Helping companies deliver excellent customer service has been at the heart of 1Stream since the business was launched 15 years ago.
While much has changed over the last decade and a half, the essence of what makes 1Stream Southern Africa’s leading CRM and cloud-based contact centre provider remains the same: a commitment to delivering leading-edge, easy-to-access technology to organisations across the region backed by 1Stream’s team of CX experts.
“As we celebrate our 15th birthday, my co-founder, Bruce von Maltitz and I are proud to count some of Southern Africa’s leading companies and industry innovators among our client base,” says 1Stream CEO, Jed Hewson. “Keeping up with changes in the industry and ensuring we can deliver the very best offerings to our clients have been key to our success.” Here Jed reflects on the main trends that are currently shaping and changing the industry:
Chatbots help businesses deliver great service 24/7
“Companies that are serious about growing and strengthening their business know that excellent service delivery is essential to give them the leading edge over their competitors,” says Hewson. “Advancement in AI, and specifically chatbots, enables companies to do this.”
Instead of organisations having to employ more agents, they can instead deliver cost-effective self-service options and utilise AI programs, like ChatGPT. “Chatbots are completely changing the landscape of contact centres. If properly implemented, they can be used to deliver a high level of service on repetitive tasks – they’re available 24/7 and can give immediate responses to customers queries,” says Jed. “The bonus is that this means human agents can be freed up to handle more complex queries, saving the company money and at the same time improving customer service delivery.”
Omni channel CRM
CRMs have helped simplify the working environment and enable sales, service and marketing teams to all work off a single platform with updated customer information at their fingertips. This means they can consistently deliver the best service to customers, eliminating customer frustration, thereby growing customer loyalty and having all the information they need to cross-sell and up-sell.
“To ensure teams maximise the benefits from your CRM investment, it is essential that the contact centre telephony solution you choose can fully integrate with your chosen CRM, like 1Stream’s telephony solution,” says Jed. As a proudly South African business, 1Stream is aware of the unique needs of the Southern African market. “We offer locally relevant solutions priced in rand so that our customers aren’t subjected to the ever-fluctuating exchange rates,” says Hewson.
Improved workflow equals improved bottom line
When a CRM is effectively implemented across your entire organisation, it ensures a seamless workflow so that any customer purchase is well managed from the time of sale through to delivery – and beyond.
“While a good CRM platform will most definitely help your sales team meet its targets, boost sales and drive revenue, service delivery does not end once the product is in your customer’s hands,” says Hewson. “Post-sale service is key to maintain customer loyalty – you want to make sure you retain all customers you have won over so that you enjoy their repeat business. A fully integrated CRM manages workflow, which means every individual and every team within the organisation know exactly what is expected of them as the work is handed off between different departments.”
Good business needs good people and partnerships
“Key to 1Stream’s success over the past 15 years has been our team of forward-thinking experts who are all passionate about the industry, and our global partnerships that give us insights into global best practices that we then adapt and implement for our local clients,” says Hewson.
The 1Stream team’s technical experience and CX understanding have seen their solutions transform organisations across diverse industries, from leading insurance companies and e-commerce marketplaces to airlines and hotel chains.
“As we look forward to the next 15 years, we are excited to continue delivering innovative CX solutions and strategies that help make great businesses extraordinary,” says Hewson.
To find out more about 1Stream’s CRM solutions and how our CX experts can help transform your business, click here.
