Transforming the Customer Experience through a Contextual Multichannel Strategy

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1 White Paper Communicate in Context to Build Your Brand Transforming the Customer Experience through a Contextual Multichannel Strategy by Eric Camulli A great customer experience is one that harmoniously assists customer in achieving their personal, in-themoment goals Customer Service in the Age of the Enabled Customer We find ourselves in a new paradigm. Communication technology has shifted power from the hands of a few to the hands of the many, with the ramifications of that change reverberating globally across every aspect of life, from politics to parenting to customer care. Companies are recognizing the customer experience as a critical, revenue-driving business discipline. Increasingly, they are organizing to devote budget, focus and method to operating from a customer-centric perspective. In 2011, more than two-thirds of customer experience professionals surveyed said their firms seek to differentiate based on customer experience 1. A key challenge for these companies is how to push the envelope of communication technology to enhance each incident of customer interaction at every touch point across the continuum of contact, thereby transforming the entire customer experience. Forrester defines the customer experience as how customers perceive their interactions with your company, 2 The viewpoint from this perspective invites emphasis on an unspoken but implicit aspect of this definition: How customers perceive their interactions with your company is completely dependent upon the context of their lives. As a result, CEOs, CMOs, CIOs, customer experience managers and contact centers must establish a fully integrated, enterprise-wide multichannel strategy that enables them to satisfy the individual needs of customers anywhere in real-time. Customer and Company Context in Multichannel Strategy In-the-moment. Today s customers use mobile devices and laptops to access self-service applications that allow them to accomplish a wide range of tasks, including making a reservation or a purchase, accessing entertainment, navigating, enrolling, banking, learning and investing as well as sharing an opinion, a video or a message. The devices connecting them to these applications, through channels such as websites, social media and mobile apps, range from smartphones, tablets and laptops to kiosks and even consoles such as TVs and other appliances, DVD players and game platforms. If it s connected to the internet, it s a channel of communication. 1 The State of Customer Experience, Forrester, Feb. 17, The State of Customer Experience, Forrester, Feb. 17, In addition to accessing assistance with life tasks through their device or communication channel of choice, customers may change channels mid-task. For example, a customer may make a reservation on a website, receive a confirmation via followed later by a voice or text message that the flight is delayed and then call the reservation desk to check availability and modify reservations for connecting flights. The customer may choose to channel change or the necessity of changing channels may be forced by the situation and its circumstances. Self-service has been critical to making customer care in the context of the moment not only possible but expected. Self-service is not only desired by customers many say they prefer to use an

2 Self-service, when it works in the moment, is a splendid innovation. When it does not, it is a dismal failure. app to talking to a person it is cost-effective for companies. Forrester notes that one large bank reports that its mobile app transactions are one-tenth of the cost of branch transactions. 3 In the ideal case, the customer progresses smoothly through the preferred channel or channels with minimal disruption to activity flow and no need to repeat information previously provided, resolving the issue quickly and completely with a brand experience that is consistent across channels. Within the brand context. In the meantime, to circumvent the dead end, the customer may seek assistance from other sources online search, Facebook friends, online chats and forums among them, effectively placing customer care outside of the reach of the brand. Once company control over the context of the brand is breached, the customer experience is at risk. To companies aware of the economic value of high rates of customer satisfaction, such risk is unacceptable. Protecting the brand and its value is simply too important. Imagine a customer who has entered data into a mobile app without the capability to solve his or her problem. Dead-ended, the customer seeks to speak with someone who can help, only to be required to start the authorization process from the beginning upon reaching technical support. After repeating information already entered into the app, the customer waits on hold during transfer to a technical support specialist with the right qualifications and knowledge to solve the problem, perhaps having to repeat information yet again. Frustrated, the caller may abandon the call, or be less than pleasant when engaging the support specialist, adding to the overall handle time of the interaction. Then imagine all pertinent information transferring with the customer across channels so that re-authorization can be bypassed, previously completed troubleshooting information analyzed and the length of the call shortened because the right technical support specialist was empowered at the start of the call with the right information. From the get-go, the specialist is dealing with a happier customer, ensuring a smoother call. With the data. Those are the benefits when contextual information is recorded and synchronized across multiple channels. The information can be further leveraged beyond completion of the call through post-call alerts, reminders and other proactive notification to gather customer feedback, suggest add-on sales and more. Not only that, but given the capabilities of today s smart devices, new information and insight can be gathered to enhance and customize the in-the-moment customer experience and add to the customer s historical data record. For example, in addition to purchase and order history, intelligence based on analysis of the customer s social media interactions can offer insight into their peer influence and personality profile. Potentially useful geo-location data can be provided by the device. Point-of-purchase coupons or other special offers may be enabled, resulting in a customer experience shaped and powered by real-time business intelligence. Within-your-architecture. While investing in customer care has been shown to pay dividends through revenue growth, increased brand value and increased customer loyalty and retention, companies today face many demands on their resources. The reality is that companies must leverage their investment in information architecture to maximize their resources. While communication technology must integrate with the lives of customers, it also must integrate with the companies existing system to be cost-effective. A multichannel strategy that unifies and synchronizes knowledge and resources within the context of your architecture enables companies to build upon rather than replace their existing infrastructure. 3 Schadler and McCarthy, Mobile is the New Face of Engagement, Forrester, Feb. 13, 2012.

