2015 North American ipaas Contact Centers Price/Performance Value Leadership Award

Transcription

1 2015 North American ipaas Contact Centers Price/Performance Value Leadership Award 2015

2 Contents Industry Challenges... 3 SpiceCSM Company Overview... 4 Price/Performance Attributes and Customer Impact... 4 Conclusion... 9 significance of Price/Performance Value Leadership Key Benchmarking Criteria Best Practice Award Analysis for SpiceCSM Decision Support Scorecard Price/Performance Attributes Customer Impact The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards Research Methodology About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

3 Background and Company Performance Industry Challenges Customer care leaders are under more pressure than ever to deliver operational excellence and retain customers. These professionals manage highly complex organizations that face tremendous internal challenges as well retaining executive leadership; agent hiring and training; performance management; coping with the forces of globalization; forecasting and scheduling; career development; innovation and continuous improvement; disaster recovery; cloud technology choices; government regulations; social media management; voice of the customer (VOC) feedback; and creating value added solutions that will benefit customers and shareholders. In the midst of these challenges, consumer buying habits are changing, and customer care providers must continually re-examine operational processes and resource allocations. This movement into new realms of specialized expertise signals opportunities for technology investments that could translate into enhanced value proposition for clients and consumers. In essence, technology-enabled platforms will be key to meeting the complex communication needs of today s consumer. Agents in call centers often find it difficult to manage inquiries from different consumer channels, while providing outstanding customer service. There can a dizzying array of various desktop interfaces and a lack of confidence in the of use highly complex CRM tools. To address this array of challenges, improve customer service, and ensure customer loyalty, forward-looking brands in particular are investing in platforms that integrate disparate systems, dashboards and interfaces. It is absolutely critical to create simplicity in the contact center through the integration of applications and processes in a single, unified platform. As Frost & Sullivan examines the demand for outsourced services in North America, we find that it focuses primarily on inbound customer care, acquisitions, sales and technical support. Business Process Outsourcers (BPOs) are challenged to sell products and services in markets that are fiercely competitive. There is an increasing demand for creative solutions in order to penetrate new markets and grow existing ones. Clients seek out true partnerships with outsourcing providers that help accelerate growth by way of: Improving net promoter scores (NPS) and customer satisfaction rates Increasing the number of sales conversions Up-sell and cross-sell activity Better customer engagement using an omni-channel strategy Many might suggest that BPO firms are subjected to even closer scrutiny than corporate call centers, given the fragmented and competitive nature of the industry and the most recent AT&T data breach. Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

4 BPOs are expected to be extremely flexible. Service level agreements and performance are measured relentlessly. Turmoil in the financial markets and a recovering U.S. economy pose other significant challenge: Using technology, how can BPO companies grow top-line revenues via sales and acquisitions for clients, while achieving high levels of customer satisfaction? SpiceCSM Company Overview SpiceCSM is a leading provider of Customer Engagement Center technology delivered as an Integration Platform as a Service (ipaas) technology. The company specializes in solutions for customer contact centers. This includes those that are operated in-house as well as outsourced call centers. History. The Founder and CEO of SpiceCSM is Michael Ryan. In 2008, he acquired the assets of Fused Solutions, a boutique BPO focused on Technical Support. After the acquisition, Mike, along with Pete Blackmer, CTO, and their team realized the challenges that both Fused Solutions, and its customers, had in integrating and presenting information to agents and customers to drive timely and profitable outcomes. The company has driven innovation in the ipaas space and built a new approach to business process management. This lead to the commercialization of SpiceCSM. Leadership Team. Mike Ryan, founder and CEO; Pete Blackmer, CTO; Ben Graves, Director Business Development; Jason Fregoe, Director of Process Architecture. Industry Coverage. Services and solutions span both the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) sectors across the following industries: telecommunications, high technology, consumer products & retail, financial services, healthcare, energy & utilities, travel & tourism, and government & public sector. Price/Performance Attributes and Customer Impact Criterion 1: Functionality The SpiceCSM Cloud Based Decision Tree Software uses Guided Process Workflows to present dynamic information to contact center support representatives that can cut costs, minimize training and reduce agent turnover rates. The Guided Process Builder is a simple and intuitive visual process editor tool that creates intelligent decision trees with embedded content. Why does this matter? The reason is because the Guided Process Builder enables organizations to design and organize common tasks and processes. It then automates them within the SpiceCSM platform for a wide spectrum of contact center activities, including: Technical support Customer service Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

