There are many advantages to enabling real-time video in the contact centre. For a maintenance company it can allow agents to see faults with a product or for an advice service (doctors, mortgage advisor etc.), it can provide a personal experience, allowing information or visual images to be to shared.
But outside of these environments customers are hesitant to make the leap to a full real-time video experience. This is partly due we suspect to technical limitations and partly due to self-consciousness of customers, but a big part of the objection is ‘why should I let my bank, mobile provider or even mortgage advisor see me when there is no obvious need, what benefit do I (the customer) get?'
When considering video into a customer service or sales environment, the key question to ask is, 'What value does it add to me and what value does it add to the customer'. Adding video as a gimmick or just because you can, needs to be treated very carefully. That said, it can be a very useful tool when used in the right environment.