The latest IQPC Executive Report on Customer Experience  highlights a startling fact about companies gathering intelligence from customers, i.e. voice of the customer, so an appropriate “customer experience design” can be created and eventually presented to customers. IQPC reports that more than one quarter (25.9%) of survey respondents said that their organizations either do not know (12.6%) or are not sure (13.3%) of their customers’ experience priorities.

Additionally, companies are still using old practices to access the voice of the customer. The most commonly reported methods for collecting information on customer priorities are: customer satisfaction surveys (79.1%), feedback forms (53%), unsolicited complaints (51.5%), unsolicited customer praise (43.3%), with primary research, such as customer focus groups, being the least used at 35.8%. Surely there has to be better ways of gathering information, since most of these options are time-consuming, labor intensive, and not always efficient.

Virtual Agents, when deployed over the omni-channel web (websites, social media, mobile, etc.), can be a powerful tool in any organization’s Voice of the Customer program. When a customer interacts with a company by asking questions via a Virtual Agent, the questions can be captured and automatically structured into intelligently organized themes that are intuitive to a visual user. Essentially, one piece of technology will be able to deliver more accurate results, is less labor intensive and more efficient than its manual counterpart, resulting in a better customer experience delivery. Just make sure you choose the correct Virtual Agent, since they’re not all created equally.

When it comes to truly understanding your customers’ needs, old methodologies used to understand voice of the customer will simply not make the cut. In the “age of the customer”, companies require a fast turnaround between when companies receive voice of the customer data and when the data is actioned on. Companies not quick with the turnaround risk irrelevance to customers and/or loss of revenue; neither of which are ideal circumstances.

Download the Report!

Does your organization leverage voice of the customer data? Looking to better understand your customer and improve the customer experience? Get your complimentary copy of the Executive Report on Customer Experience  (Spring 2013 Edition) and learn more about this and other tips for getting voice of the customer working for you!

The post When It Comes to True Voice of the Customer “Old” Is Not Always “Gold” appeared first on .

The post Prepare for the Age of the Customer appeared first on .

What Does “Customer Experience” Really Mean?

The first area the research focused on is the definition of the customer experience, since the research uncovered a misalignment in the definition by survey respondents.

What Does “Customer Experience” Really Mean? IQPC’s Spring 2013 Executive Report on Customer Experience found that the definition of “Customer Experience” varied greatly among respondents.

Respondents disagreed on questions such as: what entails the customer experience, who is in charge of the customer experience, when does customer service begin and end, which departments design the customer experience, etc.

Getting Your Priorities Right!

Another area the report focused on is in priorities. While the majority of respondents said that customer service is a leading priority, with company priorities frequently aligning with customer priorities, a fraction of participants still use the call center as the priority in delivering the customer experience. While a call center has tremendous interactive value, it doesn’t have control over product quality, reliability of service delivery, pricing, etc. and so it isn’t equipped to be the focal point of the customer experience.

An Integrated Customer Experience

The report also drew attention to the area of technology integration.  Many businesses don’t have a consistent customer experience across all customer integration touchpoints (web, mobile, social media, phone, email, chat, etc) and they don’t have a plan in place to remedy the inconsistency or do not have the confidence in their current remedial plans. The lack of integrated technology has a further domino effect, in that companies aren’t able to measure the Voice of the Customer across all the different channels and touchpoints, missing out on valuable data vital to the constant improvement of the customer experience.

Learn More About The Customer Experience Blog Series

Watch this video to learn more about the Customer Experience Blog Series and to find out how to get your own complimentary copy of the Executive Report on Customer Experience. (HINT: The report will be available for download in our next blog!)  Stay tuned!

The post The 2013 Executive Report on Customer Experience Has Arrived! appeared first on .

The post The Contact Center is Not Dead, Just Evolving! Why This is Good for Customer Service appeared first on .

The post Calculating the Contact Center’s IQ appeared first on .

IntelliResponse Participating at Call Center Week in Las Vegas,
June 10 -14, 2013

• Watch the presentation: Kobo Books Gives Customers “The One Right Answer” – A Case Study in Online Customer Service, featuring Mark Stevens, VP of Customer Care, Kobo Books and Mike Hennessy, VP Marketing, IntelliResponse (June 12th at 2:35PM Track B in the Augustus V Room).