5 Cross-sell and upsell Lead management Back office integration Sales SpiceCSM Telecom Use Case A leading U.S. based telecommunications company presented SpiceCSM with a unique business problem. The client had an aggressive customer acquisition strategy with the goal of adding one million new subscribers in a single year. SpiceCSM Guided Process Builder was utilized in order to build and deploy sales workflows for the telecom s 750 agents across multiple centers. SpiceCSM Guided Process Builder allowed the company to deploy sales workflows in less than half the time as typical implementations. The telecom company saved just under 80% of previous program costs. This campaign resulted in sales close rate increase from 12% to 20% (a 66% increase.). There were also significant benefits from real-time workflow updates that were built and deployed at the user level, without a need for expert process or IT resources. The company s sales plan was achieved in less than a year utilizing less than 50% of the agents planned. Criterion 2: Ease of Use One of the most difficult interfaces to transform in contact centers is the agent desktop. The second most problematic challenge, for most companies, is IVR self-service administration. Examples of Ease of Use Here are two examples of the power of SpiceCSM s Unified Desktop solution: The Unified Desktop. The solution ends the constant alt-tabbing and cut-and-pasting between applications and eliminates the need to train contact center agents in multiple different systems. It offers a number of long-term benefits including: Saving time with less repetitive interactions Automating tasks in more secure fashion Using single-search functionality Placing all applications in a single space no more alt-tabbing Porting data to and from source applications seamlessly Eliminating the cut and paste of data between applications Accessing multiple brands or functional areas despite separate systems Ensuring data accuracy and that the most relevant data is available to agents Guided Self Service. With SpiceCSM, the same knowledge and processes designed to Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

6 increase the effectiveness of agents can be applied in a self-service manner. Customers now have the ability to walk through simple, step-by-step procedures. This renders even the most complex problems easy to solve. It s a combined solution. If customers gets stuck in self-service, they can simply click a button and a live agent will pick up right from where the customer left off. There s no more repeating the steps or frustrating customer interactions as a result of repeating the same information. This cuts down call handling time, unnecessary transfers and results in more satisfied customers. Criterion 3: Product/Service Quality Other competitive offerings in this market often require a complete rip and replace when implementing a system change. However, this is not the case with SpiceCSM. For the client this translates into significant time and cost savings. This time and cost reduction is seen most ostensibly in the IT department where professional services cost savings can be as much as 75%. The SpiceCSM platform has been designed with simple to use application programming interfaces (APIs). They to be easily integrated with a wide range of high-end CRM and Helpdesk applications that clients already use, like: 1. BluePay 2. LogMein 3. Microsoft Dynamics 4. Netsuite 5. Oracle 6. Salesforce 7. SAP 8. Sugar CRM 9. Zendesk 10. In-house proprietary systems This solid integration ensures that the client s investment in these applications can be extended, connected and leveraged - without disruption and all in the cloud. SpiceCSM pricing models include: A. Agent seat license B. Concurrent model Criterion 4: Performance Reliability SpiceCSM s solution has been built as an enterprise grade Integration Platform-as-a- Service (ipaas). This ensures a high level of confidence in the performance and reliability of the underlying SpiceCSM infrastructure, security layers and the data redundancy configuration. Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

