All posts tagged varolii

Varolii 360 - The Best of Both Worlds

by Mary Cook on February 21, 2012 in Varolii News with No comments

As we know, many of our inbound call centers still have cumbersome automated IVR processes that lead many customers to hang up in frustration. In an inbound environment, 20% of customers scream “agent” or press zero within an IVR menu, while 30% choose the wrong direction within the IVR, either intentionally or unintentionally. Adding on top of this 50% IVR fall out, the typical automated speech recognition (ASR) engines don’t have the intelligence to personalize inbound calls to a particular customer, or auto-correct a customer’s verbal input if it is misunderstood. So the chance of your customer experiencing a “successful” customer effort or engagement score is already at odds.

So, Varolii came up with some ideas on how to fix this problem.

What started out as a drawing on a whiteboard nine months ago has turned into a customer interaction management system that makes you pause and take notice. In seventeen years in the call center and customer experience realm, this is one of the few pieces of call center technology that I see as a “game changer” for customer interaction management.

Our newest product, Varolli 360, offers customer interaction capabilities that can be leveraged to create a complete customer experience across both guided inbound and proactive outbound interactions.  This little gem revolutionizes the way that you do business by solving customer problems faster (i.e., reduced AHT), and in return upping the ante where overall satisfaction is concerned.

So – what is guided inbound?

Guided inbound allows speech recognition to become a truly valuable contact center technology. It allows you to enrich your customer interactions.

Varolii’s new inbound solutions leverage guided speech recognition and advanced personalization to assist the customer through their interactions with you, while delivering a more robust inbound experience. Rather than rely on old systems that are subject to failure, we’ve adopted a new approach.  With guided inbound capabilities, silent ‘Guides’ monitor up to 10 calls simultaneously and are able to jump in when speech recognition fails, or correct the customer’s utterance in order to help the customer to self-serve. These ‘Guides’ can direct the automation in real-time, correcting the misheard response or redirecting the speech recognition engine as needed.

With this conversational hybrid approach, your customer is offered more efficient and personalized self-service options, which subsequently reduces frustration and opt-outs. It also eliminates the customer repetition of answering a question twice and guarantees a smoother transfer to a call center agent when required.

For ten years, Varolii has proactively communicated with customers to meet their needs with our outbound communications applications through voice, text messages, emails, and smartphone applications.  We make ourselves available to assist your customers via the mode of communication that feels the most comfortable for them, which leads to a more personal and satisfactory solution to handling their interactions. Varolli knows that “interaction” and “customer experience” are not events, and therefore they shouldn’t be treated impersonally. So we have taken our magic and applied it now to inbound interactions, as well.

"Better engagement, better outcome" is Varolli’s mantra for Customer Interaction Management. Joining and coordinating technology and applying expertise to get results are what make us a success. Learn more about Varolli 360. To read more about product specifications, click here.  Feel free to email me directly at mary.cook@varolii.com for more information.  I’d love to hear from you!

HTML5 - What is it and what does it mean to me? Apps not required?

by Mary Cook on December 9, 2011 in Industry News, Mary Cook, Mobile/Telcom, Varolii News with 2 Comments

Even if you're a Web novice, you may already have heard the term “HTML5” by now. You can almost feel the buzz amongst designers and web users!

Google, Apple, Facebook and others have been constantly in the mix -- and they're all pulling their socks up to maximize the benefits of this exciting new platform.

Even if you're not a web designer, you may get the feeling that HTML5 will be the next big thing when it comes to meeting the demands of the modern Web.

Should you care as an internet user (or a designer for that matter)? Yes!

HTML5 – what is the big deal?

The big deal is that pretty soon, you’ll find it everywhere on the web!

pic one1 HTML5 What is it and what does it mean to me? Apps not required?You know that with HTML4, websites usually have to depend on Flash or Silverlight plugins to show and play a video file (you may have observed this in video sharing sites like YouTube).

The DISADVANTAGE comes in the smart phones, iPads and iPhones.

Take Apple as an example. They had to drop support for HTML4 plugins to optimize the battery power of their phones. The lack of HTML4 support made much of the rich media (like video content), plainly inaccessible through these phones.

With HTML5, web designers can directly embed media with simple HTML tags like “<video>” and “<audio>” – thereby eliminating the need for plugins.