• Discover how today’s leading organizations are leveraging self-service technologies like virtual agents to transform the customer experience.

• Stop by booth #316 and speak one-on-one with us. (You might be the lucky one who wins the mystery prize).

For details visit the Call Center Week website.

You can also keep up to date with all things related to Call Center Week with Twitter hashtag: #CallCenterWeek.

The post Call Center Week appeared first on .

The post 17 Tips for Achieving Social CRM Success appeared first on .

During our last round of events and conferences, our team was hooked up to the caffeine IV! The 47 coffees weren’t so necessary this time around. Most recently, IntelliResponse participated in two events: Finovate Spring 2013 and ICMI ACCE. Here’s a brief recap of the events and the activities IntelliResponse participated in:

Held in San Francisco, on May 14th and 15th, Finovate Spring 2013 was a “two day showcase of the best innovations in financial and banking technology”. IntelliResponse CEO, David Lloyd, and VP of Marketing, Mike Hennessy, jointly delivered a powerful 7-minute presentation on the value of leveraging Virtual Agent technology across the omni-channel web (web, mobile, social, etc) as well as using Virtual Agents to gain access to valuable Voice of the Customer Data. Watch the video below:

Xin Wang, an attendee, tweeted the following: “#finovate IntelliResponse improves customer digital self-service. Perfect for ppl who don’t want to but have to talk to rep to solve probs.” G. Krista Morgan, another attendee, tweeted the following praise: “Loving @intelliresponse #finovate demo. Passionate speaker and a smart product!”

Perhaps our highest praise came from Forrester analyst Tiffany Montez, who selected IntelliResponse as one of her ‘Best in Show’ picks and wrote the following in her blog: “Search no longer sucks. IntelliResponse has stepped up to deliver a solution that eliminates the tedious and, often times, ineffective internal search. IntelliReponse’s Virtual Agent allows customers to ask a simple question in natural conversational language and provides one answer to the question.”

Virtual Agent fever was definitely present at Finovate as David and Mike were both busy answering questions from attendees, analysts, and reporters while at the conference.

IntelliResponse also participated at the ICMI ACCE Conference and Expo in Seattle, Washington, from May 13th and 16th. Sarah Burke represented IntelliResponse at this show where eager attendees discovered how the latest contact center innovation, Virtual Agent technology, helps organizations deliver a superior online customer service experience. While Virtual Agents are mainly an online self-service tool, when deployed in a contact center, Virtual Agent technology eliminates call transfers and inconsistent answers, reduces hold times and simplifies the CSR desktop. Sarah discussed Virtual Agents and omni-channel customer support with call center professionals at the show, as well as fielded questions about our new whitepaper “Death of the Contact Center”.

All in all, it was a very good week for our team representing at Finovate and ICMI ACCE and we look forward to continuing our innovation in the virtual agent technology space.

The post IntelliResponse Takes Center Stage at Finovate Spring 2013 appeared first on .

What has any of this got to do with contact centers?

Give me some poetic license here. Traditional contact centers are our dinosaurs for the purposes of this argument. They’re huge, they’ve dominated an entire space for a generation and they are now on the brink of extinction. The asteroid? The explosion of multiple consumer touchpoints and self-serve technology that has reduced traditional customer interaction “overnight”, by eliminating most of what the center does – being the first point of contact for customers.

Is survival possible? If so, how?

Just like the birds and other large reptiles who adapted to this new shift in atmospheric and biological conditions, traditional contact centers can and need to adapt to the new era of self-service technology by making a few small changes. Here are some ideas to consider:

1. Use self-service technology across all online consumer touchpoints
Online self-serve technology, delivered through Virtual Agent technology, doesn’t eliminate the need for the contact center, but it does eliminate the customer’s need to pick up the phone to get an answer to simple, mundane questions. When eliminated, what’s left are customer questions that absolutely require human assistance. These more complex interactions are where a contact center can develop customer loyalty, in providing a ‘premium’ support experience, a service customers will always value.

