This telecom provider improves the customer experience of brands with more than 16,000 employees at 14 locations in Europe. Besides its deep expertise in the telecommunications industry, the company provides services in finance, insurance, retail, e-trade, transportation, energy, and public sector industries. It offers customer-experience-focused solutions to create value in customer services, customer acquisition, telesales, technical support, customer loyalty, collection, customer data management, and experience analytics.
The company turned to Gyst to help them reduce contact center operating costs (OpEx), improve the customer experience (CX), and gain actionable insights into caller behavior in the IVR. Since implementing our technology, the provider realized a 20% increase in caller use of the IVR along with a 16% decrease in caller error/re-prompting rates. Additionally, the average handle time (AHT) for self-service calls was reduced by 11 seconds.
During the initial proof of concept (PoC) period with the customer, we implemented our technology to determine what effect dynamically adjusting the audio playback rate of voice prompts in their IVR would have on voice self-service performance. During this period, we ran A/B tests on over 60,000 phone calls over a one-month period. We also used Gyst Analytics to collect data on caller behavior as it relates to engagement within the voice application. Existing voice prompts were speed-adjusted in direct relation to individual caller skills.
During the trial period, audio playback speed adjustment levels of 100, 110, 114, 117, and 119 percent were used. A playback level of 100 indicates the normal playback rate of the audio, 110 represents 110 percent of normal, and so forth.
In summary, the results indicated:
Callers using speed-adjusted audio had 20.6% more engagement (Conversation Turns) with the IVR over callers using standard audio. They also encountered 16.2% fewer error messages and had to reenter information 16.2% fewer times. Additionally, while AHT was reduced by 11 seconds in the IVR, almost 2% more callers reached at least one of their goals via voice self-service when using our technology.
The difference in cost between a call handled by voice self-service and a call handled by an agent can vary between $2–$6 or more, depending on the length of the call, the knowledge and training level the agent receives, onshore/offshore sourcing, and other factors. This adds up to significant cost savings.
Direct cost savings aside, having customers experience fewer error messages and requests for the reentry of information, along with handling their inquiries on their first contact and freeing up agents for less mundane calls, all contribute to additional benefits in terms of improved customer service and brand image.
