Ashley Smith
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October 2016
If you polled 100 people, 99 might say automated customer service is nothing but a pain. They’d rather speak to a human being. Everyone has a nightmare story: confusing menus that lead in circles or to the wrong department; speech …
Ashley Smith
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June 2015
The vast majority of businesses, from small firms to large enterprises, are transitioning to the cloud in some capacity. But “everyone else is doing it” is not reason enough to make the switch. It’s important to look at your own …
Ashley Smith
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June 2015
Whether you work in IT or marketing, you might have faced some resistance to the idea of cloud computing – maybe from coworkers or your boss. Some organizations are more resistant than others to the cloud transition, whether that …
Ashley Smith
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May 2015
Forbes contributor Micah Solomon recently wrote a piece on this same topic, and in it he mentioned an innovative idea by Virgin Hotels: a customer telephone with just one button to press for help: “YES!” Virgin Hotels CEO Raul Leal …
Ashley Smith
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May 2015
When cloud computing first emerged, it was thought of as largely a small business solution. Large enterprises were wedded to on-premise systems because they had expensive infrastructure in place, and most couldn’t see past that. However, as the cloud has …
Ashley Smith
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May 2015
On the heels of our Salesforce.com CRM integration, Kunnect is pleased to announce that our seamless, cloud-based call center software can now be integrated with Zoho.com CRM and apps. Zoho.com provides a suite of affordable, web-based apps to small and …
Ashley Smith
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April 2015
At Kunnect, we’re constantly looking for ways to make our cloud-based call center software even more convenient and user-friendly. We’re excited to announce that we’ve completed an integration using the Salesforce.com application programming interface (API). Now, we can push data …
Ashley Smith
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April 2015
The cloud has become such a popular solution for contact centers that the question is often not whether to switch to the cloud – it’s “Which vendor?” As traditional on-premise vendors launch cloud offerings and new cloud-only vendors continue to …
Ashley Smith
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April 2015
People who have a poor customer service experience tell an average of 12 people, according to research from CX Act, and those people tell some 72 more. Factor in social media and those numbers multiply quickly. Amazing customer service, on …
Ashley Smith
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April 2015
Recently, I checked my bank statement online to find two unauthorized and unexplained Uber charges. I hadn’t used the service in weeks, so I knew they couldn’t be valid. A couple days later, three more showed up. I went to …
Ashley Smith
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April 2015
Cloud software has become such a popular option for contact centers that the question is often not whether to switch to the cloud – it’s “Which vendor?” As traditional on-premise vendors continue to launch cloud offerings and new cloud-only vendors continue to …
Ashley Smith
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March 2015
More and more often, amazing customer service is what sets companies apart. It used to be that a remarkably memorable customer service experience – whether good or bad – only made it into the ears of a few friends and …
Ashley Smith
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March 2015
A friend of mine recently spent more than an hour on the phone with Comcast (no big surprise there) trying to dispute an unexplained $84 charge that ended up on her bill. While she is far from the only person …
Ashley Smith
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February 2015
Good communication skills are critical for call center agents. That’s nothing you didn’t already know. But people communicate differently, and flawless communication is a hard thing to achieve. How do you train agents to be the best communicators possible? Chances …
Ashley Smith
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January 2015
The way we shop for products has changed in the past couple decades, thanks to the Internet. This applies to everyone from consumers to CTOs: We want to research products and pricing on our own – at least in the …
Ashley Smith
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January 2015
Any company can move critical systems and business applications to the cloud, but that’s half the battle. Jumping on the cloud bandwagon without giving serious consideration to how you’ll succeed in the cloud is shortsighted. Here are our best tips …
Ashley Smith
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December 2014
Call centers haven’t just changed; they’ve revolutionized. Everything from the technology to how customers expect us to interact with them has been flipped on its head, particularly in the last five or 10 years. In fact, we don’t even call …
Ashley Smith
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December 2014
You’re running a small business and you’re not at IT expert — why should you care about the cloud? Because small businesses of all kinds stand to reap big benefits from cloud computing, and you don’t have to be anything …
Ashley Smith
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December 2014
Security concerns have long been the single greatest barrier to cloud adoption. Companies have been leery – and rightly so – of letting a third-party vendor store and manage their data, particularly when it includes sensitive data. They were hesitant …
Ashley Smith
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December 2014
Small businesses tend to be nimble and agile. They can adapt to changes quickly, and implementing new technology is fairly easy because there are not as many burdensome and expensive systems already in place. For those reasons, small and medium-sized …
Ashley Smith
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December 2014
Experts will tell you over and over again that customer service must be provided over social media. But the advice has been ignored, in large part. There are varying statistics on the subject, but it is widely agreed that the …
Ashley Smith
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December 2014
