsibly and realise monumental gains for customers, employees and their broader communities alike if they navigate wisely.

To find out more about how MaxContact can support your contact centre’s AI journey, get in touch with our team here.

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Manchester, UK – 04/03/2024 – MaxContact, a leading contact centre software provider, announced its plans to achieve double-digit growth by launching an indirect partner model. Aimed at supporting telecoms resellers, the model will allow partners to bridge their technology-capability gap by tapping into the rapidly growing contact centre market with a flexible, feature-rich, and competitively priced solution.

Ben Booth, CEO at MaxContact, and channel partner expert says, “We’re excited to officially unveil our partner model at MaxContact. With a proven track record of tackling complex requirements and a platform continuously evolving to meet industry demands, MaxContact is the ideal partner for resellers seeking to capture a significant share of the CCaaS market. Our commitment to delivering a high-value product with an exciting AI-led roadmap, exceptional customer service, and dedicated support will ensure our partners’ success.”

The global CCaaS market is poised for exponential growth, with a projected market worth of $19.8 billion by 2031. This surge is driven by two key trends: the rising demand for seamless omnichannel customer support and the increasing number of businesses outsourcing contact centre operations to optimise costs. As a result, this multi-billion dollar market presents a wealth of opportunities for technology resellers to capitalise on.

However, many resellers currently face limitations from existing vendor programmes that offer restricted customisation options, high pricing structures, and inadequate support. This hinders the ability to fully take advantage of the potential in the CCaaS market.

MaxContact has stepped up to offer a solution to this problem. MaxContact’s founders worked together for over ten years at a contact centre solution reseller. They saw organisations become increasingly frustrated with providers that over-promised and under-delivered on features, support and resilience. Determined to enhance the employee and customer experience, MaxContact was formed, and its own CCaaS product was developed. Eight years later, the business has grown to 70+ staff and has become one of the fastest-growing contact centre vendors in the UK.

MaxContact’s Partner Programme offers:

• Tailored Solutions: Cater to your clients’ unique needs with an adaptable platform and bespoke integration capabilities. No more forcing customers into cookie-cutter solutions.
• Competitive Margins: Enjoy attractive margins and flexible pricing models to win more deals and boost profitability.
• Unrivalled Support: Leverage a dedicated UK-based support team for presales, implementation, and ongoing technical support. MaxContact is there to help you close deals and deliver success.
• Direct Access to Leadership: Get strategic guidance and support directly from our senior team. Shape the future of the MaxContact product; we value your partnership and input.
• Proven Track Record: Trust in our 20+ years of industry experience and commitment to innovation. We’re here for the long haul.

Ben Booth, CEO at MaxContact says, “We understand the challenges resellers face in a crowded CCaaS market. That’s why we’ve built our program with them in mind. We offer the flexibility, pricing, and support they need to differentiate themselves, win more deals, and grow their business.”

Join the MaxContact Partner Program today! Visit MaxContact’s Partner Page to learn more.

About MaxContact:

MaxContact is the best cloud contact centre platform for delivering conversation outcomes and customer insights to generate more revenue – compliantly. Our cloud-based contact centre platform allows you to have more productive conversations and automatically connects the right people for better call outcomes.  MaxContact has unrivalled outbound dialling capabilities as well as inbound and omnichannel functionality, plus advanced reporting.

Media Contacts:

Pip Hough, Marketing Manager – pip.hough@maxcontact.com / pr@maxcontact.com

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Manchester, UK – 18th January 2023 – MaxContact, a leading UK-based customer engagement software provider, announced its support of the UKNCCA 2024, an award programme recognising contact centre talent in the UK. Organisers, the CCMA (Call Centre Management Association), have added several new categories to the awards, including Sales Team Manager of the Year, Most Effective Way of Working and Best Apprenticeship. This year’s programme also welcomes nominations for Best Approach to Supporting Vulnerable Customers to recognise organisations that demonstrably support customers with additional needs or vulnerabilities.