2. Cut down hold times and call transfers by giving your agents the same tools
By implementing Virtual Agent technology on CSR desktops too, the need to put customers on hold to find information or transfer customers to more experienced CSRs get dramatically reduced. The technology allows CSRs to answer customer questions on the spot, by typing difficult questions into the Virtual Agent question box and getting the precise answer every time. Resolving customer issues the first time results in higher levels of customer satisfaction, as reported by Matthew Dixon in his article “Stop Trying to Delight Customers” for the Harvard Business Review.

3. An omni-channel web deployment doesn’t mean that contact centers go out of service
After customers have attempted to self-serve and still can’t get an answer to their questions, perhaps because it is more unique or personal in nature, escalating to a live contact center agent should be a normal route for resolution. The customers who do so are looking for one thing: a flawless interaction. Basically, call center reps have the opportunity to make customer service count, by giving customers a more personal experience and eliminating the ‘run around’. The result of flawless interactions should be no surprise – increased customer loyalty.

The traditional contact center may never go back to being the apex predator it once was. Contact centers can, however, still remain ferocious and dominant entities in this new era of advancements in customer self-service technology; partially by embracing the technology for itself. For more information on how Virtual Agent technology can keep traditional  contact centers from going extinct, get in touch with us today.

The post Are Dinosaurs Really Extinct? Modernizing Traditional Contact Center Operations appeared first on .

The post Online Self-Service Crosses the Chasm appeared first on .

The post FinovateSpring Fling 2013: Another Year Of Dazzling Financial Services Delight! appeared first on .

A recent Forrester report, “Welcome to the Era of Agile Commerce”, suggests that omni-channel customers (those who interact with a company via web, mobile, social media, etc.) are worth more than single channel customers (those who only use one means of interaction with the company). To highlight the importance of having an interactive omni-channel presence, I’d like to highlight the following statistic from the report: 45% of US adults (18 – 24) planned on using smartphones to research products and hunt for bargains during the 2010 Christmas season.

The same demographic, according to Andrew McAfee in his Harvard Business Review blog post “Do Your Younger Customers Even Like Your Company?”, is highly distrustful of insurance advisors, perceived to function only for personal or business gain over customer service. McAfee continues: “the first companies in this sector (insurance and banking) to provide excellent service to the digital natives will mop up the competition and rack up market share.” Translation: not offering customers the option to self-serve via the omni-channel has an organization run the risk of falling behind and becoming outdated.

One of the biggest challenges organizations face when trying to support multiple customer interaction channels is maintaining consistent information across all the different channels. Here is where Virtual Agent technology comes in. Virtual Agent technology plays a specialized role within the larger sphere of the knowledge management software space. Virtual Agent technology gives companies the means to provide their customers with a superior online customer service experience by delivering the precise answers customers are seeking, but in an automated fashion across the omni-channel. In utilizing Virtual Agents, companies not only avoid customer confusion or miscommunication, but do so at a fraction of the cost of live assistance channels. The result: a better customer service experience, leading to greater customer loyalty.

Matthew Dixon in his article for the Harvard Business Review, “Stop Trying to Delight Customers”, says: “(customer) loyalty has a lot more to do with how well companies deliver on the basics, even plain-vanilla promises, than on how dazzling the service experience might be.” ‘The basics’ in web self-service is delivering consistent information, i.e the precise answer, across all customer touch points. Want to create a plethora of loyal customers? Perhaps Virtual Agent technology might be just what you’re looking for.

For more information, watch this video to learn more about Virtual Agent technology and how it helps organizations improve the customer experience.

Walker, Brian K and others. “Welcome to the Era of Agile Commerce”. Forrester Research Inc. March 11th, 2011.

The post Building on a Firm Foundation: Self-Service via the Omni-Channel appeared first on .

Desperate for information, they try typing their question into your ‘Search’ option, only to generate pages and pages of information to scroll through. What does a frustrated and overwhelmed customer do? In my previous blog, we looked at studies that have shown they do one of three things:

1. Get in touch with your customer service department; a costly measure.
2. Seek out your competition; immediate loss of revenue.
3. Give up all together; poor customer service.

All the great customer service content on your website has gone to waste.

Now what?

