800 number consolidation with Call Guiding

Typically organizations create numerous 800 numbers in order to provide many different access points for different customer groups, type of callers, etc. I have talked to some companies who have initiatives to reduce 800 numbers that are coming in and these are the reasons why :

1) To simplify access for the customer by having 1 number to call
2) Have more flexibility for marketing programs
3) Reducing misroutes

Call Guiding from Spoken Communications helps organizations by providing a centralized number for customers to call, nearly 100% accuracy in routing, and a reduction in AHT (average handle time).

Global Consumer Study Reveals Key Areas of Customer Frustration

A report from a survey conducted by Genesys reports:

The Biggest Causes of Customer Frustration

In 2003, Genesys created the pioneer study in customer frustration and has followed in each of the past four years. Globally, the major sources of customer frustration are consistent with findings over the past four years:

* Long hold times -- 67 percent of consumers are frustrated by long hold times, and 88 percent would prefer to receive a call-back in 10 minutes than to be on hold for that long. * Poor automation -- 57 percent of consumers are frustrated by IVRs with too many or incorrect options and 76 percent of consumers feel that companies are pushing them to use self-service systems instead of talking to live people. * Customer Repetition -- 52 percent of consumers are frustrated by having to repeat information they've already provided.

The Cost of Error in Your IVR to Increase by 40%

What does it cost every time a caller opts out of your IVR? You may need to brace yourself and your staffing budgets for 2007 and 2008. The Federal Minimum Wage hike approved by Congress this week could now make that 40% more expensive every time it happens.

What's the Problem?
Why is the cost of failure in call automation a problem to begin with? Automation in the call center today is really the opposite of what it should be. On one hand companies employ minimum wage (or higher wage) workers to answer routine and mundane questions. On the other hand you have sophisticated technology, software and hardware resources trying to figure out what humans are talking about.

It really should be the other way around. Most of the reasons for callers to opt out in the first place is confidence. One of the top requested call center IVR features by the GetHuman.com survey participants is "If the system is having trouble understanding me, connect me to a human."

Where there is a gap there is an opportunity
The opportunity is evident from any of the experiences we've had at the local grocery chain store or at Home Depot(tm) in the self-service checkout lane. The self checkout process works most of the time, but without the cashier attending 4 kiosks or more and watching for small problems that pop up from time to time, then it wouldn't. These small errors in the process result from wrong reactions to the interface by the customer, environmental problems with the hardware, or transactions that are too complex. If these errors were not recoverable at the time of transaction, then the cost of the error would be "opting out" to a one-on-one checkout with a cashier, increasing labor, wait times and decreasing confidence in the automation.

The opportunity in the call center environment is to provide a similar experience in the IVR, where a call center agent comes to the aid of the caller when they need help and then lets automation take over when they don't. This blending of automation and agent now provides for some very interesting efficiencies.

How do I lower my cost of error?
Spoken Communications provides call centers a secret weapon in the fight against the cost of error in automation. Spoken provides the only solution for call centers that has fully integrated the call center agent and speech technology together.

Spoken's Guided Speech IVR(tm) provides a self-service platform where callers are less likely to opt out because of common problems in IVRs. Call center agents handle multiple calls- silently and simultaneously while providing discreet assistance to callers in automation. Call centers can now quickly get agent productivity gains of 4x or more, change IVR opt-outs to IVR opt-ins, and guarantee the success of callers experience with self service.

What do call centers say?
Spoken Communications jointly published a Call Center Best Practices White Paper with results of a recent survey conducted by Benchmark Portal. 388 North American call centers were surveyed in a variety of industries including financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, technology, consumer products, outsourcing, and transportation. Over 76% of the respondents said that the caller experience would be improved if their IVR technology could successfully model their best agents by starting each call with “How can I help you?” and guaranteeing the appropriate outcome.

For more information on the best practices white paper, contact Spoken Communications at 425-679-0696 or click here

Tags:
Spoken, Call Center, IVR