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INFOTECH Connecting To Customers Through Call Centres You can leverage new infotech applications to turn your call centre into a potent tool for managing customer-relations, understanding the marketplace, and speeding up your organisational responses. Do you? By S. Chandrashekar & Jaideep Lahiri A cluster of telephones, a network of computers, a team of people, and an unfettered imagination could be your next source of competitive advantage. For, they add up to the most powerful infotech-enabled system yet devised for companies to listen, respond, and cater to their customers. Call centres, as these founts of customerisation are named, are transforming the simple process of taking telephone-calls from customers, and noting down their complaints...
...Into a powerful mechanism for understanding the customer, for responding instantaneously to her needs with accurate information, for allowing her to do business with you over the telephone, and for using the data generated from the interaction to improve your processes. Agrees Atul Kanwar, 42, Country Manager, 3Com: ''Because the routing of calls can take place simultaneously, customers are able to enjoy enormous benefits from uniformly-managed communications.'' From a blind-alley complaint-receiving mechanism, the call centre is becoming the live-wire of the enterprise that can deliver service, information, and choice to its customers-and more business to the company. That is the rationale for companies like, inter alia, GE Capital, Godrej & Boyce, Godrej-ge, Tata Telecom, TVS Electronics, Citibank, Maruti Udyog, and American Express to upgrade their call centres into hi-tech hubs for receiving, relaying, and routing all information relating to the customer, and doing business with her. What makes them trend-setters since plain-vanilla call centres have always been there? Hadn't smart sellers upgraded their call centres even earlier so that customers can call up-and book airline-tickets, check their bank balances, or send their wives flowers? Sure. But whereas those transactions were managed through manual interactions-with a clerk working the telephones-using call centres today involves a different and, virtually, enterprise-wide network. The magic wand? A simple integration of telephony with computing, pulling the rabbit of Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) out of the hat. Making this possible is the migration of telephony from proprietary embedded systems to standards-based servers. Earlier, the call-management system in an organisation-operating through the EPABX-was a closed one, unable to plug into any other computerised system. So, while your far-seeing CIO may have set up a superb computer database, the data it generated could not be fed into the call-management system. Now, however, the 2 technologies can be blended into a single central hub, which doubles as a EPABX to receive calls as well as a computer-system that feeds data to those who receive those calls. This hub, of course, must be part of the company's local or wide area network, having access to all the data that the agents answering the call will need to do so. All she has to do is to indicate, on her PC-also part of the network-the name or identity of the customer on the line, and punch in the query in either structured form or through the use of key words. That will enable the CTI to retrieve the relevant data, and push it onto her screen.
On this CTI server, which can be powered by any operating system-Windows NT or Unix-runs software which comes in the form of both off-the-shelf and customised packages from specialised companies like Davox, eis International, Cintech, and Quintus. Most companies, such as Motorola, Bank of America, DHL, and Deutsche Bank prefer to buy customised solutions-when they aren't actually outsourcing the service-from solution-providers who can meet their specific needs. They vary from company to company because all the operations of the organisation-not just the customer-interface-are involved in designing a top-class call centre. Obviously, that's not all there is to the call centre. It includes two other devices: Interactive Voice Recording (IVR), and Automatic Call Distribution (ACD). The first allows the customer to use her dial-pad to activate the CTI directly, using a menu that has been read out to her. Making this possible is the fact that, in digital telephone exchanges, every number that a caller dials is translated into a tone of specific frequency. And the IVR system is programmed to associate each tone with a specific choice on the menu, and to respond accordingly. Whenever a customer needs objective data-''How much is my credit-card balance?''-as opposed to subjective answers-''Am I eligible for a credit-card?''