Robust online self-service options based on Virtual Agent technology might be exactly what your company needs. Virtual Agents give your customers the ability to ask questions in natural, conversational language that is convenient for the individual, yet generates the one right answer, regardless of word choice. By generating the one right answer, it eliminates the customer’s need to go searching for information through pages and pages of content. The result: a more comfortable interaction with your company’s product or service.

The technology is also able to take things a step further and suggest perceived “follow-up” questions, thus making it easier for the customer to deepen engagement with your product or service, resulting in the higher likelihood of building a deeper relationship with your company. Another great feature offered by Virtual Agent technology is the maintenance of a dynamic top questions section. These top questions are never outdated or irrelevant since they change depending on what customers are actually asking.

Additionally, if a customer needs to get in touch with a customer service representative, they can do so at any time through effortless escalation options. The technology isn’t aimed to eliminate the CSR position, but to give the customers the resources needed to self-serve before escalating to the CSR, a higher costing channel.

For more information, watch this video to learn more about Virtual Agent technology and how it helps organizations improve the customer experience.

The post Where Good Customer Service Goes to Die: The Problems with FAQs and Site Search appeared first on .

SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ Finovate Spring – May 14, 2013 – IntelliResponse, the leading provider of virtual agent technology solutions for the enterprise, today announced the completion of its 50th financial services deployment.  Leading banks, credit unions and insurance providers are increasing their adoption of the IntelliResponse VA platform in response to market demand for superior online customer service.

IntelliResponse will be a presenter at Finovate Spring in San Francisco (May 14 and 15), where the company will be showcasing its market-leading Virtual Agent technology and use cases within the financial services industry. With over 150 customer-facing deployments, IntelliResponse technology  delivers answers to online questions posed across multiple consumer touchpoints including:  corporate websites, social, mobile and agent channels, as well as web-enabled kiosks.

In their live demonstration, IntelliResponse will also demonstrate how financial services companies can use Virtual Agent technology to enhance their mobile customer service capabilities.  According to research by Capgemini and EFMA, mobile banking is set to grow by 7.7 percent in North America between now and 2017, while branch usage continues to shrink, highlighting the need for banks to invest in their mobile customer service offerings.

“Banking consumers now expect to be able to find answers to their self-service questions across multiple online interaction channels and devices,” said David Lloyd, CEO, IntelliResponse. “With complex products on offer, a strict regulatory environment and amidst staunch competition, financial services companies need efficient ways to provide customers with the precise answer they’re looking for, regardless of the channel the consumer is using. Put simply, Virtual Agent technology allows financial service providers to create profitable online conversations across web, mobile, social, and agent channels. “

Follow IntelliResponse on Twitter @IntelliResponse and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/IntelliResponseInc

About IntelliResponse Systems
IntelliResponse is the leading provider of virtual agent technology solutions for the enterprise. We create profitable online conversations for our private and public sector customers around the world.

Our patented Virtual Agent solutions transform corporate websites, mobile applications, social media channels and agent desktops into world class self-service platforms.  Using IntelliResponse, consumers can ask questions using natural language and get instant, accurate answers as well as targeted offers that lead them down the purchase path and improve conversion. What’s more, key voice of the customer insights are captured in natural language, allowing companies to build highly detailed customer profiles over time.

IntelliResponse is the gold standard in first line customer experience, offer management and customer intelligence.  Some of the world’s most recognized corporate brands and public institutions trust their customer experience management needs to IntelliResponse – including CIBC Bank, ING Direct, Charter Communications, Progress Energy, Copa Airlines, Kobo Books, Penn State University, Yale University and Harvard University.

For more information about IntelliResponse, visit www.intelliresponse.com

The post Virtual Agent Provider IntelliResponse Celebrates 50th Financial Services Deployment at Finovate Conference appeared first on .

The post Site Search: A Web 1.0 Dinosaur appeared first on .

The post Virtual Agents Improve Customer Satisfaction While Lowering Cost to Serve appeared first on .

The post IntelliResponse Virtual Agent – Virtual Agents that Are Fast and Easy to Deploy and that Deliver One Right Answer to Customers’ Questions appeared first on .

Things got off to a great start for IntelliResponse at CS Week, held in Tampa, Florida this year – a conference designed to provide executive level utility professionals with a wide range of options on improving customer service. In an exhibit hall that was over 100,000 sq ft, our own Scott Banducci was busy, answering questions and providing information to interested parties on the many ways Virtual Agent technology can help utility companies improve their customer experience.