3 Bridging the Gap from Self-Service to Conversation All of the channels lending themselves to self-service options for customers have one thing in common: All require a bridge to conversation with a real person in the event of a dead-end. Becoming stranded in self-service not only frustrates the customer, it is frustrating precisely at the moment when the company is presented with an important opportunity to differentiate the brand, strengthen the brand perception and build the customer relationship. Failure at this moment is especially costly and potentially reputation-damaging. Customers expect both high-tech and high-touch, and research shows that when they don t get it, they tell their friends and family: 82% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company as a result of a negative experience; 79% of consumers who have had a negative experience told others about it; and 76% say word-of-mouth comments such as these influence their purchase decision, according to the fifth annual Customer Experience Report North America commissioned by RightNow and conducted by Harris Interactive. A recent Consumer Reports survey highlights the evaporation of trust when selfservice fails: There s a feeling on the part of Americans that companies are deliberately making it difficult for them by burying phone numbers, sidestepping calls and steering customers to online FAQs instead of living human beings, said a senior project editor for Consumer Reports. 4 An essential aspect of a multichannel communication strategy that transforms the customer experience, then, is a single Conversation Bridge that works across channels to ensure in-the-moment customer satisfaction, a consistent brand experience, maximization of contextual data and seamless integration to leverage the company s existing information architecture. In the mind of a customer who s stranded, a mobile app without a Conversation Bridge is an obstacle, not a service. 4 Consumer Reports, June, Schadler and McCarthy, Mobile is the New Face of Engagement, Forrester, Feb. 13, 2012.

4 Getting fast answers to problems and the ability to handle issues quickly and completely were more important than cost. The Conversation Bridge Solution A useful Conversation Bridge offers a single technical solution for multiple channels. It solves the problem of self-service dead ends by allowing companies to integrate live agent access into multiple channels without requiring the customer to endure extended hold times, start all over or repeat information. Instead, it provides in-the-moment customers with fast service and an alternative to waiting on hold through ASAP or scheduled callbacks. The callback service is the bridge that empowers the customer to reach the resources they need at the time they need them. Further, it fully uses contextual data for connection with appropriately-skilled agents to enable first-call resolution and to enhance and customize the conversation, while recording and reporting key metrics for measuring system performance. Embedded into a company s existing information architecture, VHT s Conversation Bridge comes into play when customers reach a point where they need to speak with someone. VHT uses bridge connectivity to determine if there s a queue, so an IVR, web page or mobile app can tell the customer what wait time is expected. The customer can then choose an ASAP or scheduled callback with a voice command, click or tap of the screen. When it s the customer s turn to speak with someone, the customer is called and the online conversation reconvenes as a live and personal conversation. Contextual data is passed from any channel into the live agent s view through existing routing and screen-pop systems, so the specialist is fully updated with the most relevant information. To prevent queues from becoming overloaded and to ensure the availability of customer service staff, smart business rules dynamically change the callback options presented to customers based on current and projected staffing and current and historical queue conditions. Accurate estimated wait times establish accurate expectations with customers. ASAP and scheduled callbacks allow customers to choose the best time for them to talk to someone while enabling businesses to redirect callback volume to times when they are best able to meet the need. During every interaction, additional data is collected, giving customer service professionals insight into the performance and ROI of the solution as well as the performance of their customer service organization through a suite of reports and metrics focused specifically on multichannel callback applications. All of the business rules and reports are managed through a single web-based user interface. These systems are designed to help business stakeholders and IT support staff to troubleshoot and to refine the solution to achieve maximum effectiveness and efficiency. So developers can quickly incorporate the Conversation Bridge into their systems, a variety of connectors are used to plug into existing customer interaction applications. They include web services, application templates and call flows that make it easy to work with the Conversation Bridge platform. With these simple tools, developers are able to work quickly without dealing with complex system integration issues. When they need to branch out from the templates, they can call on the Conversation Bridge s Application Programming Interface (API) that provides development flexibility when it s needed to meet unique business needs. In our new technology-centric culture, from whatever device they are using, your customers are always just a few taps away from speaking with a specialist who knows who they are and exactly how to help. Blending automated self-service support with the human touch at just the right time is a win-win for customers and companies.

