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.

Employee-to-Customer
In my mind, face-to-face video calling between organizations and their customers isn’t likely to become ‘the next big thing’ in the immediate future, but that future is certainly up for debate. With video increasingly becoming a part of people’s social lives, it stands to reason that customers may become more comfortable with the idea of video conferencing as a convenient service option. We needn’t look farther than social media as an example of a recent cultural change that’s had a big impact on the customer service world; maybe video is poised to be the next example of just such a change?

On the other hand, for most customer issues, video calling just doesn’t seem to offer much added benefit to the customer that couldn’t be achieved via today’s phone or web chat interactions. But for certain issues there may just be value in having a helpful rep to talk you—and show you—through the mechanics of the solution to your problem. I can think of at least several times when I’ve called a repairman for something that turned out to be a simple fix—something I could have repaired myself by watching someone who knew what they were doing. Maybe this is taking the idea of customer “self-service” a bit too far, but there’s no denying the potential of video to be valuable for certain customer issues.

CCC Buzz readers – what’s your experience with video applications—in general or for customer service? What do you think about the future of video in the service organization?

CCC Related Resources

• Social Media Topic Center
• Talent Management Discussion Forum
• Technology Decision Support Center

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.
7. Given a choice, you would like to see your staff receive many (yet brief) breaks during their shifts.
8. Breakfast is not a routine for you.
9. While you may need a cup of coffee or two—you do not rely on caffeine to get through the day.
10. You like voting…more than 600 of you participating in our polls in 2011, and we hope that you’ll continue to read and provide your opinion in 2012!

Here is the breakdown of results:

Just for Fun Questions
From “Staff Performance Data Series: Breakfast of Champions”
Do you eat a full breakfast?

• No (52%, 61 Votes)
• Yes (48%, 57 Votes)

Total Voters: 118

Do you rely on caffeine to get through the day?

• No (59%, 70 Votes)
• Yes (42%, 50 Votes)

Total Voters: 119

Talent Management Questions
From “Do Your Reps Need a Time Out?”
Does your company have a formal “time out” policy for reps?

• No (90%, 52 Votes)
• Yes (10%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 58

Which type of break schedule do you think would be most effective for reducing rep stress?

• More frequent, but shorter, breaks (95%, 54 Votes)
• Fewer, but longer, breaks (5%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 57

From “The Great Debate: Generalists vs Specialists”
Which staffing model do you find to be more effective?

• Generalists (78%, 50 Votes)
• Specialists (22%, 14 Votes)

Total Voters: 64

Technology and Multichannel Questions
From “Social Media: Bright, Shiny Object? You Decide”
Which choice below best describes Social Media for customer service?

• A viable, long-term option (55%, 72 Votes)
• A bright, shiny object (45%, 58 Votes)

Total Voters: 130

From “QR Codes: Next Gen Service or Much Ado About Nothing?”
What do you think? Is there a future in service for QR codes?

• I love it! It’s another service channel for our customers & we’re all for it! (45%, 15 Votes)
• The jury is still out … but I’m anxiously awaiting a verdict. (33%, 11 Votes)
• It’s just another fad and, like acid-washed jeans, it will go away, too. (22%, 7 Votes)

Total Voters: 33

From “How Many Web Chats are Too Many?”
What number of chats do you allow or think is permissible for agents to handle concurrently?

• 1-2 (60%, 29 Votes)
• 3-4 (38%, 18 Votes)
• 5 or more (2%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 48

From “Is the IVR Worth New Investment?”
Companies should approach future IVR investments with the mindset of:

• Keep it simple with low-cost fixes (64%, 16 Votes)
• Bring on the bells and whistles! (36%, 9 Votes)

Total Voters: 25

Related CCC Resources:

• IVR Topic Center
• Social Media Topic Center
• Workforce Management Topic Center

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?

It’s an interesting facet of the technology to consider, and it comes at a time when the customer experience itself is undergoing constant, rapid change. We know the importance of measuring the customer experience, but we also know that our data is only as valuable as the inputs we use—so it’s crucial to capture inputs that best reflect the actual experience that customers have. Virtual hold, though, seems somewhat different from other factors that impact the customer experience in that choosing to virtually hold effectively ‘pauses’ the typical notion of the customer experience for the time being—so how, then, do we adjust our measurements to reflect this fact?

