Deliver better customer experiences through enhanced voice service solutions

If you are like many of us, you have a customer service center that delivers good service, based on a daily review of key performance indicators (KPIs) and a periodic review of customer satisfaction (CSAT) and net promoter scores (NPS).  These operations sometimes run on autopilot because the scores are meeting target… but … is there an opportunity for you to do better, generating higher First Call Resolution (FCR), while further lowering your service delivery cost?

Here are some things to consider:

Is it time to revisit your service delivery model?

Automated voice solutions were originally implemented to prevent unnecessarily high call volumes from hitting the call center floor, by diverting easily automated questions away from customer service representatives.  The automated systems would take simple requests such as balance inquiries and payment due dates and provide the answers to customers who could exit the system without speaking to a representative.  This evolved over time, until the systems were being used to attempt to resolve much more complex issues, often leading to customer frustration and dissatisfaction.  More than likely, your IT department probably purchased software licenses and a maintenance agreement and, as your business grew, you added more licenses. Your IT team then became busy doing other things, and upgrades and product additions were not given priority, although some of the upgrades would have improved your system’s ability to handle a few of the more complex tasks, which were being relegated to the automated solutions.  Instead, you fell behind, and become less capable of meeting your customers’ ever-increasing demands for better service.  Your customer satisfaction score began to fall.

What do you do? Maybe it is time to explore a different service delivery structure.

Cloud-based, multi-tenant option

If your IT resources are stretched, then one option to consider is outsourcing to a cloud solution provided by a firm like Aumtech.  They provide a voice service solution in much the same way you purchase Microsoft Office for your employees’ desktops – they will handle the entire solution for you and always make sure you are running the latest version of the software, providing you with an option to take advantage of all the latest products and features.  This can reduce you service delivery cost because:

• It doesn’t involve your IT department. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are put in place to ensure that your service levels are met, and your internal IT resources can be redeployed to more business-critical processes to differentiate your offering.
• IT and data center support resources are spread amongst all the tenants in the environment, where aggregated volume drives lower service delivery costs for all.
• You are always on the latest release of the software and your outsourced team can help you take advantage of the latest product enhancements without impacting internal resources.

Hybrid option

Some organizations might not be comfortable giving up the amount of control taken when outsourcing totally to a cloud-based service provider; also, they may view their own investment in security, privacy and networks as valuable assets to be leveraged across their entire organization. So, for them, there is a hybrid model.  Here the applications run on internal servers hosted by the company inside of their own infrastructure and protected by their own privacy and security umbrellas; the software provider is then given access and takes the responsibility for maintenance and installing software upgrades.  This gives the company’s IT organization comfort that the applications are running on company servers, behind the company firewall and to their security standards.  This scenario also enables companies to redeploy some internal IT resources to more strategic projects which might better differentiate the company in the marketplace.  This scenario also ensures that your company will always be running on the latest release of the self-service platform and application software.

Other Benefits

If your voice service experience is trailing the pack, then these service delivery options will give you the ability to quickly catch up.  Hire a user experience (UX) company to review your user experience and provide journey mapping to identify gaps in your service relative to key competitors and best practices.  The UX Experts, in coordination with your software provider, can both help you with recommendations and action plans to enhance the user experience.

The new service delivery model also provides configuration options which will enable you to swiftly take advantage of several great services and diagnostic tools like:

• Automatic Number Identification (ANI) match
• Language of preference
• Virtual Hold and Callback
• Interpretive voice analysis and analytics
• Visual interactive voice response (IVR)
• Agent Tools such as Agent Assist™ and ScreenShare™ and Executive Dashboards and administrative tools providing Self-Service data to pinpoint areas for additional CSAT, FCR and cost savings.

These features and other technology tools will lower your service delivery cost by reducing call times, while simultaneously lifting your customer satisfaction and net promoter scores by providing better customer experiences.

Conclusion

If it is time to review your voice services, then maybe you should look at a new service delivery model. A firm like Aumtech can provide you any of the service delivery models mentioned above.

The Hybrid Model offers you more control of the data center environment and the flexibility to have software professionals who know the systems work with you to deliver the optimal service experience.

The Outsourcing Model enables you to lower costs, by being part of a multi-tenant environment.  Service Level Agreements (SLA) ensure your service levels are met.  Again, you will enlist the software professionals who have systems expertise, to work with you to deliver the best possible service experience.

Moving to a new model enables you to catch up quickly if you have service gaps, because newer services tend to be configurable within the software.

Be sure to take a good hard look at your voice services use cases and map the products and services which enable you to provide the best customer experiences.  Contact Maverick for an in-depth review of how you can enhance your customer experiences and transactions.