7 Service level agreements SpiceCSM offers its clients a brand promise guarantee. The entire SpiceCSM team is committed to, excel at proactively anticipating the customer s future technology needs. Leveraging cloud deployment and cloud economics Frost & Sullivan research indicates a clear move to the hosted/cloud solutions. Research data shows in Exhibit 1 below, the factors that are significant contributors to the adoption and growth of hosted/cloud contact center solutions for North America (U.S. and Canada). Exhibit 1 Source: Frost & Sullivan analysis Criterion 5: Prioritization of Features Another differentiator that sets SpiceCSM apart from its rivals is the platform s augmented customer-focused functionality. Customer care, lead management, campaign management, and help desk are pre-built into the interface. Other functions such as customer service management, diagnosis and troubleshooting, a business rules engine and shared agent environment are also included. For example, some of the key Features of the SpiceCSM Help Desk are: Case and Ticket Management Business Rules Engine Guided Process Workflows Reporting and Analysis Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

8 Analytics, metrics and reporting have become a critical success factor in a deploying new contact center solution; it s foundational to the solution: Standard SpiceCSM reports include: First Call Resolution (FCR), Issue Distribution, Customer Satisfaction (C-Sat), and many others. With SpiceCSM, no development effort on the part of the client is needed. The simple SpiceCSM interface is API agnostic and uses industry standard XML and JSON. Criterion 6: Perceived Value Return on Investment (ROI) statistics from real-world engagements reveals that many of SpiceCSM deployments are having a significant impact on sales, agent training time and customer satisfaction scores. The results displayed in Exhibit 2 are drawn from multiple use cases with a cross- section of clients. As shown in Exhibit 2, SpiceCSM was able to: Increase close rates in sales organizations by 12% Increase customers internal satisfaction by 45% Decrease agent training time by 15% Lower average handle time by 25% Decrease call volume by 37% Exhibit 2 Source: SpiceCSM 2014 Finally, SpiceCSM offers clients a full-service engagement, expert consulting and support with professional services. Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

9 Conclusion Enterprises also struggle to find customer care applications that can meet the demands of a new breed of customer; one that is digitally connected on multiple devices, and social media-savvy. Large organizations find it extremely challenging to build and maintain highly motivated contact center teams for effective business-to-business (B2B) and business-toconsumer (B2C) marketing and sales. The principal competitive challenge in the customer care outsourcing market revolves around the need for flexibility and speed in implementing customized client solutions. Service providers are facing a critical juncture in the industry; helping contact centers both in house/captive and BPO managed - solve problems and increase customer engagement. With its strong overall performance, SpiceCSM has earned Frost & Sullivan s 2015 Price/Performance Value Leadership Award for Integration Platform as a Service (ipaas), in the Contact Center industry for North America. Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

10 Significance of Price/Performance Value Leadership Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon customers purchasing from your company, and then making the decision to return time and again. A key component of customer retention is the delivery of a high-quality product at a reasonable price. To achieve these dual goals (customer engagement and price/performance), an organization must strive to be best-in-class in three key areas: understanding demand, nurturing the brand, and differentiating from the competition. Understanding Price/Performance Value Leadership Best-in-class organizations are particularly successful in two critical areas: first, helping customers to appreciate and enjoy the product at every price point; and second, ensuring that customers perceive a demonstrable difference in performance features at every escalating price point. Ultimately, this balance allows companies to profitably deliver a variety of product options to customers, differentiate the product suite, and compete at every level of the market. Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

11 Key Benchmarking Criteria For the Price/Performance Value Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan analysts independently evaluated two key factors Price/Performance Attributes and Customer Impact according to the criteria identified below. Price/Performance Attributes Criterion 1: Functionality Criterion 2: Ease of Use Criterion 3: Product/Service Quality Criterion 4: Performance Reliability Criterion 5: Prioritization of Features Customer Impact Criterion 1: Perceived Value Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience Criterion 5: Brand Equity Best Practice Award Analysis for SpiceCSM Decision Support Scorecard To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance categories, Frost & Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Scorecard. This tool allows our research and consulting teams to objectively analyze performance, according to the key benchmarking criteria listed in the previous section, and to assign ratings on that basis. The tool follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in performance evaluation; ratings guidelines are illustrated below. RATINGS GUIDELINES The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by Price/Performance Attributes and Customer Impact (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the definitions for each criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team confirms the veracity of this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which confirms that small changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies. Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