Facebook and HTML5 – How do they mix?Facebook1 HTML5 What is it and what does it mean to me? Apps not required?

Facebook has also launched its HTML resource center in an attempt to help designers build, test and deploy web applications.

As you may know, Facebook has an excellent platform on mobile; it's evident that it is pushing ahead to encourage designers to create applications with HTML5 on mobile phones.

Facebook is predominantly using HTML5 in its specific mobile products, as this makes the access to other various interrelated devices much simpler.

Amazon Adds HTML5 to Updated Kindle E-Book Format

kindle HTML5 What is it and what does it mean to me? Apps not required?With the launch of the fire tablet, Amazon has also sprung up a new book format that provides crafty designers with an opportunity to access a variety of updated features, including HTML5.  In August, Amazon also released its Kindle Cloud Reader which is an HTML5-based reading application.

Along with that, Amazon’s KF8 is a new HTML5 kindle book which is designed to enable publishers to create picture books, graphic novels and comics – all done thanks to the HTML5-rich formatting capabilities and elements of design.

Brightcove and HTML5HTNL5 HTML5 What is it and what does it mean to me? Apps not required?

Brightcove, a leading worldwide provider of cloud content services, has also announced their rousing new features that come with their video cloud online- platform smart players.

These smart players help beat a lot of discrepancies and inconsistencies when it comes to HTML playback. Moreover, the integration with the HTML5 also enables reliable reproduction with both the analytics and integration with the third party services -- take ad serving solutions for example.

The Bottom Line

future HTML5 What is it and what does it mean to me? Apps not required?The bottom line is -- as a web user and designer, you would be benefiting a lot from HTML5 without even realizing it. Popular web browsers like Safari, Chrome and Firefox all have support for at least some elements of HTML5.

Through Chrome or Safari, you can check out some of the experimental versions of YouTube that makes use of HTML5’s video features.

Google reader and Gmail also have embraced some parts of the standard. Additionally, any site which is listed as being “iPad ready” is sure to be opting for considerable use of HTML5. Take examples of the New York Times, CNN and CBS.

Yes, Flash may not be going anytime soon of course, as it is still extensively used and supported. The flash games which we have a definite affection for are still impossible to recreate from HTML.

So when you hear the term “HTML5”, more than anything, it refers to the future of the World Wide Web.

In Conclusion – What does this mean to me?

HTML5 essentially brings application capabilities to browser capability and the web experience, so the big news is that HTML5 could render mobile apps obsolete. No more downloading and parking app icons on your mobile device. You get that functionality through a browser experience. So what it means is that the communication between businesses and their customers could change radically. But you need someone who understands what this means for the patient experience in healthcare, or the consumer in finance, or the passenger in airlines (and all sorts of other customers and companies). Furthermore you will need to understand how to get the most out of your customer experience communication strategy - which means you may need a trusted vendor advisor…with knowledge and experience…like…like…Varolii!

So – Call us. 800-206-2979. Or email me, tweet me, respond to my blog, or send me a smoke signal.

References Used

What's New in HTML-5?

Amazon's new e-book format brings HTML5 support to your Kindle library

Facebook launches HTML5 Resource Center

The Present and Future of HTML5 Video Experiences

'Tis the Season to Be Jolly…or in Queue…

by Mary Cook on November 30, 2011 in Call Centers, CRM, Industry News, Mary Cook, Retail, Varolii News with 2 Comments
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It’s that special time of year again, the 4th quarter. The quarter all of us call center, customer care and experience professionals live (and die) for. While many of us this past Thanksgiving planned out our shopping trips like the covert PMP multi-media-centric individuals we are (ok, perhaps it was just me…), my beloved and brethren customer service professionals were busy working. Whether they were in their retail stores, calculating their cloud storage to support their digital customers, or re-calculating their 15 minute interval call center staffing plans – the madness of the Holiday season has officially begun. So in honor of this most wonderful time of year (where as a call center professional you are guaranteed to catch bronchitis at least once from over working yourself amongst a set of snotty-nosed CSRs – and I say that with love – I buy Kleenex in bulk), I share with you some of my favorite 4th quarter meltdowns.