With Scott and team back at CS Week, other members of IntelliResponse we’re busy getting ready for NetFinance. Held in Phoenix, Arizona, NetFinance is a multi-channel marketing conference for financial services organizations. On the second day of the conference, IntelliResponse CEO, David Lloyd, presented on the importance of marketing departments using data to create a new level of better understanding your customers and to create more compelling products and messaging with the data. Dan Latimore, an attendee, tweeted the following: “IntelliResponse makes great point: firms should simply analyze what customers search for on their site! Duh, but…most don’t #netfinance.” After his presentation, David hopped on a plane and joined IntelliResponse team members already at the Gartner 360 Summit.

This year, Gartner Customer 360 Summit was held in San Diego, California. The Summit is an event catered to CRM professionals, focusing on business growth through the latest technology in social and mobile strategies, in addition to traditional customer touchpoints. In addition to giving a brief sixty second pitch, VP of Marketing, Mike Hennessy, along with Mark Henze answered many questions from CRM professionals. Attendees were keen on understanding the many ways IntelliResponse Virtual Agent technology can provide superior online customer service, by delivering the precise answers customers are seeking; all in an automated fashion at a fraction of the cost. (Yes, that’s right. We make customer service that easy!). The event was also a great opportunity for Mike Hennessy and David Lloyd to get some 1 on 1 time with Gartner analysts Jim Davies, and Johan Jacobs.

Virtual agent technology (also referred to as virtual assistant software) is an exciting space to be in right now. But you don’t need the team that represented us at last week’s tradeshows to tell you so. Even though they’ve already wrapped things up from last week, they’re getting ready to represent IntelliResponse next week at the ICMI ACCE Conference May 13th-16th and Finovate Spring 2013 happening May 14 & 15. So the 47 coffees consumed by the team last week should hopefully be enough to keep them going a bit longer!

The post One Week, Three Tradeshows, 47 Coffees Later… appeared first on .

The post IntelliResponse VA – Accurate Answers with Fast and Easy Deployment appeared first on .

The post The Road to True Customer Insight: David Lloyd, President and CEO, IntelliResponse appeared first on .

IntelliResponse Participating at Finovate Spring in San Francisco,
May 14 & 15, 2013

• Watch a live demo of IntelliResponse’s latest innovations in online customer self-service solutions for financial services organizations , May 15 from 10:45am-Noon (Demo session 6).

• Stop by our table and speak one-on-one with us.

• Discover how today’s leading banks and credit unions are able to engage in profitable, multi-channel online conversations with their customers using Virtual Agent technology.

For details visit the Finovate Spring 2013 website.

You can also keep up to date with all things related to Finovate Spring 2013 with Twitter hashtag: #finovate.

The post Finovate Spring 2013 appeared first on .

Crucially important! When asked the following question: “Thinking of the last time you researched a product or service on a company’s website in the past 90 days but couldn’t find what you were looking for, what did you do first?”

Consumers responded in the following ways:

• 30% called into a call centre,
• 19% emailed customer service,
• 16% did business with another company,
• 11% gave up all together,
• 10% chatted with customer service online,
• 8% went to the branch or store and 6% said ‘other’^[2].

The most staggering consumer response is the 16% who said they would take their business elsewhere, based only on the content of the website; not factoring in other channels that turn away potential customers like poor customer service, pricing, word of mouth, etc.

While the immediate implication of poor web self-service is loss of revenue for the company with potential customers taking their business elsewhere, a more long term effect is diminishing profitability through the continued use of higher cost channels such as live phone support, emails, and chat.

How Can Virtual Agent Technology Help?

In the precarious economic times we are going through, every customer counts! Virtual Agent technology can help organizations take digital interactions to a whole new level—driving positive customer experiences online, while also driving top-line revenue and key customer insight. Simply put, a good Virtual Agent gives your website a much needed facelift!

With Virtual Agents, organizations can help deliver accurate answers, which inform consumers and reduce costs associated with live channel escalation. They can also deliver relevant offers to your customers and help build a better, more detailed profile of those same customers over time by capturing voice of the customer data in natural language.

