1. Personalization
Integration with your CRM application enables customer service representatives to create a more personalized fan experience. Caller details are immediately presented to agents, including information on how often they attend games and whether they have season tickets. 

This creates the basis for a more engaging conversation and allows agents to answer questions more quickly. Sports venues using cloud communications have received improved customer satisfaction scores on surveys, demonstrating how cloud technology creates a more positive fan experience. Remember: loyal fans buy more tickets.

2. Omnichannel support 
Fans want to communicate via voice, text, emails, web chat and even social media. A contact center built on cloud communications supports all modes of communication and lets fans choose the channel they prefer. 

With cloud communications, agents have a comprehensive view of the customer’s interactions in all channels – from a single screen. With access to the customer’s entire history of interaction with the company, they can get to the point faster and focus on what the customer needs resolved now. They do a better job of answering questions, and avoid spending time addressing old issues that have been answered already. 

3. Improved workflow
Call routing directs requests to the right person and reduces idle time among agents. Call prioritization for season ticket holders increases loyalty. 

CRM integration enables agents to complete calls more quickly, reducing overall wait times and order processing times. More sales can be completed in a day. 

4. Call analytics
The data captured from contact center calls can be analyzed and used to improve operations. Busy times can be identified and staffing adjusted to reduce the wait time during peak hours. 

Agents that take longer to resolve issues can be identified for additional training to improve their productivity and sales. 

5. Scalability and flexibility
Because the off-season is an important time for teams to regroup, the same level of venue resources often isn’t required. 

Cloud communications enables contact centers to scale up or down, thus avoiding unnecessary costs.

6. Improved training for new representatives
Customer calls can be recorded and used to train new sales and customer service agents. 

Training is more effective, and agents become more productive in a shorter period of time.

7. Reduced costs and lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Cloud communications reduces maintenance costs and requires less IT support from your internal staff. One sports organization estimated savings on managed services costs of at least $25,000 per year. 

Other research shows TCO can be reduced by approximately 50%.

8. More successful campaigns
To be effective, campaigns must reach the right people at the right time, through the right channels. 

List segmentation, automated data imports and managed list quotas are just some of the tools that can create more successful campaigns.

The technology behind the cloud contact center

Despite the critical role contact centers play in driving profit for sports organizations, venues are not contact centers. Thus, the technology needs to be simple. Fortunately, making the shift to cloud communications doesn’t have to be complex. 

For a robust cloud solution that’s easy to install and maintain, here are some features to look for:

Customizable with the ability to add new features and apps with minimal effort as your business grows and needs change.
User friendly management tools such as visual interfaces that provide drag-and-drop tools for quick and easy campaign management from anywhere and simple deployment of call scripting allows non-technical staff to use the system to its full potential. 
Seamless integration with external systems and databases, such as CRM systems.
Multiple deployment options that allow you to adopt new capabilities and move to the cloud at your own pace. 
Easy employee training that rarely requires repeat sessions.

Cloud communications gives sports contact centers a new level of capability when it comes to increasing sales and profit. An investment in the cloud has a high return – one that gives fans what they want, makes your team more productive and generates more revenue while saving money on costs.