As cloud computing continues to grow and take off, we’re seeing all kinds of reports, surveys and predictions about what the IT landscape will look like three, five or even 10 years from now. While no one has a crystal …
Ashley Smith
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December 2014
Security has long been one of the greatest concerns in the transition to cloud computing. Many companies, particularly those who haven’t adopted any cloud technology, are afraid their business and customer data will be at risk. In truth, some of that …
Ashley Smith
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November 2014
The call center is a much more complicated place than it once was. We used to interact with customers solely over the phone, but now we have to be available on multiple channels – mobile, web, social and more. Technology …
Ashley Smith
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November 2014
There are many different ways to price the same thing. You find that in every industry. Some restaurants sell sides a la carte, while others include them in the price of the dish. Some smartphone phone plans offer unlimited minutes …
Ashley Smith
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October 2014
Comparing Pricing and Features Among Top Vendors Contact centers are increasingly moving to the cloud for the convenience, flexibility and affordability it provides. However, shopping for cloud-based call center software can be tough. Many vendors do not publish their prices …
Ashley Smith
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October 2014
Before a customer calls your business, there’s a good chance he or she might not know much about the scale of the operation. Who’s to say whether they’re calling a home office or a call center with 200 agents? What …
Ashley Smith
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October 2014
Cloud-based technologies have taken off among small and large businesses alike, but it’s the smaller businesses that stand to gain the most. For the first time, the cloud has made complex business software and applications accessible and affordable for companies …
Ashley Smith
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October 2014
If you’re dialed in to the world of contact centers and customer service, chances are you’ve seen this great infographic by now. In the complex world of modern call centers, agents need a whole set of skills their predecessors didn’t. …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
A lot can change in two decades. A company that started out as a simple online bookstore grew to be one of the world’s largest online retailers, selling just about everything you could imagine at discounted prices. Then, in 2006, …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
So you’re ready to transition to the cloud. Perhaps you’ve heard from other businesses about the benefits, including low cost, advanced features and flexibility. But where do you start? That’s a tricky question to answer because it depends on the …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
The traditonal benchmarks for measuring success in the call center are pretty well ingrained, and old habits are hard to break. But call centers – and the whole notion of customer service – have changed drastically, particularly in the last …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
The traditional idea of what a call center has to be is fast going out the window. You don’t need a giant room filled with cubicles and agents anymore. You don’t even need everyone to be in the same city …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
Running a call center is a major expense, so operations managers are constantly asked to cut costs. Do you trim staff, consolidate locations or put off the next big technology buy? More importantly, how do you cut costs without compromising customer …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
For small and medium-sized businesses, there has traditionally been that not-so-sweet spot between needing a call center and being able to afford one. For very small businesses or startups, the issue was even more complicated: How do I seem like …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
For a long time, IT was pretty straightforward. Your IT staffers sat together in their own department – probably in the corner of the building somewhere or the basement. Technology buying decisions fell squarely in the hands of this department, …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
The shift to the cloud is happening at a dizzying pace. Business from small to large, government organizations and nonprofits are realizing the financial benefits, the flexibility and the ease of use that cloud provides. A new study by Emergent …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
If ever there were a loaded question, this is it. The alleged iCloud breach that leaked personal celebrity photos, including nude shots, has created a larger debate about the security of the cloud altogether. Is anything in the cloud safe, …
Ashley Smith
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September 2014
At Kunnect, we love infographics. We’ve compiled some of the best call center infographics from the past couple years to fill you in on the state of call centers today and where they’re going in the future. You might be …
Ashley Smith
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August 2014
NPG VAN has made a lot of noise in the political community over the last few years. The company is best known for its most notable client, Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, and it also counts as customers most Democratic members …
Ashley Smith
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August 2014
Predictive dialers are nothing new. They’re widely used in call centers across the world to manage outbound calls, both live and automated. Predictive dialers are computer-based systems that automatically dial a list of phone numbers. When the system is used …
Ashley Smith
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August 2014
Can something as simple as incentivizing your employees to exercise save millions of dollars per year and reduce call center turnover? That’s a tall order, but a tech startup called Tenacity Health is banking on it. Tenacity is a MIT …
Ashley Smith
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August 2014
From the ground up – that’s the spirit of grassroots campaigning. The method has been widely used since Teddy Roosevelt campaign in 1904 announced that it would organize in every locality, beginning “at the grass roots.” (To be fair, no …
Ashley Smith
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August 2014