5 Building Callback Solutions into Mobile Apps While initiating a call from customer service through an appliance or other console may seem futuristic at present, the explosion of smartphone apps is current and real, with more than half a million apps currently available from Apple s App Store. Stepping now into a Conversation Bridge that accommodates multichannel growth in the future is a strategic investment. VHT pioneered virtual queuing callback technology for contact centers and Fortune 1000 clients in the 1990s and continues to be on the leading edge with solutions for mobile platforms that are seamlessly integrated into companies existing strategies and systems. VHT s callback solutions that enhance the customer experience have saved literally hundreds of years of hold time for customers of companies such as T-Mobile, Aflac, AT&T, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southwest Airlines, Time Warner Cable and Avon. The first VHT client to build a live customer service connection into a mobile app was Bank Hapoalim in Israel. The largest bank in Israel has a network of branches and offers an extensive range of commercial banking and financial services to its customers. In addition to its operations in Israel, the bank also has branches, offices and subsidiaries abroad. Now Bank Hapoalim customers can monitor banking, make account changes and access customer service without waiting on hold, starting over or repeating account information all through the app downloaded to their mobile devices. By building the callback solution into the mobile app, the bank ensures a positive, consistent experience for customers who need to talk to a person who can help. The usefulness of a mobile app-based, live customer service connection goes beyond account management. Technical support, online commerce and shopping, application and submission processes, and reservations management all can be enhanced by the VHT Conversation Bridge. Further, the technology facilitates shifting from reactive to proactive outreach to further strengthen brand impression and loyalty. For example, the Conversation Bridge may be proactively offered through smartphone push notification to customers who have just abandoned a shopping cart, perhaps with items in it, or who have been recently sent an alert about the status of their account. The bridge may be offered to gather customer feedback on a recent transaction or experience, or it may be used to personally welcome a new customer who ordered online. Life-cycle based communications that have been shown to generate as much as nine times greater results than other types of marketing communications may be initiated. Conclusion Companies today increasingly recognize that strong customer relationships are a key competitive advantage and are devoting resources to develop those relationships. Today s connected, app-enabled customers are armed with a variety of devices and operating through multiple channels. They want answers quickly so they can accomplish their tasks within the flow of their activities. When self-service options fail, rather than being dead-ended, these goal-oriented customers need a dependable bridge to a helpful person who can solve their problem in order to prevent a relationship-building opportunity from disintegrating into a reputation-damaging event. VHT s Conversation Bridge provides a single, elegant technical solution that is effective across channels, enabling companies to leverage their investment in existing technology to achieve an important and sustainable competitive advantage. Eric Camulli Eric Camulli is responsible for building a world-class brand focused on virtual queuing and intelligent callback solutions that bridge the customer service gap between all self-service channels of communication and people who can help in contact centers worldwide. A visionary and passionate customer advocate, he has been at the forefront of the customer experience management movement as a public speaker and published writer for the past ten years. VHT is uniquely positioned to solve the ubiquitous customer service problem of reaching a human who can help by bridging the gap between automated self-service applications and qualified support for a variety of channels, including web, social, mobile, consoles, kiosks and voice. VHT s simple Conversation Bridge enables contextual data to be passed from any channel to existing routing and screen-pop systems to save companies money, optimize customer interactions and transform the customer experience. To learn how VHT can surprise and delight your customers, visit com, call or info@ virtualhold.com. USA : EMEA: +44 (0) APAC: +61 (0) LATIN AMERICA: Embassy Pkwy. Suite 350 Akron, OH TRY A DEMO