In talking to the CCC membership, it is clear that there is no one accepted answer; in fact, companies that have used virtual hold for several years have alternated between including and excluding the customer’s virtual hold time from service level calculations. However, many stress the importance of using two sets of metrics, each to address a specific purpose:

• Resource planning – to accurately capture call volume and traffic for planning purposes, it is essential that all hold time—virtual or otherwise—be included. Excluding virtual hold time in this case would give you an incomplete picture of your operation.
• Performance management – when it comes to tracking employee performance, it may be more appropriate to use a set of metrics that excludes virtual hold time from service level calculations. Doing so allows companies to isolate and evaluate the virtual hold experience (in terms of customer satisfaction, effort, or similar metrics) relative to experiences where customers do not choose the virtual hold option.

A broader lesson that can be learned from the discussion surrounding virtual hold is that as companies leverage technology to improve the customer experience, they must also be cognizant of the metrics used to measure that experience—and make the appropriate adjustments.

CCC Buzz readers—do you offer virtual hold as an option to your customers? If so, how have you approached measuring the customer experience in light of this new option?

Related CCC Resources

Measuring the Customer Experience

CCC Talent Management Forum

How to Measure the Modern Customer Experience (Work in Progress)

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).

Companies are both hiring external vendors and building new games internally, and the industry expectation is that work-related videogames will become far more prevalent over the next couple of years.

As companies make this transition, a couple of things to consider:

• Foster only a healthy dose of competition: A risk of “gamification” is that the competition can get out of hand.  Ultimately both training and maintaining a supportive team environment are critical to driving frontline staff performance.
• Don’t go overboard with the “gamification:” Some traditional classroom training (e.g., new hire training) is still valuable, as is ongoing one-on-one coaching.  While gaming is more scalable, particularly for global organizations, and can be helpful for certain topics, it is important to use a variety of development techniques.

For those companies who have created work-related videogames, what has the focus of the games been?  And what have you seen in terms of the impact on your staff?

CCC Related Resources:

CCC Research: Identify the Right Opportunities for Training

CCC Research: Practice World-Class Coaching

Peer Networking: CCC Talent Management Forum

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.

What this means for service:

As companies introduce greater functionality for mobile devices, the temptation to leverage information that could potentially improve the customer experience must be balanced against consumer fears of privacy invasion by ‘Big Brother’. This is especially true of older customers, who are much more likely to be skeptical of the benefits of sharing data about themselves with anyone, let alone a company.

Negative customer opinion about location-based services is part of a larger trend concerning customer distrust when it comes to emerging social media channels. What started as a fun way to share with friends has quickly given rise to a pervasive sense that we may just be sharing too much.

For now, service organizations should be sensitive to customer sentiment in this area and focus on proactively educating customers about the benefits and payoffs of sharing and openness, including the ability to offer more personalized service to meet the customer’s individual needs.

Other Recent Insights from Iconoculture:

• Living dangerously, Americans cut corners on healthcare costs
• With rising wages in India, companies eye the US for outsourcing needs
• KB Home brings solar powered homes to SoCal residents
• Google uncovers details about African American smartphone use

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?

A recent Unisys survey found that 70% of Americans trust biometric technologies for security. In the past few years, biometrics have been used to identify individuals at immigration checkpoints, banks, and even Walt Disney World, which started fingerprinting visitors to prevent ticket fraud. In Japan, more than half of the nation’s ATM machines have fingerprint readers to identify customers.

Given increasing confidence in biometrics, it is worth asking: can this work in a contact center?

It might.

In a recent CCC Discussions post, a member stated that biometric technology may have long-term potential to be an effective contact center authentication system.  Voice recognition, which identifies customers by the unique waves and rhythms of their voices, may one day complement (or even be an alternative to) Social Security, PIN, or Security Q&A verification systems.

National Australia Bank rolled out a biometric speech recognition system in June 2009 to its personal banking customers. By April 2011, the bank had recorded 130,000 voiceprints through customer self-enrollment.

To clarify, voice recognition is not the same as speech recognition. The latter recognizes what you say; the former identifies who you are. In an age where fraud is an important customer concern, and since many customers are uncomfortable stating their Social Security numbers on the phone and may have trouble remembering PINs, voice recognition could be a safe and convenient solution.