Watch this video to learn how virtual agent technology can help transform your website into one that delivers the superior online experience your customers have come to expect. Stay tuned for future blogs, where we’ll examine how to further improve the self-service arena.

[1] Dixon, Matthew and others. “Stop Trying to Delight Customers.” Harvard Business Review. July 2010

[2] Burns, Megan and Adele Sage. “Websites that Don’t Support Customers Waste Millions.” Forrester Research, Inc. August 21st, 2012.

The post The Price of a Poor Online Experience – Getting Heavier Every Day appeared first on .

The post The Future of Web Self-Service – A Discussion with David Lloyd of IntelliResponse appeared first on .

IntelliResponse Exhibiting at ICMI ACCE in Seattle, Washington
May 13-16, 2013

• Discover how the latest contact center innovation, virtual agent technology, is  helping organizations deliver a superior online customer service experience.

• Stop by our booth (#129) and speak one-on-one with an IntelliResponse account executive.

For details visit the 2013 ICMI ACCE Conference & Expo website.

You can also keep up to date with all things related to ICMI ACCE 2013 with Twitter hashtag: #ACCE13.

The post ICMI ACCE Conference and Expo appeared first on .

TORONTO, Ontario – May 1, 2013 – IntelliResponse, the leading provider of virtual agent technology solutions for the enterprise, announced today that TMC, a global, integrated media company, has named the IntelliResponse Virtual Agent solution  a recipient of the 2013 CRM Excellence Award, presented by CUSTOMER magazine. CUSTOMER has been the premier publication in the CRM, contact center and teleservices industries since 1982.

“We’re pleased that TMC has chosen the IntelliResponse Virtual Agent solution as a recipient of the 2013 CRM Excellence Award,” said Mike Hennessy, Vice President, Marketing at IntelliResponse. “IntelliResponse helps organizations take digital interactions to a new level—driving positive customer experiences online, while also driving top-line revenue and key customer insight through our virtual agent technology, designed specifically for the enterprise.”

“The 14th Annual CRM Excellence Awards has recognized IntelliResponse for being a true CRM partner to its customers and clients,” said Rich Tehrani, TMC’s CEO and Group Editor-in-Chief. “IntelliResponse has demonstrated to the editors of CUSTOMER magazine that the IntelliResponse Virtual Agent solution improved the processes of their client’s businesses by streamlining and facilitating the flow of information,” added Tehrani.

The CRM Excellence Awards rely on hard data sources, facts and statistics, to demonstrate the improvements the winner’s product has made in a client’s business. Winners were chosen on the basis of their product’s or service’s ability to help extend and expand the customer relationship to become all encompassing, covering the entire enterprise and the entire lifetime of the customer.

The 2013 CRM Excellence Award winners can be found in the May issue of CUSTOMER magazine.

For more information, please visit http://www.tmcnet.com.

About IntelliResponse Systems
IntelliResponse is the leading provider of virtual agent technology solutions for the enterprise. We create profitable online conversations for our private and public sector customers around the world.

Our patented Virtual Agent solutions transform corporate websites, mobile applications, social media channels and agent desktops into world class self-service platforms.  Using IntelliResponse, consumers can ask questions using natural language and get instant, accurate answers as well as targeted offers that lead them down the purchase path and improve conversion. What’s more, key voice of the customer insights are captured in natural language, allowing companies to build highly detailed customer profiles over time.

IntelliResponse is the gold standard in first line customer experience, offer management and customer intelligence.  Some of the world’s most recognized corporate brands and public institutions trust their customer experience management needs to IntelliResponse – including CIBC Bank, ING Direct, Charter Communications, Progress Energy, Copa Airlines, Kobo Books, Penn State University, Yale University and Harvard University.

For more information about IntelliResponse, visit www.intelliresponse.com

About TMC
TMC is a global, integrated media company that helps clients build communities in print, in person and online. TMC publishes multiple magazines including CUSTOMER, INTERNET TELEPHONY, M2M Evolution and Cloud Computing. TMCnet is read by as many as 1.5 million unique visitors each month, and is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMC is also the producer of ITEXPO, the world’s leading B2B communications event, as well as industry events: M2M Evolution; Cloud4SMB Expo; DevCon5; HTML5 Summit; Super Wi-Fi Summit, CVx; AstriCon; StartupCamp, and more. Visit TMC Events for a complete listing and further information.

