On The Record

In the Sept. 14th issue of InformationWeek it is reported that CUNA Mutual Group identified a key barrier to sales conversions in their call center: requiring forms be signed and mailed into their processing center in order to complete the transaction. The leakage rate is reported to be 80%...80%!!!

The company implemented a call recording solution to capture "voice signatures," eliminating the need for paper forms to be sent in. The results include a faster sales process, an immediate increase in monthly sales of 74% and approx. $1.8M in additional revenues. There is no explicit mention of decreased costs but I assume the handle time to receive, open and process the mailed forms created a significant expense reduction to boot.

This touches on a topic about which I am passionate. Call recording is often pigeon-holed into the category of compliance, of being a "big brother" system that is all about control. The reality is documenting conversations has the potential to dramatically affect workflow and collaboration in powerful ways that drive revenue, make teams more efficient, speed project completion and eliminate waste - none of which falls into the historical domain of compliance.

Hopefully as more businesses look to drive performance through IT this valuable perspective will be more widely adopted.

Paying close attention to how the company interacts with its customers may be the best way to make sure the new super megaphone is used to preach one's virtues and not its faults.

I received this note from a customer of ours this week, Charlene Burgett, Administrator for North Scottsdale Family Medicine.

 

I constantly feel tension between the sophisticated needs of the contact center and the demand for simplicity from the rest of the business in this sector. It's easy to be pulled too far in either direction and leave a significant portion of the user base dissatisfied.

Today I got to spend time using the Alpha-release of our forthcoming software version. It really got me thinking about how much room there is for us to make easier the job of contact center management. Our industry has done much to capture and aggregate information but not nearly as much to identify singular instances of success or issues whenever that may be convenient. There are simple ways to build intelligence into our quality assurance products that will identify and serve up those contacts that require attention, be that based on specific factors or random selection for general oversight. Things like selecting live calls for monitoring because they are lengthy or from top customers and serving recordings for evaluation to meet sample rate requirements.

This seems poignant to me with staffs currently shrinking or stretched and knowing that a growth spurt is looming sometime relatively soon that will stretch us all even more.

Hello! Sorry for the absence...vacations, conferences, etc. have made posting a challenge.

The good news is my time away has me refocused and charged up. I spent time last week at Mitel's business partner forum showing some of our recent innovations. These interactions validated my thinking that what may be most exciting to customers of call recording solutions may not be adding to the never-ending list of features within our applications but rather making our rich set of content available to any applications in context.

Imagine finding a record of every voice communication with a contact within your sales force automation or customer relationship management application...a field service rep accessing the order request by keying the work order number into his mobile phone...a sales manager synching her iPod to the randomly selected calls for review as she prepares for her hour-long commute home. In each case the rich content captured by a recording solution was disseminated into the appropriate app or device for the moment.

There is great potential to extend voice documentation throughout the enterprise in exciting new ways...

Social media in business has been my pet topic of late. I believe network convergence has matured and is driving very creative application development focused on combining people and ideas rather than forms of communication. As these apps take root latency in decisions becomes less and less and organizations become smarter due to the network effect. It's the virtual equivalent of putting everyone in one room until a given problem is solved. Brilliant!

There are, of course, potential problems with this entering business. First, we already create enough content and data as it is. And most of that we struggle to find when it is useful -- thus, we have a new market for search technologies. Second, once content exists it must be governed.

Don't get me wrong...I think these are good problems to have; but they are problems nonetheless. As these new communications architectures are designed and applications developed we have a chance to think through solutions to these problems before they are massive.

Social media in the enterprise is a frequent topic these days. In my opinion the conversation is normally too narrow as it should include UC and VoIP in addition to the methods of interacting made famous by the likes of Facebook.

I think call recording can be a critical link between voice communications and these social media applications. Creating digital media out of voice communications that is indexed and automatically associated with the proper topic threads with the necessary layer of access permissions would streamline business communications by speeding information sharing and reducing miscommunications in an asynchronous way that works better in today's ever-more-busy lifestyle.

What do you think? Would you want to have some or all telephone conversations automatically published to subject-appropriate portals?

As the leader of my business, I know I am supposed to seek out and listen to the voice of our customer. They will tell me - one way or another - what they like and dislike about our products and services, as well as where we need to be headed to continue to be relevant to them.

I also know this is not easy. Many customers do not want to take the time to tell me how to improve my business. Many contacts within my customers are content but somewhat disconnected from day to day use of our products. And what I do get is usually filtered because of my role in our company.