-the IVR can provide the answer by playing back a combination of pre-recorded numbers. The role of the ACD? It can be programmed to manage incoming calls, which, in the case of a company with a large number of customers, can often outnumber the capacity of the call centre. So, the ACD kicks in to put callers on hold, to route them to agents or into the IVR system on a first-called-first-served basis, and, if necessary, to prioritise between callers-such as allowing outstation callers to jump the queue. The combined result: a seamless flow of incoming calls, of internal information, and a smooth confluence between the two, giving the customer the data, service, or attention that she's demanding. Its call centre-which links telephone-agents to its wan-is key to Standard Chartered Bank's (Stanchart) operations since clients use it to conduct full-fledged transactions, and not just seek information. Optimising call-distribution so as to make maximum use of the infrastructure while minimising the waiting-time for customers-a major source of dissatisfaction-is crucial. So, Stanchart uses an ACD package named Definity, whose speciality is handling high traffic. Four packages, installed with an investment of Rs 1 crore, are revolutionising its business. Says Alfreda Rodriques, 37, Head (Customer Call Centre), Stanchart: ''More customers are now conducting business with us telephonically, and there has been a 70 per cent jump in call volumes since we set up the ACDs.'' The next step: building a data warehouse to use the data generated for strategic purposes. To observe CTI at work in all its versatility, follow the course of a call made by a customer to a company. As soon as the telephone-a toll-free 1600 number, where the company, and not the caller, pays the bill-starts ringing, the number of the caller is identified by the software. It matches this number to its database of customers to put a name to the call, and, thereby, to have the customer's profile ready for the agent to whom the call is being routed. That routing is, of course, automatic due to the use of ACD software. In an alternative stream, the call will flow directly into an IVR system. If her needs can be met through this process-typically, this involves retrieving stored information, such as the balance in a bank account, and relaying it through the IVR-the call ends there. But if the query is one that needs subjective responses, it is routed to an agent. At this stage, the CTI kicks in by popping up on the computer-screen of the agent handling the call, using SQL Reporing Systems software to access and provide all the information that the company's databases-no matter what platform they are on-has about the customer. That way, the agent knows what the customer's previous problems have been, what kind of product or service she has purchased or is likely to purchase, and, maybe, even tips on how best to deal with her. So, there is a good chance that the agent already has on her screen the data the caller wants. What if she does not? That's where the CTI provides continuous prompts to answer different kinds of questions, and actions to take. So, if the agent sounds calm and cool when the customer has just yelled at her for the fact that the ice-maker in the new refrigerator doesn't work, that is because her computer screen is advising her on how to handle the caller's ire with helpful suggestions. Even so, there is no assurance that the interaction-be it for information or support-will give the customer what she needs. If the agent isn't able to generate the desired results, the CTI-using Workflow Management Tools-will enable her to route the call to a different part of the organisation, where someone else with greater familiarity with the issue can handle the interaction. A purchaser of your washing-machine wants to explore the use of a particular feature? The call will be routed to the design department. A potential customer wants comparative prices? The call can go to the salesperson in charge. Explains Keshav Gaur, 41, General Manager (Customer Support), American Express: ''CTI enables the information collected by the first agent to be passed on to the people who should handle the call. So, there is no repetition involved.'' For Hewlett-Packard (H-P), servicing customers after sales is important because corporate buyers generate plenty of repeat business. So, its 18 call centres across the country-named, in line with its global operations, the Closed Loop Management System-work by classifying every customer who calls into one of 3 categories: large office, small business, or private customer. The customer's requirements are fed into the wan which connects h-p to its dealers, and the concerned dealer is alerted. The process has speeded up turnaround times three-fold. Says Ajay Mohan, 30, Communications Specialist, h-p: ''We have moved from being a passive in-bound call centre to an active one. Once our data warehouse is in place, we will become an active outbound call centre too, where the inbound information generated by the customer will be leveraged to make him buy more of our products.'' It isn't just answering and processing customer complaints that your call centre is good for; add both tele-sales and remote support to that list. Modi Xerox uses it to receive breakdown complaints from users, and to inform them when the company's service engineers will call to carry out repairs. Observes R. Vaidyanathan, 38, General Manager (Customer Support), Modi Xerox: ''We get to know whom our franchisee is visiting, when he made the visit, and the purpose, giving us an instant snapshot of a customer's case history.'' And Godrej & Boyce uses it to make sales pitches to customers while Mantra Online-the Internet service-provider joint venture between British Telecom and Bharti Enterprises-uses its call centre to guide customers through the intricacies of installation and trouble-shooting. And, of course, in Citibank's hands, the call centre is, virtually, a full-service bank while for radio-paging service-providers