by Kyle Henderson
Do you have an appointment for the cable technician to come out tomorrow? Perhaps. Who really knows? There are a couple ways to find out: you can check your calendar and hope you wrote it down, or you can call the cable company and ask.
For many years, organizations, especially large enterprise ones, have leveraged self-service IVR to give their constituents a manageable way to contact them. And while inbound communication is invaluable, sometimes there’s an easier way to communicate that better serves everyone: outbound communication, such as an automated proactive appointment reminder call from the cable company.
Let’s explore some of the reasons an organization might benefit from an outbound solution like INI Messenger™ paired with Avaya Proactive Outreach Manager (POM).
Greater Efficiency
If your cable company is anything like mine, they set up a vague appointment window with you, and then you don’t hear anything until the technician calls about 30 minutes prior to arriving to make sure you’re home. These calls are a huge benefit to customers, but I’d bet there are a lot of people like me who forget to stay home in the first place, and end up missing the appointment. A reminder before the day of the appointment would be a huge help to lessen no-shows and improve the cable company’s scheduling accuracy. The only downside is it takes a lot of contact center staff time and effort to place those calls and leave messages day after day, appointment after appointment.
Avaya POM with INI Messenger automates the process. With POM and INI Messenger, organizations can create campaigns that launch calls, texts or e-mails to customers and give them multiple options to respond. Instead of forgetting an appointment, customers get a quick, friendly call from the outbound IVR with a recorded message reminding them to be there. It’s effective and doesn’t require contact center staff to put aside critical duties like providing tech support or resolving billing issues.
Lower Costs, More Revenue
Let’s say I manage a lending company and I need to enable my customers to access things like their account balances, payment due dates, policies and account status changes. Many people still prefer to call in for such information. I have an inbound contact center and IVR system to facilitate their calls, but accommodating large inbound queues with numerous phone lines and many agents has high cost, and thus negatively impacts my margins.
Instead, I can leverage proactive outbound and use INI Messenger and POM to create automated campaigns with start/stop times, robust reporting and multiple response options. By shifting calls from costly inbound lines to less expensive outbound ones, I save money without hindering my ability to service customers. I can give them a heads up that their payment is nearly due and let them pay by phone or transfer to an agent if they have questions or unique needs. Plus, the automated call drives the customer to make a payment, protecting my revenue and therefore eliminating the need for collections follow-up costs, and likely curbing their need to call in. While some will still call in and transfer, my proactive communication lowers those numbers and helps my bottom line.
Better Customer Experience
Organizations should seek to make the customer experience as comfortable as possible, and outbound is a great way to do it. Missing an appointment feels terrible, especially when you booked it far in advance and have little chance of scheduling another one any time soon. Likewise, incurring fees for a late payment when you have the funds but just forgot the due date is frustrating and a waste of money. An organization’s outbound reminder call beforehand reduces hassles and shows that the organization cares. It also saves any embarrassment you might have about a missed appointment, late payment or other sensitive issue since you’re speaking with an automated system rather than a live agent.
Similarly, a proactive call from your shipping company to alert you that delivery will be delayed due to inclement weather saves a lot of panic and phone calls to locate your shipment. While outbound messages are pre-recorded, you still feel like you’re getting personalized service, a welcome alternative to long waits in the queue or not being informed. It makes life easier, which is what we all really want.
Proactively engaging customers is a valuable component of maintaining customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. INI Messenger, integrated with Avaya POM, makes it easy to reach out to your contacts with valuable information that increases Customer Lifetime Value.