But our contact center connects with customers daily who are sharing their needs, their pains and their successes. And, with call recording, it takes virtually no effort for an agent to tag a call as "Voice of Customer" so that it automatically populates my inbox.

Now I am able to hear those closest to our products and services share their direct, unfiltered feedback. I have a more complete picture of my customers than ever before.

If only I had a complete picture of how business will play out the rest of this year...

Our healthcare system is a constant news topic today as the government looks at ways to make it more efficient and patient-friendly. One of the issues with the system is that of insurance. There are many statistics being tossed around noting how many have and do not have insurance, etc. What is sometimes overlooked is the burden the current healthcare insurance system puts on the overall healthcare system and thus those that do not have insurance.

Per research conducted a few years ago by the American Medical Association it is quite common for insurers to reduce, delay and deny claims that should be authorized. Sometimes this is due to errors in how the medical providers handle coding and other administrative tasks. Sometimes it is due to errors by the insurance company.

A coworker recently shared a story describing how one such incident recently occurred. The insurer pre-authorized the treatment, then told my associate they would not be paying for it, then capitulated and took responsibility for the claim. Sometime later a collection letter was received. Luckily, having made the calls from a business communications system that includes call recording, my coworker was able to produce documentation of the agreements to resolve the issue and finally get the insurer to pay the medical provider.

Seems to me that part of the problem - maybe the majority - has to do with accountability. Isn't that what documentation and call recording are all about?

Maintaining high customer satisfaction levels in consumer services can be quite daunting. The first experience is typically a phone call to check prices, determine availability and schedule service. Then, an employee with little or no direct supervision will go onsite with a mission to deliver the service to the customer's satisfaction and collect payment, often after attempting an upsell to a premium service or to include an add-on.

Take for example, carpet cleaning. When scheduled, the consumer is usually thinking "I just want a clean, comfortable home for my family." But there are so many options and the prices can vary substantially.

We recently documented the case of a Stanley Steemer franchise in San Diego, CA, who uses our recording technology to ensure proper customer communications and immediately resolve any disputes over included services, schedules and pricing. Now, when the consumer questions whether the "add-on" should be included in what they were quoted, Stanley Steemer can pull up the call during which the apppointment was scheduled and comfort the customer by allowing them to hear exactly what was included in the offer.

Delivering a clean, comfortable home and the peace of mind that they got a good value, that's a way to grow a business and retain happy customers.

I've spent much of the last day or so speaking with distributors and other partners interested in whether the economy is making it easier or harder to get attention from channel partners. My honest response is that channel partners are more eager than ever for applications and business solutions that make immediate impact in the form of ROI because their traditional product lines - communications platforms and phones - are not driving the same rate of sales as before.

End users need solutions to real problems around customer retention, business protection and cost reduction. Channel partners and VAR's are a sharp bunch; they want to sell what customers want.

So I am excited about our present opportunities. I'm interested to know what others think. Please comment on this post with your thoughts on VAR's appetite for innovative business solutions today.

Thanks!

I will be attending ITEXPO East in Miami these next couple of days. I am interested to gauge the state of the industry given all of the changes that have taken place since ITEXPO West last September.

My primary purpose is to deliver a presentation regarding the use of call recording solutions to protect business assets while concurrently gaining operational advantages, something few insurance investments can offer. Businesses face greater scrutiny and oversight today than in recent times, both from the government and customers. Call recording can be used to more effectively address these constraints while making the business more customer friendly, boosting the top and bottom lines.

If this topic appeals to you I hope are able to attend this session and gain from the presentation.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Miami...

The findings reported in the recent Infonetics study on IP Contact Centers are significant. The global IPCC market will finish 2008 up 37% over 2007 according to the report as quoted on TMCnet:

http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/voip-contact-center/articles/48064-ipcc-market-finishes-2008-strong-expects-slower-growth.htm

This can be taken in a number of ways but I suggest it indicates a move to retain customers through stronger customer service initiatives, perhaps as a replacement to other, costlier revenue preservation or growth tactics.

To me this makes sense. I have yet to read a research study that indicates customer service perceptions to be anywhere near a high point so there is a known gap to be closed.

The real issue will be in execution. I hope companies investing in this technology are doing it based on a broader strategy to align customer friendly processes with enabling technology and people suited to care for customers. If so, look for a lot of action in the quality assurance and training markets in 2009 as those strategies go from initial deployment to implementation and optimization.