What do you think? Have you considered using biometric technology (such as voice recognition software) in the contact center? Do you think this is plausible now or in the future?

Leave your thoughts below!

Other Recently Posted Insights from Iconoculture:

• Young Latinos Seek Bicultural Content
• Dotcoms for Moms Curates Momcentric Web Shopping
• Beverage Companies are Watching their Water Footprint
• Australia’s Daily Deals Grab Consumers’ Attention

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.

A few thoughts on how to engage customers in the shift to mobile banking:

• Emphasize the app as a differentiating service channel.  CCC’s study of customer channel preferences demonstrates a rapid shift to self-service:  across the last 3-5 years, the percent of customers who use self-service has grown from 10% to more than 40%. It makes sense that self-service follows technological trends: first e-mail, then Web, then social media, now smartphones.  While some banks may wait for customers to gain confidence in mobile apps, true differentiators will proactively drive that confidence.
• Target tech-savvy customers first. A recent McKinsey study found that consumers can be characterized into groups based on the types of digital experiences they prefer. “Digital media junkies” (mostly younger men) are 3 times more likely than their peers to embrace new technologies across digital channels.  Pointing these customers in the direction of the mobile app may therefore be a smart move.  CCC members, learn how Cisco used segmentation to align different customer types with distinct channels.
• Proactively guide customers to the app. Customers may not realize how much value they can get from mobile app functionality.  To encourage use, guide customers to the app using e-mail messaging, targeted Web site language, or proactive mention by reps.  CCC members, read about best practices on guiding the customer experience in self-service channels.
• Address customers’ privacy concerns.  Read Corey’s three recommendations on how to ensure information privacy in service interactions. Be transparent with customers. Provide clear information on how customer data is protected on smartphones and be proactive in addressing threats.
• Allow customers to “experiment” with mobile banking before committing. Customers might not be willing to take the full plunge into mobile banking, but companies can benefit from offering varied mobile services, such as proactive text and e-mail alerts (reminding customers, for instance, when their balance is low), maps (allowing users to find nearby branches or ATMs), or streamlined customer service functionality (providing easy access to reps via text message, social media, etc.).

Though customers still have doubts about mobile banking, I would argue that its future is clear. Sixty percent of customers now embrace online banking via PCs and, as smartphone functionality evolves, it is inevitable that mobile banking will follow.  Successful service organizations can differentiate and gain customer loyalty by being proactive in driving this movement, not reacting when it’s too late.

Related CCC Research:

• Segmentation to Passively Guide Customers (Cisco)
• Cost Savings Customers Want
• Topic Center: Migrate Customers to Self-Service

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]

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:

The “arms race” scenario. Are banks and retailers moving into the mobile space simply because their competitors are doing it? If this is the case, what are the signs you’re seeing of growing demand on the consumer side?

A data play. Does mobile offer significant advantages in customer understanding, relative to plastic? Do typical mobile payments user agreements allow processors and retailers to access information in other parts of the phone?

Increased brand awareness. Do payments give retailers license to push ads to the phone? Does the mere act of using a branded payment platform, whether provided by financial institutions (like MasterCard) or retailers (like Starbucks) reinforce brand connections in a way not previously available?

Savings on interchange fees. Particularly for mobile apps like Starbucks’, which are tied to loyalty program accounts, is there a significant savings on interchange to be had? We imagine that a single large transaction (loading the loyalty card) is more advantageous than multiple small transactions from a retailer’s perspective.

Decreased friction at the point of sale. Do mobile platforms (particularly those based on near-field communications) offer significant advantages in terms of friction and willingness to buy? Is buying with mobile less mentally demanding, from a consumer point of view, than plastic or cash? Do you project labor or equipment savings as a result of shorter checkout lines?

Better shopper marketing. As mentioned in a recent Wall Street Journal article, are mobile payment systems providing a hook for shopper marketing-focused tech throughout the rest of the store? If you’re a retailer, and do in-store mobile coupons, are you seeing higher conversion rates compared to other coupon provisioning systems?

So, what do you think?  What are your biggest hopes or worst fears as it relates to mobile payments and customer service?