Ringing Down Costs

WHEN INTERACTIVE voice response (IVR) technology was introduced at telemarketing call centers in the 1980s it created an economic revolution. Costs were cut significantly because many inbound calls previously handled by live agents could now be automated.

Since then, speech recognition steadily has evolved from providing simple routing and directory assistance to intricate voice-messaging systems. More recently, speech recognition has become alphanumeric and conversation-based, allowing companies to wring further savings from their call center operations.

Outbound alerts, the next generation of IVR technology, offer applications well beyond menu-driven customer service. Think of outbound alerts as proactive IVR. Instead of waiting for a customer to call you at $2, $4 or $6 a pop, you call that customer at a fraction of the cost — in some cases, saving up to 95% of the cost of using a live agent to handle the job.

While inbound IVR has one goal — to divert inbound calls from live agents — outbound alerts can be used to achieve many different business objectives. To understand how to use these alerts effectively, it's important for telemarketing firms to be familiar with the capabilities of today's technology.

Because they can mimic the actions of a live agent, outbound alerts are highly effective and can even:

• Identify customers by name (i.e., offer personalized messages).

• Ask for ID verification before providing sensitive information.

• Speak in any language.

• Allow the option of connecting to a live agent when appropriate (for instances of potential fraud).

• Leave a callback message that loops the customer back into the automated alert system.

Outbound alerts can be used to provide specific information you believe customers want, such as verification of an electronic funds transfer or a status update on an insurance claim. They also can be used to cost-effectively reach customers with information you want to pass along to them, such as reminders about payment due dates, spending limit notices or insurance-claim status updates.

The technology behind outbound alerts is now so advanced it can support many of the functions formerly handled by live agents. It also allows call centers to contact customers more often to offer new services that can enrich and cement relationships — and all at a more reasonable cost.

Moreover, outbound alerts can help reduce call center agent turnover by squeezing routine calls out of the system and leaving the more interesting, challenging inquiries for reps to handle.

The holy grail of contact center management is limiting inbound calls that don't generate revenue. Telemarketers get these calls every day: Has my deposit been credited? Did my Social Security check arrive on the third of the month? Have you received my claim? Have you shipped my order?

While IVR menus can handle a lot of these requests, many customers either don't understand the menu options or have figured out that hitting “0” will get them to a live agent.

Outbound alerts can dramatically reduce the number of inbound calls. The idea is simple: Get the information to the customer before the customer calls to request it.

It may seem paradoxical, but fewer live-agent calls actually can bring about better customer service and satisfaction even as your costs are driven down. Customers no longer are forced to work through an IVR menu to find the single piece of information they want.

Contact-intensive industries such as credit card, financial services and insurance have many opportunities to use outbound-alert technology. Among them are credit card activation reminders; electronic funds transfer confirmations and claim status updates.

Credit card companies have spent millions on analytics that can detect suspicious activity. However, most of this turns out not to be fraud but simply a legitimate customer behaving out of character.

Whether it's dishonesty or simply an anomaly, a live-agent call costs the same. In fact, many card issuers may set their alert levels higher, because at $4 to $6 a call the math doesn't support verifying low-value activity of this kind.

Outbound alerts make it possible to separate the fraudulent from the unusual for about a dime. And only transactions already verified as illegal will require a live agent.

Even when the charge is legitimate, outbound fraud alerts serve another business purpose — customer retention. They assure customers that your firm is always mindful of their best interests.

Soft collections are a high-value application for outbound alerts, because the technology is especially well suited for sensitive transactions. The recorded voice is non-threatening and factual — and obviously, under no circumstances will it get into an argument with your customer!

Outbound alerts can make non-pay courtesy calls as well as more persistent ones. What's more, each call can include an option to discuss the matter with a live agent or make an immediate payment. The low cost makes it affordable for telemarketers to write more stringent collection rules for all accounts. And agents can focus their well-paid skills on actual collections, not courtesy calls.

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MICHAEL LUBBEN (mlubben@ictgroup.com) is a vice president at ICT Global Interactive, a CRM company in Newtown, PA.

Low Cost, Wide Application
IVR's next gen: outbound alerts

CRM	Customer Care	Fraud Control	Collections
Credit card activation Renewal notices CD maturation forms Special offers End-of-day stock quotes	Claim status updates Loan processing follow-up Address changes Dispute resolution Electronic funds transfer confirmations	Suspicious activity warnings Skip tracing	Non-pay courtesy calls Payment reminders Account suspension or cancellation advisements