Customers now have all sorts of ways to get in touch with your business, from email to social media. But what do they prefer? The regular old phone. More than 80 percent of customers still prefer the phone over any …
Ashley Smith
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August 2014
Kunnect sells 100% cloud-based call center software to businesses and political campaigns. Our software, hosted in the Amazon platform, seamlessly manages all inbound and outbound calling for a flat rate of $125 per user per month with a flat deposit …
Ashley Smith
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August 2014
If actors in big budget movies sounded like they were reading from scripts, entertainment probably wouldn’t be a $500 billion industry in the United States. Sure, we know actors work from scripts, but it’s usually not obvious to the ear. …
Ashley Smith
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July 2014
Cloud computing has been around for about 15 years now (and even earlier in its conceptual form). Companies like SalesForce and Google pioneered the idea that a network could be stored over the Internet, rather than on-site. Still, in 2014, …
Ashley Smith
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July 2014
Technology is rapidly changing the political game. Traditional methods of reaching voters, from radio and TV to direct mail, don’t resonate as well in the digital age. This is particularly true with young voters. That’s not to say that traditional …
Ashley Smith
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July 2014
Kunnect sells cloud-based call center software that includes a predictive dialer for a flat rate of $125 per user per month with a flat deposit of $125 per user. Our customers include both local and national political campaigns. In theory, …
Ashley Smith
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July 2014
Few things in life are completely stress free, particularly when it comes to the work environment. But reducing stress in call centers is key to the health of your employees and the health of your business. Stress in call centers leads …
Ashley Smith
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July 2014
So you work in a call center. Your job is stressful, we know. You’re dealing with angry customers, the monotony of reading the same scripts over and over, and hours upon hours of being confined to a cubicle. And, let’s …
Ashley Smith
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July 2014
The customer experience is directly related to the quality of your call center software. Think about what happens when IVR routes customers to the wrong department or an agent can’t pull up customer information to resolve a billing issue. Customers …
Ashley Smith
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July 2014
Reaching voters and donors efficiently is key to the success of any political campaign, whether it’s national or local. Winning the race requires the right technology, not just the right people. Campaign managers and IT staffers are increasingly turning to …
Ashley Smith
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July 2014
There was a time when businesses were anxious about the idea of switching to cloud-based call center software. Perhaps they were afraid of the unknown or handing over control to an outside company. But sentiments have changed. We’ve blogged about these …
Ashley Smith
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June 2014
Most call centers rely on predictive dialers to manage their outbound calls. Predictive dialers are computer-based systems that automatically call a list of phone numbers. They can be used to make live phone calls or send recorded messages. When a …
Ashley Smith
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June 2014
Call centers are tough work environments – to say the least. No matter how hard you try to make the workplace comfortable and rewarding, your call center agents are constantly dealing with the stress of long hours, tight quarters and …
Ashley Smith
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June 2014
In an ideal world, call center executives and managers would only have to worry about keeping customers and employees happy. In reality, cost plays a huge role in every decision, whether it’s how to staff your call center or which …
Ashley Smith
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June 2014
Before the advent of cloud computing, all software was on premise. On-premise software is installed on site and locally managed by a company’s IT staff, while hosted or cloud-based software is located and managed offsite by a third-party vendor. Each …
Ashley Smith
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June 2014
Advancements in technology are constantly changing the way call centers operate. Once upon a time, all customer interactions took place over the phone. Now we connect with customers over web chat, email, social media and more. Shifting attitudes about best …
Ashley Smith
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June 2014
Your call center employees are more than familiar with the sound of an irate customer. They pick up the phone and the yelling ensues. Or, in some cases, the customer starts off calm but gets worked up as the call …
Ashley Smith
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May 2014
A federal appeals court decision handed down Friday opens the doors for a whole new segment of at-home call center agents. The decision allows the FCC to move forward with converting its $4.5 billion program subsidizing telephone service in rural …
Ashley Smith
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May 2014
Most companies are hesitant to share the cost of call center software on their websites. They’d rather you fill out a contact form, talk to a member of the sales team and view a live demo before the cost is …
Channel Partners Online
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October 2013
After a long track record of working with indirect sales partners, hosted call center solution provider Kunnect LLC has initiated a formalized channel partner and wholesale strategy.
fred
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February 2013
Hello Kunnect Nation, It has been a while since my last post, but I thought I would share with you some “Kunnect Secrets” about how we foster an amazing attitude at work, and enjoy spending time with customers while doing …
TMCnet
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October 2012
Kunnect video interview with TMC.
TMCnet
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October 2012
Kunnect, a cloud-based call center telephony provider known for its free predictive dialer, in partnership with Organizer has just launched a new solution to further heat up election campaign.
