Multichannel vs. Omnichannel Anyone interested in CCaaS is bound to encounter the terms multichannel and omnichannel. The two are very closely related. Multichannel is the ability to provide customer service across a variety of channels, such as voice, text, and chatbot. Omnichannel is the ability to seamlessly move communications from one channel to another, such as when a customer begins their inquiry on chat, then moves to the phone for a more detailed exchange. An omnichannel contact center can deliver these functions through an integrated queue. “We hear a lot of people talk about omnichannel when what they really mean is multichannel,” to see the entire journey. They can start with email and then move to a chat, and then agents can see the interaction cradle-to-grave. But we also see it built around the agent in the contact center. This enables that agent to interact whether it’s a phone call, an email, or a chat. All of those things can come into one platform. This enables us to send the customer to the agent with the greatest ability to handle the issue. This also changes the way companies onboard and train agents because, in an omnichannel environment, a chat with a customer will come in with suggested answers. You can get someone trained on that really quickly, and they’re able to find those answers without having to do it in real time.” “We hear a lot of people talk about omnichannel when what they really mean is multichannel” - Tim Montgomery (Alamo Cloud) Copyright © 2021 AVANT Communications, Inc. AVANT | CCaaS 6-12 Report | 16