Customer-Focused Self-Service Not an Oxymoron

The key difference between centers that fail and those that succeed is that the former tend to focus more on contact economics, while the latter tend to focus on customer experiences, says Ken Landoline, program manager with Yankee Group’s Enterprise Research group.

“Self-service investments focused solely on cost-reduction benefits are no longer a competitive differentiator. Improving the customer experience is now the goal of leading centers. When implemented properly, self-service can be a win-win solution for the customer and for the enterprise.”...

Explore “guided speech” IVR. Regardless of how much effort the center puts into making self-service engaging and user-friendly, there will be the occasional glitch here and there, or customers who don’t feel quite ready to let go of agents’ hands entirely. In such cases, most centers make it easy for callers to opt out of the IVR and reach a live agent who can help them with the rest of the call.

The latest trend takes a much more proactive and dynamic approach to assisting customers who embark on a self-service transaction. “Guided speech” IVR —a.k.a., guided IVR, agent-assisted IVR, hybrid IVR, et al. — combines the technological potency of advanced speech applications with, when necessary, the human intelligence and understanding of live agents. In centers that use guided speech IVR, designated agents serve as invisible IVR guides —assisting the center’s speech application with recognition on an as-needed basis...

Read More