TMCnet
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October 2012
Kunnect is accomplishing multiple things, earning it the prestigious recognition of being shortlisted in not one, but two categories, including Best Technology Partner and Best Niche/New Player.
fred
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July 2012
Kunnect Nation, I came across a really interesting article that highlights the ever increasing commercial shift from premise to cloud-based delivery models and I thought I would share it with you. http://www.wired.com/cloudline/2012/07/cloud-network-companies/ As early adopters of cloud-based IT infrastructures, we …
fred
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June 2012
Kunnect Nation, As we all know, the at home teleworker market in the US is beginning to boom, but it has been plaugued with some issues, predominantly the availability of reliable broadband internet connectivity. Google, Microsoft and more than 500 …
fred
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June 2012
Kunnect Nation, For those of you unfamiliar with the acronym CCaas, it stands for Contact Center As A Service. Gartner recently relased two interesting report updates. First is on its predictions for the 2011-2016 CCaaS market and the forecast couldn’t …
fred
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May 2012
Kunnect Nation, For almost two years now, we have been tooting the “Cloud Computing” horn and with reason. Everyday you hear about another story relating to how much someone is saving from having migrated to the cloud. Case in point, …
fred
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April 2012
Kunnect Nation, It would seem that some believe that the days are numbered for call centers and their client voice interactions, in favour of self-service via increased smartphone availability. Ask yourself this: Have you ever said the following… 1. “Oh …
fred
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April 2012
Kunnect Nation, Over the past years, I have often been asked by customers what they can do to prepare for a disaster as it pertains to the continuity of their call center. Disaster Recovery (DR) solutions have for a long …
fred
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April 2012
Kunnect Nation, I often get asked the question about “what settings should I have to cut down agent wait time?” That is a multi-loaded question. There isn’t one simple answer to this question. Here are the factors to consider: 1. …
fred
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April 2012
Kunnect Nation, I have written on this topic before, and I was getting ready to blog about it again today, when an industry collegue shared a very interesting piece she recently wrote. I thought I would share it wth you …
fred
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April 2012
Kunnect Nation, If you have been working with most of the Tier 1 carriers, like Qwest, Verizon, etc.., then you have undoubtedly received notices in the past 18 months about “short duration call” penalties. Why are they so diligent about …
fred
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April 2012
Kunnect Nation, I thought I would share with you an interesting story told to me by a customer last week. He owns and operates a call center in the U.S. with about 25 agents. At the begining of March, he …
fred
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April 2012
Kunnect Nation, With gas prices continuing to skyrocket, and commute times only getting longer, the ability to work remotely from home is a welcome practice enjoyed by call center agents around the world. That being said, I have noticed a …
fred
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March 2012
Kunnect Nation, Whether you realize it or not, telemarketing touches (or calls us, I should say) one way or another everyday…probably 2-3 times a day. I say this because one-on-one conversations with a prospect or customer still remains one of …
fred
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March 2012
Kunnect Nation, All the signs have been pointing here for the last 18 months; the U.S. Call Center market is poised for renewed growth. With renewed growth comes renewed technologies. Being a Hosted Call Center provider, I have been able …
fred
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March 2012
Here are some predictions I made earlier in the year. 2012 might be associated with the Mayan end of the world prophecy, but it also signals the start of a new era for the outsourcing industry – the cloud age. …
fred
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March 2012
Kunnect Nation, Over the course of the 12 months, I have noticed an important increase in business to business (B2B) calling. I also get asked my telemarketing managers if it is worth it to employ a predictive or preview dialer …
fred
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March 2012
Kunnect Nation, I wasn’t always a “dialer” guy. In my previous life, I used to manage the leads for a small telemarketing company. Some of the basic principles I learned then, albeit we were dialing manually at the time, still …
fred
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March 2012
Kunnect Nation, It’s one of Amazon’s best-kept secrets. How many computers does it take to keep its Elastic Compute Cloud platform afloat? And now, a researcher with Accenture thinks he has the answer: 445,000. That’s the number that Huan Liu …
fred
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March 2012
Hello Kunnect Nation, Yesterday we entered into an exciting partnership with TMC (tmcnet.com) in launching our very own online community called “Free Call Center”. As you all know, Kunnect FREE was impacted the marketplace in a very compelling fashion. We …
fred
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February 2012
Welcome to Kunnect’s blog page. My Name is Frederik Cote, and I am the President of Kunnect, LLC. On my daily blog, I would like to provide my readers with insight on various topics covering (1) Usage of the Kunnect solution, …
