It's all in the Voice
How many times did your parents scold you by saying, "It's not what you said, it's how you said it"? Well, a number of companies are taking this concept to new levels, thanks to a solution called Behavior Analytics from Lake Forest, Ill.-based eLoyalty. Behavior Analytics examines language and speech patterns conveyed by customers during phone calls to service reps.
The result: a reduction in customer angst and an improved bottom line. Instead of angry callers hanging up on helpless service staffers, a system of customized and improved verbal exchange emerges to eliminate lengthy hold times, miscommunications and frustration. Overall, eLoyalty claims for its clients an average 15 to 20 percent reduction in contact-center operating costs and a reduction in call times by an average of 25 seconds. In one case within a single year, a major finance company reduced customer attrition from 9 percent to 1 percent, and recouped $1.2 million in savings using the technology. Its staffing efficiency has increased by 12 percent.
Behavior Analytics has applied a combination of stereophonic call-capture, linguistic analytics and proprietary behavioral/conversation-interpretation technologies to more than 500 million phone calls (and counting). The solution can analyze each call based upon the presence—or absence—of hundreds of vocal and behavioral variables within the exchange between a customer and a company service rep. The intended outcome is to take unstructured interaction and transform it into effective, purpose-driven conversation with tangible business results.
Companies can determine, for example, whether customers are likely to buy a product or cancel an account, or if they really will call back later in the week if that's what they say they'll do. Or if they're actually calling with the intention of committing fraud. Based upon these conclusions, eLoyalty's consulting staff can then advise corporate clients on how call-center employees should handle a particular call, and whether new offers and/or customer treatments should be provided.
The solution also improves what's called "first call resolution" by analyzing excessive transfer and call-back rates for customers. Oftentimes, call-center analytics focuses on "average handle time." But this doesn't take into account the time spent after a call is transferred or whether a customer is forced to redial to get his or her concern properly addressed. Both of these situations can lead to an overall negative customer experience. eLoyalty seeks to weigh all initial call/transfer/call-back content and data to provide a fuller "first call resolution" breakdown for its corporate clients.
One client, CompuCredit, has seen customer-handling time reduced by 30 seconds, or 11 percent. "It's also improved our customer satisfaction scores and cross-sell results," says John DeMonica, senior vice president of operations for CompuCredit. "The rich call data can be easily queried. Combining that with the personality profile data, for both representatives and customers, provides insight into how to better service, sell and collect."
The result: a reduction in customer angst and an improved bottom line. Instead of angry callers hanging up on helpless service staffers, a system of customized and improved verbal exchange emerges to eliminate lengthy hold times, miscommunications and frustration. Overall, eLoyalty claims for its clients an average 15 to 20 percent reduction in contact-center operating costs and a reduction in call times by an average of 25 seconds. In one case within a single year, a major finance company reduced customer attrition from 9 percent to 1 percent, and recouped $1.2 million in savings using the technology. Its staffing efficiency has increased by 12 percent.
Behavior Analytics has applied a combination of stereophonic call-capture, linguistic analytics and proprietary behavioral/conversation-interpretation technologies to more than 500 million phone calls (and counting). The solution can analyze each call based upon the presence—or absence—of hundreds of vocal and behavioral variables within the exchange between a customer and a company service rep. The intended outcome is to take unstructured interaction and transform it into effective, purpose-driven conversation with tangible business results.
Companies can determine, for example, whether customers are likely to buy a product or cancel an account, or if they really will call back later in the week if that's what they say they'll do. Or if they're actually calling with the intention of committing fraud. Based upon these conclusions, eLoyalty's consulting staff can then advise corporate clients on how call-center employees should handle a particular call, and whether new offers and/or customer treatments should be provided.
The solution also improves what's called "first call resolution" by analyzing excessive transfer and call-back rates for customers. Oftentimes, call-center analytics focuses on "average handle time." But this doesn't take into account the time spent after a call is transferred or whether a customer is forced to redial to get his or her concern properly addressed. Both of these situations can lead to an overall negative customer experience. eLoyalty seeks to weigh all initial call/transfer/call-back content and data to provide a fuller "first call resolution" breakdown for its corporate clients.
One client, CompuCredit, has seen customer-handling time reduced by 30 seconds, or 11 percent. "It's also improved our customer satisfaction scores and cross-sell results," says John DeMonica, senior vice president of operations for CompuCredit. "The rich call data can be easily queried. Combining that with the personality profile data, for both representatives and customers, provides insight into how to better service, sell and collect."
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