My Favorite Holiday Calamity

Once upon a time, years and years ago, I started a new job as a small BPO Call Center Director during the last week of August. Team of 50. Two clients. Two supervisors. Five days after I started my new exciting job, the company signed a deal with a direct mail catalog company.  The majority of their revenues were received during the 4th quarter. Within 24 hours of hearing this news I knew I needed to go from 50 to 250 FTEs by the 2nd week of November. To 315 by the 2nd week of December. And not just agents. We needed technology, networking, processes, support staff, allll the Holiday call center trimming. We accomplished our main goals. I hired an entire team who I still keep in contact with (so they can verify this horror story). We had a Workforce Manager, a Trainer, a Quality Assurance Department, more supervisors, agents, and a Staffing Agency on board.

So…What could possibly go wrong?

  1. The direct mail company forgot to mention the hundreds of thousands of faxed in orders they would also need us to support. No back order office support anywhere in the contract or SOW.
  2. And some of these faxed orders were from large Fortune 500 companies sending Christmas gifts to ALL of their hundreds of clients. Good old green screen data entry from back in the day…
  3. The call forecasts we were provided by our client were off. By over 40%. ABOVE. Calls in queue and upset customers were commonplace. I heard busy line signals in my sleep.
  4. The call center was in the basement. No windows. Heater broke – and it was 90 degrees on and off for days. We all wore shorts and baseball hats to survive the heat (in the dead of winter outside, of course) and to hide our perpetual bad hair days.

I worked a record 321 hours in 21 days straight. I got home every night and ate a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, apologized to my dogs, and cried. And then got up again and did it all over again. One would ask why, but the BEST memory that made this my FAVORITE 4th quarter story was the fact that I had temporary FTEs and supervisors, that despite the fact they knew at the end of January they wouldn’t have a job with me, worked every single day with me. Side by side. If I worked 16 hours, they worked 17. We laughed, cried, and survived together. And it wasn’t just about their overtime pay. It was about our indomitable spirit that we refused to fail the customer – and our customer was our client, their customers, and each other. It was the 4th quarter where all of my leadership education came to fruition despite the never ending holiday call center nightmare packages we were delivered.

Now I could share other stories…like the time 40% of our 800 volume was pointed to the wrong VDN and my Holiday Orders were going to Sears Appliance Repair. Or the year that we predicted that 20% of our order volume would be ecommerce orders and 80% phone orders.  Well, that year 60% of our orders were internet based. THAT was the year I learned to negotiate with my BPO providers.

But instead of sharing more of mine, I would LOVE to hear some of yours. Don’t be shy – all mistakes are merely stepping stones to successes.

Happy Holidays, and may your queues be managed and your network stable…

Mortgage delinquency down slightly, but there is still a lot of work to do

by Brian Moore on November 18, 2011 in Banks/Finance, Brian Moore, Industry News, Mortgage, Varolii News with 2 Comments

The Mortgage Banker's Association reports that the percentage of residential mortgages at least one payment past due or in foreclosure in the 3rd quarter dropped 1.15% from the same quarter last year and now stands at 12.42%. Despite this modest year over year improvement, this rate is more than double pre-recession averages.

MBA NDS 1Q2005 3Q2011 1024x694 Mortgage delinquency down slightly, but there is still a lot of work to do

There are an estimated 50 million mortgages in the US, which means there over 6 million delinquent loans.

Wow. No matter how you slice it, that's a lot of loans, and the workload implications for mortgage servicers are staggering.

Under their new servicing alignment initiative, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say mortgage servicers should be calling these borrowers every three days to try and work something out or if that's not possible, update them on the status of their foreclosure.

It works out to something like 150,000 phone calls every waking hour of every day of the year. Sorry, no Saturdays or Sundays off when there are that many calls to make.

Even with the help of predictive dialing systems, servicers would need 10,000 full time equivalent employees to do that work at an annual cost of over $300 million.

I say "would need", because there are alternatives. Many mortgage servicers rely on Varolii to deliver interactive communications to their borrowers. Varolii applications are designed to lead borrowers into either curing their delinquency by making a self-service payment or by engaging them in a discussion with a loan counselor of alternatives to foreclosure. By taking on the burden of proactive outreach, Varolii saves these servicers 50% or more of the costs they would otherwise bear.

Others had better start dialing.

