In 2017, humanity collected more data in 365 days than we did during the last 5,000 years of our existence. Every day, around 2.5 quintillion bytes of new data is generated around the globe - that's enough to fill up 10 million Blu-ray discs. As disruptive technology like IoT and AI continue to evolve, our obsession with information will only continue to grow.
In the contact centre, you might think that huge amounts of data would automatically make the customer experience more compelling. After all, the more businesses know about their clients, the better the brand experience becomes. However, we can only truly make the most out of data if we know how to understand and interpret it properly. That means that we need to shed some light on the unstructured, under-utilised "dark data" that businesses deal with every day.
Uncovering the Dark Data Goldmine
Dark data refers to the unused and hidden information that's waiting to be discovered in the various silos throughout the contact centre. As businesses begin to invest in AI and big data analytics, they'll be able to tap into this dark data and transform it into useful insights that ensure better engagement with customers.
In the right circumstances, even anonymous information can be useful. For instance, if a contact centre uses speech analytics, they can determine how most of their customers feel when they're interacting with them via phone. This insight can then help the company to decide about whether they should stick with their telecommunications strategy or expand into instant messaging and WebRTC to give clients new ways to interact with the brand.
Illuminating dark data is about making unstructured information useful so that companies can begin to really understand their customers.
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are some of the concepts that are driving new developments in the world of dark data. With powerful machine algorithms, companies can sort through huge amounts of data in a matter of minutes, sorting through conversations to find information about the topics that hold value for their clients. With access to your dark data archives, you can begin to discover how your clients, think, feel and act in certain circumstances.