IntelliResponse Contact:
Dominic Weeks
(617) 779-1818
Email: intelliresponse@shiftcomm.com

TMC Contact:
Frank Coppola
TMC
203-852-6800 ext. 131
Email fcoppola@tmcnet.com

The post IntelliResponse Named 2013 CRM Excellence Award Winner by CUSTOMER Magazine for Third Consecutive Year appeared first on .

The post The Rise of the Virtual Agent: Q&A With IntelliResponse appeared first on .

1) Highly Visible and Persistent

Customers will not miss the “ask Avista” question box prominently display directly in the header bar of Avista’s website. The top right placement is the ideal location for most Virtual Agent implementations, as it places the question box at the highest level of the website and ensures the user doesn’t have to click unnecessarily to get to the question box. Avista went one step further and ensured that “ask Avista” was displayed on EVERY page within their website making it easy for customers to ask questions, since they don’t have to navigate away from the page that might have sparked the question in the first place. By taking this approach, many of our existing clients have seen dramatic increases in the number of questions asked, when compared to a “home-page only” Virtual Agent presence.

2) One Right Answer

When customers type their questions into the “ask Avista” box, they will receive the one right answer, allowing for a more dynamic customer experience, as the customer no longer has to trudge through pages and pages of irrelevant information to get the answers they are looking for. Furthermore, customers don’t have to try and guess the right answer, because the technology strives to provide the consumer with the one right answer every time. Additionally, Avista is using next generation predictive matching technology with their Virtual Agent deployment, which will help improve answer accuracy. The image below is an example of what Avista customers will see when they use the “ask Avista” option to ask a question.

3) Dynamic Top Questions vs. Static FAQs

The dynamic “Top 10 Questions” option, unlike a static FAQ page, gives Avista customers the ability to stay current with issues faced by their peers. The questions change on an ongoing basis, to adapt to changes in customer concerns, thus increasing the likelihood of resolution without having to pick up the phone to speak with a customer service agent.

4) Promotion of Virtual Agent Over Site Search

Avista has promoted “ask Avista” as the primary option for self-service, keeping site search as secondary. This is presented very well and is intuitive to the user. Users are also invited to “Ask a question” by Avista’s use of a directional sentence right in the question box area, which further distinguishes this option from standard site search. This can be a highly effective technique, one that increases the frequency of natural language questions being submitted, helping customers get the answers to their questions more quickly.

5) Escalation Management

In addition to a ‘Contact Us’ link, Avista has chosen to provide its customers with the option of escalating their concerns to a Customer Service Representative, after the customer asks a question through the ‘ask Avista’ option. If a customer feels the need to get in touch with a live agent, perhaps if their question is more personal in nature, the option is conveniently provided at the bottom of the answer page, saving the customer time and energy searching for further contact information. The result is a smooth transaction between self-service and assisted service.

As we’ve seen, Avista has laid a solid foundation built on a stable of proven online self-service best practices. These actions will not only help Avista enhance the customer experience but also reduce call center volume, and gain valuable voice of the customer insights.  Visit Avista’s website and try it out for yourself.

The post A Blueprint for World Class Online Self-Service in the Utility Sector appeared first on .

IntelliResponse is a Sponsor and Exhibitor at Gartner Customer 360 Summit in San Diego, CA  May 1 -3 , 2013

• Speak one-on-one with an IntelliResponse Account Executive at our booth.
• Discover how your organization can provide a superior online customer service experience by delivering the precise answers customers are seeking – but in an automated fashion, at a fraction of the cost of live assistance channels.

For details visit the Gartner Customer 360 Summit website.

You can also keep up to date with all things related to the Gartner Customer 360 Summit with Twitter hashtag: #Gartner360.

The post Gartner Customer 360 Summit appeared first on .

Presenting Accurate Information

Virtual Agent technology is designed to provide the consumer with the most accurate information. The Forrester report, “It’s Time to Give Virtual Agents Another Look”, states: “Its ability to resolve increasingly complex consumer issues through personalized conversations and data from other enterprise applications will make virtual agents a powerful troubleshooter.” The by-product of such a transaction gives the consumer the ability to make well-informed decisions on the purchase of potential products or services, which in turn enhances the overall customer experience.