like Mobilink in Delhi or Skycell in Chennai, it is an integral part of their operations. That is why the hybrid complaint management-sales-business-support model is the one that can extract the biggest benefits from the call centre. Don't hang up; the CTI is still working. Underneath this vocal activity, a series of crucial information-management processes are humming quietly. First, the contents of every call are updating the company's databases of both customer-profiles as well as product- and service-profiles, generating crucial information for effecting changes and improvements. Second, specific information is also flowing to different parts of the organisation, indicating the customer's response to their designs, positioning strategies, ad campaigns et al. Thus, not only is every one of the customer's information needs being serviced in real time by the call centre, the marketplace response is also being encapsulated and served up to your managers. In other words, what you have thought of as an automated process for handling customer calls can, actually, be a vital way to manage your customer relationships, with the linkages enabling the entire organisation to be customer-focused. Best of all, the process involves a very natural act on the part of the customer. Analyses Anil Batra, 46, Country Manager, Cisco: ''The impact is profound as the telephone is the first thing we turn to when we have a complaint or a query.'' Don't push the call centre onto the periphery of your management hot-list. It's not just giving your organisation a sharper ear with which to listen to the customer; it's also providing your company with a clearer voice with which to speak to her. Indeed, this new-found communication line can become a weapon for auditing customer expectations, for using the quality of the transaction with her as a differentiator, for capturing the history of all contacts with her, and, ultimately, for using call centres as an additional sales and distribution channel. Its call centre is really the hub of Samsung's customer satisfaction model. Using a package named Focus 21-developed jointly by ERP vendors sap and Samsung Data Systems-the company exploits the call centre for 2 purposes. At the front end, it tracks customer complaints, assigns service engineers to each case, and monitors the repairs made. But, more important, the data generated in the process is used to study defect patterns in its products, and the frequencies with which they occur. Corrective measures are taken at the design stage or on the shopfloor. In addition, the marketing people use the database of customers and their needs when launching new products. Says a company spokesperson: ''The investment in hardware and software was about Rs 5 crore. But we have cut our defects-rate to 0.90 per cent, which made it worthwhile.'' Indeed. Whether your company is ERP-enabled or not, the value of such information flowing across the organisation cannot be understated. Sure, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) will ensure that the data arising from any activity will be available across the organisation, updating all records and databases instantly. Plug CTI into the ERP-using the class of software known as Customer Relationship Management tools (see BT, May 7, 1999)-and the customer will instantly become part of the network. The information generated by the call centre from her feedback can be combined with the other data that ERP provides, ensuring that everything-as with business strategy-begins with the customer. Alongside the software, another important part of the process is the hr component; specifically, the training of the agents to handle and manage calls. So specialised is this process that Maruti Udyog, for instance, has outsourced its entire call centre-management to Compaq, using it as a full-service supplier. Likewise, Citibank buys the service from Magus Marketing. While the competencies involved are, often, outside the core for most companies, in strategic terms, it may not be a good idea to outsource call-centre operations on a turnkey basis. For, the service is too central a part of customer-relationship management not to be managed by your own people. Pronounces Ven Subba Rao, 37, Country Manager, Computer Associates: ''The goal of every call centre manager should be to make it a strategic part of the enterprise instead of being viewed as a cost centre to be ignored.'' If today's call centre can bring a shine to your customer relationships, tomorrow's version will enable proactive one-on-one marketing too. Just what makes CTI so helpful? First, its technological ability to manage the multiple-calling process in a resource-conserving manner. New software allows it to dial numbers from a database, passing the call on to a human agent only after it is sure that a customer-and not an answering-machine-has taken the call. At the same time, CTI's data-networking prowess enables it to put on the agent's screen the background data she needs at that precise moment to make the sales pitch. And, of course, she can use the CTI to access all the other information from any other part of the organisation that she might need to close a deal. Add to this capability its original mandate-and it isn't difficult to see why the call centre could be an indispensable bridge between the corporation and the customer. Call up.
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