The UK National Contact Centre Awards is the largest awards programme that recognises contact centre talent in the UK, with CCMA members being able to enter for free. The online process is simple, and there is plenty of support from the awards team. The deadline to enter is Friday, 23 February 2024.

“These prestigious awards recognise the best talent in our industry and the organisations that are succeeding with their colleague-focused approaches,” says Leigh Hopwood, CEO at the CCMA. “The judges are looking for role models, those that are inspiring others and are driving forward our industry. For 29 years, we’ve seen winners enjoy the recognition that these fantastic awards bring.”

“Our Head Judges have been an incredible support as we refresh the categories to reflect what is happening in our industry. They will continue to oversee the process. With a clear judging criteria in place for nominations to work towards and for judges to assess against, not only are these awards credible and uphold the greatest integrity, but they are designed to support individuals and teams.”

“We are all excited about this year’s programme,” says Pam Kallay, Vice President of Global Customer Care at Mastercard, and one of the head judges of these awards. “As senior leaders from across the industry with years’ of experience leading contact centre operations, our volunteer judges are giving something back to help continue to raise the standards of our brilliant industry. It is also a great development opportunity, and so I would encourage all contact centre operations to nominate their top performers to provide them with this wonderful opportunity.”

“MaxContact is proud to support the UKNCCA 2024, shining a spotlight on exceptional talent in the contact centre industry. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best, and we’re thrilled to be part of it.” – Ben Booth, CEO, MaxContact.

Jackie Pringle, Director of Awards at the CCMA, added, “Entering the UK National Contact Centre Awards is easy! And there are so many benefits to taking part. From being told you’re nominated, through to the reflection needed to put together the nomination form, to the learning and development opportunity when meeting the judges and, of course, being part of the Awards Night. I’d encourage all contact centre organisations to consider entering this year and experience this wonderful journey.”

To take part, visit www.ukncca.com. The winners will be announced at the UKNCCA Awards Night on Monday, 17 June 2024.

About MaxContact

MaxContact is a customer engagement technology company with a difference. It was founded in 2015 by a group of contact centre professionals who had become frustrated with providers that over promised and under delivered on features, support and resilience. It’s now one of the fastest growing contact centre software specialists in the UK. MaxContact has been ranked one of the top 50 fastest growing technology companies in the North by the Northern Tech Awards consecutively from 2021-2023 and in 2022 received the IT Vendor of the Year Award from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and Computing Magazine.

About the UKNCCA

Organised by the CCMA (Call Centre Management Association), the UK National Contact Centre Awards (UKNCCA) are in their 29th year. They are the most respected awards programme in the UK contact centre industry. All UKNCCA judges are senior leaders from across the industry with years of experience leading contact centre operations, who aim to guide organisation’s development through their insight, questions and feedback.

About the CCMA

The CCMA (Call Centre Management Association) is the longest established association representing the contact centre industry in the UK. The membership organisation supports contact centre leaders by providing opportunities to network and share knowledge. It aims to advise members, keep contact centre leaders in touch with trends and developments in their industry, and provide credible benchmarking information.

Contact details: 

For further information or media enquiries, please reach out to the MaxContact team at pr@maxcontact.com.

To find out more about the UKNCCA and how to get involved, please reach out to Jade Basford at jade@ccma.org.uk.

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Instant Gratification in the Digital Age

The Amazon effect has created a culture of instant gratification. Consumers expect quick responses and resolutions to their queries, and businesses that meet these expectations gain a competitive edge. A study by HubSpot revealed that 90% of customers rate an “immediate” response as essential when they have a customer service question. Instant responses have become the norm, with customers seeking solutions in real-time.

Building Trust Through Speedy Responses

In customer service, trust is the currency that fosters loyalty. When a customer receives an immediate response, it sends a powerful message — the business values their time and concerns. This trust forms the foundation of a long-lasting customer relationship. Salesforce reports that 75% of customers expect companies to provide a consistent experience wherever they engage, whether through social media, in-person, or online. Consistency, coupled with speed, builds a sense of reliability that customers appreciate.

