If you own a smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer (okay, that should cover just about everybody), then you’re likely familiar with the slick video-recording capabilities that now come standard on these gadgets. And if you’re like me, you’ve been wowed at the ability of face-to-face video conferencing to bridge physical limitations, seemingly bringing people much closer together, even if only in a ‘virtual’ sense.

With technology enabling the world to better capture, store, and share video content, we’ve certainly seen a rise in the number of organizations wondering how they can use video to serve their customers—we’ve even blogged previously about the idea of using self-service ‘how-to’ videos and customer-generated content.

Indeed, the recent and rapid rise of services like Apple’s FaceTime, Google Hangouts, and Skype naturally leads us to think about the potential for service organizations to leverage this technology, and while it’s certainly too early to say for sure, here’s my take on the future of video calling for service:

Employee-to-Employee
Companies looking to at least experiment with the benefits (and limitations) of video calling are likely to first pilot the service internally, using their employees to prove (or disprove) the value in offering video calling to customers. This pilot phase needn’t be restricted to just the call center, though; in fact, the biggest benefits may be found in enabling better communication and collaboration between service and other areas of the organization.  For example, we have heard from a few financial services organizations considering video capabilities between branch employees and call center staff.  In addition, video conferencing often comes up in the context of coaching and engaging with remote reps. Read More »

CCC’s blog is relatively young…we’re coming up on our second anniversary in early 2012.  What that means is that we are very much still experimenting with different types of posts and different functionalities for the blog itself.  One feature we added in 2011 is the ability to do real-time polling within our blog posts.  As we wrap up the year, we thought you might like to revisit some of our more popular questions to view the final results!

If these polls are any sort of window into the minds of our readers, then here is what we know about you:

1. You were torn on making a choice, but ultimately you think that social media is a viable, long-term option for service.
2. Indeed, you are tech-savvy…and would love to see QR codes become a new channel for service.
3. Forget the major IVR investments though!  You’re keeping it simple with low-cost fixes.
4. Everything to everyone—generalists are your employee of choice.
5. Keep it simple with those folks though…only 1-2 web chats at a time, please!
6. Your adherence policies do not give much leeway when it comes to reps taking a short “time out” after a difficult call. Read More »

With all of the changes that have taken place in the service organization in recent years (e.g., the rise of social media customer service, shifting trends in call center outsourcing, and initiatives to collect and make use of voice of the customer data, just to name a few), it’s comforting to know that one thing remains the same: customers still don’t like long waits. And while this doesn’t come as a surprise, it is interesting to stop and think about the number of things organizations do to combat hold times.

One option that promises to alleviate the frustration of customer holding is virtual hold. This technology allows customers to choose to receive a live callback when they reach the front of the queue, as opposed to waiting on hold to be connected to a representative. This added convenience has been met with open arms by most customers, who report lower-effort experiences as a result of using this option.

While the benefits of virtual hold are fairly straightforward, a recent question posed in CCC’s Discussions Forum highlighted an interesting debate when it comes to how companies measure customer experiences that include virtual hold. To paraphrase the issue at hand: should virtual hold time be counted as part of the traditional service level calculations (such as average speed of answer)—or should virtual hold time be excluded? Read More »

The latest trend in learning and development?  Incorporating videogame techniques into the workplace (i.e.,“gamification”) for training and other often menial tasks.

Companies like IBM, SAP, and Deloitte all have used gaming technology to better engage employees in training and data entry and make the tasks seem less tedious and more resonant.

What they have found is that winning virtual badges (indicating an advance to the next level) and interacting in entertaining landscapes and backgrounds (unsurprisingly) actually is far more engaging (for millennials and boomers) than sitting in a classroom for hours on end listening to someone.  And in some studies, videogames even yield better knowledge retention (some research finds that if learning is not put into action within 2 weeks, staff lose that knowledge).

Read More »

CCC has partnered with Iconoculture to bring you the latest in global consumer trends.  Below is our bi-weekly update featuring the latest Iconoculture insights available now on the CCC site.

If you’re part of the growing number of consumers that own a smartphone, you can’t wait to make use of the latest and greatest features that these gadgets offer—everything from voice-activated commands to real-time GPS navigation and face-to-face video calling.

But despite an overwhelmingly positive response to most new mobile features, consumers have very divergent views when it comes to one feature in particular: location-based services. These services refer to mobile technology that makes use of the geographical position of the device and its user; and as the mobile space has grown more social and connected to immediate information like time, location, and context, features like these have also raised some major privacy concerns for consumers.

While a recent Iconoculture survey found that only 10% of consumers had prior experience with location-based services, it also found that 41% of participants expressed zero interest in using location-based services, with concerns over privacy violations universally cited as the reason. Read More »

CCC has partnered with Iconoculture to bring you the latest in global consumer trends.  Below is our bi-weekly update featuring the latest Iconoculture insights available now on the CCC site.