12 The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players as Competitor 2 and Competitor 3. DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR PRICE/PERFORMANCE VALUE LEADERSHIP AWARD Measurement of 1 10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent) Price/Performance Value Leadership Price/Performance Attributes Customer Impact Average Rating SpiceCSM Competitor Competitor Price/Performance Attributes Criterion 1: Functionality Requirement: The product offers enhanced functionality to serve the broadest range of applications Criterion 2: Ease of Use Requirement: Customers typically feel that the products are easy to use to generate optimal performance Criterion 3: Product/Service Quality Requirement: Products or services offer the best quality for the price, compared to similar offerings in the market Criterion 4: Performance Reliability Requirement: The product consistently meets or exceeds customer expectations for performance over its life cycle Criterion 5: Prioritization of Features Requirement: The features that customers most value and expect are most commonly available and most aggressively priced Customer Impact Criterion 1: Perceived Value Requirement: Customers typically feel that they received more from the product or solution than they paid for it Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution that addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

13 Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company s product or service, and have a positive experience throughout the life of the product or service Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high quality Criterion 5: Brand Equity Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high brand loyalty The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards Research Methodology Frost & Sullivan s 360-degree research methodology represents the analytical rigor of our research process. It offers a 360-degree-view of industry challenges, trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies. Too often, companies make important growth decisions based on a narrow understanding of their environment, leading to errors of both omission and commission. Successful growth strategies are founded on a thorough understanding of market, technical, economic, financial, customer, best practices, and demographic analyses. The integration of these research disciplines into the 360-degree research methodology provides an evaluation platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at bestin-class levels. 360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN THE CHAOS Competitive Benchmarking Availability of Capital Demographics Buying Behavior Growth Strategies Economic Trends Industry Expansion Industry Evolution New Vertical Markets GeoPolitical Stability Growth Implementation Technology Obsolescence Emerging Technologies CEO Sustainability Disruptive Technologies New Business Cultures Smart Cities Career Development New Applications Segmentation Industry Convergence Country Risk Branding and Positioning Crowd Sourcing Competitive Strategy Needs and Perceptions Capital Investments Emerging Competition Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

14 Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices Frost & Sullivan Awards follow a 10-step process to evaluate award candidates and assess their fit with select best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity of the Awards are based on close adherence to this process. STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT 1 Monitor, target, and screen Identify award recipient candidates from around the globe Conduct in-depth industry research Identify emerging sectors Scan multiple geographies Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all bestpractice criteria 2 Perform 360-degree research Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners Assess candidates fit with best-practice criteria Rank all candidates Matrix positioning all candidates performance relative to one another 3 Invite thought leadership in best practices Perform in-depth examination of all candidates Confirm best-practice criteria Examine eligibility of all candidates Identify any information gaps Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates 4 Initiate research director review Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles Brainstorm ranking options Invite multiple perspectives on candidates performance Update candidate profiles Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper 5 Assemble panel of industry experts Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders Share findings Strengthen cases for candidate eligibility Prioritize candidates Refined list of prioritized award candidates 6 Conduct global industry review Build consensus on award candidates eligibility Hold global team meeting to review all candidates Pressure-test fit with criteria Confirm inclusion of all eligible candidates Final list of eligible award candidates, representing success stories worldwide 7 Perform quality check Develop official award consideration materials Perform final performance benchmarking activities Write nominations Perform quality review High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees successes 8 Reconnect with panel of industry experts Finalize the selection of the best-practice award recipient Review analysis with panel Build consensus Select winner Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria 9 Communicate recognition Inform award recipient of award recognition Present award to the CEO Inspire the organization for continued success Celebrate the recipient s performance Announcement of award and plan for how recipient can use the award to enhance the brand 10 Take strategic action Upon licensing, company may share award news with stakeholders and customers Coordinate media outreach Design a marketing plan Assess award s role in future strategic planning Widespread awareness of recipient s award status among investors, media personnel, and employees Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"

15 About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit Frost & Sullivan "We Accelerate Growth"