Beyond giving potential customers the ability to make well informed decisions, the deployment of Virtual Agent technology in call centers, allows the centers to resolve customer issues or complaints with the first phone call, by simply presenting accurate information. In their article, “Stop Trying to Delight Customers”, Matt Dixon and his colleagues point out that customer loyalty has more to do with consistently delivering the basics over inconsistent ‘over the top’ customer service moments. The basics, here, are things like accurate information via all channels (website, mobile, social media, apps and client service representatives), first call resolutions, easy access to information, etc.

Supplying Information Through a Variety of Channels

Gone are the days when Virtual Agent technology was confined to the web and is now available to consumers via social media and apps. A 2012 Forrester report, “Understanding Customer Service Satisfaction to Inform Your 2012 eBuisness Strategy”, published the following stats: In 2011 19% of US online consumers turned to Twitter for customer service solutions, from 1% in 2009. The option to gather information or have questions answered through a variety of channels allows the consumer to work within the confines of their comfort zone, as they are no longer limited to a particular space or platform. Mobile apps further assist consumers, in that information and answers can be retrieved “on the go”, likely to result in the customer’s peace of mind then and there, which in turn boosts the customer’s experience with that product or company.

By providing around the clock availability, speedy resolutions, accurate information, all through a variety of channels, Virtual Agent technology is able to improve the customer service experience and set itself apart from other customer service platforms. Watch this video to learn more about Virtual Agent technology and how it helps organizations improve the customer experience.

The post All Good Things Come to an End…Or Not! Continuing The Customer Service Revolution appeared first on .

The post Why Customer Service Is The New Marketing appeared first on .

The creation of virtual agent technology  has given many companies, from multiple industries, the tools required to address the needs of a growing number of consumers who would prefer to use technology and help themselves, rather than waiting to speak to a call center representative, which in turn begs the question: how is virtual agent technology improving the customer experience?

Providing Around the Clock Availability

With the outset of consumers strongly wishing to be “self-reliant” in the search for information on the internet, as published in a Forrester report, “It’s Time to Give Virtual Agents Another Look”, the “24 hour, 7 days a week” nature of virtual agent technology allows the consumer to access information without having the inconvenience of relying on call center or branch operational hours. Furthermore, customers can access information through virtual agents, regardless of any problems a company might be facing.

Creating Speedy Resolutions

In the same report, Forrester states that 57% of online consumers in the US would drop their online purchase if they weren’t able to find answers to their questions. Virtual agent technology has been created to provide the fastest and most accurate resolution to consumer questions, by catering to and recognizing the use of everyday language; i.e. consumers type in questions or search topics in  a language that is comfortable for the individual and the one right answer will be provided back to the consumer, regardless of question wording. The domino effect of providing on-the-spot and time saving resolutions through virtual agents results in higher customer satisfaction with existing customer service channels, as the likely outcome would be shorter wait times or the freedom to prove comprehensive resolutions to consumers who needed it.

Living in a “now” culture means that we need things fast and it needs to be accessible whenever we fancy.

Watch this video to learn more about virtual agent technology and how it helps organizations improve the customer experience. Keep an eye out for subsequent blogs on this topic as we expand on the many benefits of using virtual agent technology to carry the torch in the customer service revolution!

The post Consumers of the World, Unite! Revolutionizing the Customer Experience appeared first on .

David Lloyd, CEO of IntelliResponse to Present at NetFinance 2013  Taking Place  April 30 – May 2, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona!

• Attend David Lloyd’s presentation, May 1st at 2:45PM, on “Big Data & Analytics – Utilizing Your Data To Create A New Level Of Understanding Of Your Customer And Create More Compelling Products & Messaging.“

• Discover how banks, credit unions, and insurers are using virtual agent technology to improve the  customer experience and gain instant access to voice of the customer.

• Speak one-on-one with an IntelliResponse Account Executive at our booth (#23).

For details visit the NetFinance 2013 event website.

You can also keep up to date with all things related to NetFinance 2013 with Twitter hashtag: #netfinance.

The post NetFinance 2013 appeared first on .