NYU’s Langone Medical Center has started to use palm scanners to identify patients at check-in. This biometric technology uses near-infrared waves to take a photo of each patient’s unique palm vein configuration. As with fingerprints, no two patients have the same palm pattern. Results are then used to pull the patient’s medical records – leading to a more efficient check-in process and better data security.

You might be thinking: That’s interesting, but how does it apply to me? Bear with me here.

For hospitals, the system promotes patient safety. Studies have shown that hospital errors – including misidentification – account for almost 100,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.

Yet patients also benefit, which is why only 1% have chosen to opt out of the system since its launch earlier this year. Advantages include:

• Quick check-in: Each palm scan takes just one minute.  Patients don’t have to waste time digging for insurance cards or filling out lengthy forms.

• Confidence in technology: Patients trust the system to make up for human error and they enjoy the convenience of a speedy check-in process.

Sure, this is a no-brainer for a hospital – where time and safety are paramount – but what about the broader implications of biometric tools such as palm, fingerprint, and iris scanners, as well as facial and voice recognition software?

Read More »

During my recent search for a new bank, I discovered that several banks now offer a mobile feature that allows customers to make deposits by taking a picture of an endorsed check and sending it to the bank using a smartphone banking app.

And that’s not all.

Banking customers can also use smartphones to pay bills, receive updates and take actions via text message, make transfers, and easily reach service reps.

And although the global mobile banking industry has doubled in recent years and is projected to reach 1.1 billion customers by 2015, sources point out that customers are still very reluctant to adopt mobile banking apps.

A Javelin Strategy & Research report outlines two specific reasons for this:

1. customers don’t see the full value in these apps and
2. they have concerns around information security.  (In fact, between 2009 and 2010, the number of customers who rated mobile banking apps as “unsafe” increased by 54%.)

Does this mean that mobile banking apps are doomed?  Not necessarily.  Banks just need to change the way they position apps to customers to ensure that they give customers what they want.  After all, it wasn’t so long ago that we doubted the staying power of online banking – but the 60% of consumers who now bank on the Web prove that self-service shifts are inevitable.

Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

You’ve been told that Speech Analytics has the power to mine, categorize, and analyze audio—in turn, helping to boost QA performance, identify opportunities for process improvements, and identify sales leads.

But, does SA actually work?

We recently spoke with CCC members Ann Glover, Director of Business Performance and Quality Global Reservation Services and Customer Care, and Robby Morehead, Specialist in Business Processes at InterContinental Hotels Group, who described how they’ve leveraged Speech Analytics. They offered insights such as:

• Vendor selection: Make sure the vendor offers the right array of functionalities (and this may sound more simplistic than it really is)
• Hidden costs: Have a good sense for how you’re going to use the tool so that you can budget accordingly (rather than deciding along the way that you “need” various add-ons at unanticipated additional charges).

CCC members, learn more about how IHG implements Speech Analytics by reading excerpts from our Q&A with Ann Glover and Robby Morehead.

Related CCC Research:

• Speech Analytics Research Brief
• Vendor Selection Resource Center
• Speech Analytics: Maximizing Your Technology ROI (webinar replay)

• Uncover the hidden gems in Voice of the Customer. [1to1 Media]
• Yelp may be getting more credit than it deserves, according to one business owner. [HBR]
• Recap of recent developments in call recording technologies. [TMCnet]
• New opportunity in the social media space? Twitter launches better search and photo sharing functionality [ReadWriteWeb]
• The spread of word of mouth has a new outlet. Check out Google’s new +1 initiative. [Official Google Blog]
• Four in ten Indians use social media for customer service. [ZDNet]
• Houston airports use surveillance technology to improve customer service. [USA Today]

A brief introduction from the CCC team:  While the decision to move forward with mobile payments will likely not rest squarely in the contact center organization, we’re willing to bet (even double down on that bet!) that contact center executives will certainly feel the impact of such a migration in the form of customer support calls.  So in the spirit of keeping up with ‘what’s new’ with our peers in marketing, here are some recent thoughts coming from our sister program the Marketing Leadership Council.

We know a number of our retail and consumer banking members are intensely interested in the mobile payments space, and with good reason: according to a study commissioned by MasterCard, 63% of the coveted 18-34 demographic feel comfortable using phones to make payments and about the same amount feel like their phones are more essential than their wallets. Mobile phones – particularly smartphones – are increasingly indispensable for any trips outside the home.

Given signs like these of increasing customer demand, it’s no wonder why folks are jumping in. But it seems like there are more questions than answers at the moment.  What does a successful mobile payment platform look like? What advantages does it confer relative to the status quo, a mix of cash and plastic? Six hypotheses we’ve thought of: Read More »