Correct Answers: A Non-Negotiable for Customer Satisfaction

While speed is vital, correctness is crucial. Providing accurate and reliable information ensures that customers get their answers promptly and receive solutions that genuinely address their needs. A correct answer the first time around eliminates frustration, reduces the need for follow-up inquiries, and enhances overall customer satisfaction. However, with increasingly complicated tech stacks and processes in place, the ability for customer service teams to get access to the right answer quickly can be troublesome.

Preventing Escalations and Retaining Customers

Instant and correct answers play a pivotal role in preventing issues from escalating. By resolving problems swiftly and accurately, businesses can nip potential conflicts in the bud. According to a survey by Qualtrics and ServiceNow, 80% of customers said they have switched brands because of poor customer experience. By delivering what customers need when they need it, businesses can reduce the likelihood of customer churn and foster a positive reputation.

Technology as an Enabler

The rise of advanced technologies has empowered customer service teams to meet the demands of instant and correct responses. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots, for instance, can provide instant answers to common queries, freeing human agents to handle more complex issues. However, it’s crucial to strike a balance — while technology can enhance efficiency, the human touch remains irreplaceable in certain situations, especially when dealing with nuanced queries or emotional concerns.

A Customer-Centric Approach for Business Success

In the ever-evolving business landscape, customer service teams are brand ambassadors, directly influencing a company’s reputation and success. Combining instant and correct answers is a potent formula for building trust, retaining customers, and ultimately driving business growth. As businesses continue to navigate the age of AI, prioritising the speed and accuracy of customer service responses will undoubtedly be key to their success.

MaxContact strengthens CCaaS solution by partnering with Engage Hub’s AI-powered solution.

Manchester, UK, 6th Dec 2023 – Engage Hub, the data-driven journey orchestration company, today announced a partnership with UK-based Contact Centre Software provider (CCaaS), MaxContact to help organisations maximise cost savings, service levels and efficiency in contact centres.

The partnership involves collaboration on contact centre solutions, including using Engage Hub’s contact centre optimisation suite to provide self-serve capabilities for customers, through automation, while offering a personalised journey based upon a contacts needs.  Powered by the MaxContact Inbound Customer Engagement software to support excellence in the journey, the partnership provides measurable improvements in first-line support, agent engagement and customer satisfaction.

Simon Brennan, VP Sales Europe at Engage Hub, said: “By combining the capabilities of two market-leading specialists, we’re creating a unique offering that provides organisations with enhancements across all areas of contact centre operations. This partnership with MaxContact is the latest Engage Hub venture aimed at offering the easiest integrations, the most comprehensive service and the best results.”

Ben Booth, CEO at MaxContact, added: “We’re excited to team up with Engage Hub to further strengthen our Omnichannel contact centre CCaaS solution. Their automation, AI and machine learning advances will help MaxContact users reduce interaction handling costs and boost efficiencies, all while delivering a higher-quality and more seamless service across digital channels.”

Through the partnership, MaxContact customers will have access to Engage Hub’s contact centre optimisation solution suite, which allows users to automate processes, boost self-service levels and improve call deflection rates based on their KPIs.

About Engage Hub

Get in touch to learn more about Engage Hub’s contact centre services.

About MaxContact

MaxContact is a cloud-based contact centre software platform with a difference. Founded by a group of contact centre professionals who had become frustrated with providers that over promised and under delivered on features, support and resilience, it’s now one of the fastest growing contact centre specialists in the UK, with a 97% CSAT rating. MaxContact was featured in CX Today’s Top CCaaS Vendors for 2023, Call Centre Helper’s Top CCaaS Vendors for 2023/4 and received the IT Vendor of the Year Award from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT and Computing Magazine in 2022.

Contact details: 

For further information or media enquiries, please reach out to the MaxContact team at pr@maxcontact.com.

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