All Disasters are not Created Equal

by Jeff Delaney on November 7, 2011 in Business Continuity, Industry News, Jeff Delaney with No comments
hurricane

Make Sure You’re Prepared for Anticipated and Unanticipated Events

The recent East Coast crises of the Virginia earthquake and Hurricane Irene demonstrate the real need for automated communications solutions that enable businesses to communicate vital information to customers and employees during any kind of business disruption. However, these solutions have to work when business continuity professionals need them to, no matter what. Providers in this space face a definitive test on whether they can perform at mass scale, in burst mode, and for long durations of time during a crisis. Disasters that span significant regions put notification solutions to the ultimate test in that all customers in the region are executing the system at the same time.

While the Virginia Earthquake and Hurricane Irene share many characteristics of regional crisis management, they differ significantly when it comes to the dynamics of automated communications.

Hurricane Irene came with advanced notice in the form of long range weather forecasts, which allowed business continuity personnel to solidify their continuity and communication strategy days in advance. In fact, the precision of the predicted hurricane trajectory led to a more precise communication strategy—giving crisis managers a window of opportunity to leverage advanced notification techniques to their employees, customers, students, residence and constituents. Disasters such as Hurricane Irene typically result in lower messaging volumes since the communication strategies are protracted and targeted using GIS technology or specific regional call lists. In addition, in these scenarios, recipients are ready for the messaging and expect the flurry of communications and can respond appropriately. This leads to streamlined communication efforts, ultimately allowing for more precise and accurate responses.

Contrast that to the Virginia earthquake, which struck with no notice. Message volumes were widespread, non-targeted, came in burst fashion, and resulted in much higher volumes. The messaging volume was 100 percent crisis-based vs. preparation-based.

Modern notification systems allow crisis managers to focus more on the crisis at hand and rely heavily on advanced automated techniques to manage the communication piece of the incident. The ability to automate helps not just with an initial widespread communication to a targeted set of recipients, but allows companies to build and automate all successive follow-up notifications. By having a notification system holistically and automatically carry out business and notification rules based on recipient responses, a crisis manager can channel more of their attention to the crisis.

For example, successful crisis teams can automatically re-communicate with recipients who are unresponsive, or who have answered “Yes” to needing assistance, or who have responded positively that they arrived at the alternate crisis facility. All of these communications can be scripted, tested, drilled and automated during a crisis leading to the highest potential of recipient accountability.

The recent events of Hurricane Irene and the Virginia earthquake demonstrates not only the need of a comprehensive advanced notification system, but one that has the maturity that lets administrators pre-define and automate follow-up communications to re-contact recipients without manual intervention during an unplanned event.

Catch 22 - Why Congress Must Modernize the TCPA

by Brian Moore on November 3, 2011 in Airlines, Banks/Finance, Brian Moore, Call Centers, Consumer Svcs, CRM, Industry News, Mobile/Telcom, Mortgage, Varolii News with 4 Comments

catch 22 cover Catch 22 Why Congress Must Modernize the TCPAJoseph Heller does not get enough credit for coining the term "Catch 22". How many authors can claim a phrase that conveys so much meaning in two little words, immediately understood as a shorter yet more eloquent version of "between a rock and a hard place"?

In the book by the same name, Catch 22 was a military rule that said the only way to get out of a dangerous mission was to prove you were insane, but that if you wanted to get out of such a mission, it proved you were sane so you had to go.

While Heller's setting was World War II, he could easily have placed his characters in a more modern setting. Instead of focusing on a military bureaucracy intent on keeping soldiers in perpetual service, he could have written of government regulations that force American businesses to choose between keeping their customers satisfied or breaking the law.

Consider an airline. They are required by the Department of Transportation (DOT-OST-2010-0140) to promptly notify passengers of flight delays at the airport, on their website and on their telephone reservation system. Some airlines try to go the extra mile by proactively notifying passengers using interactive voice messages. But if a passenger provides their cell phone number as their point of contact, the airline would be violating the FCC's rules implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) if they send such a message to a passenger without their prior "express consent". Sounds easy if the ticket is booked on the airline's own website - just add a click box for consent to the check-out process. However, getting consent is not so easy if the flight is booked by an independent travel agent over the phone. Catch 22.

And what about a mortgage servicer? Under Fannie Mae's servicing guidelines, they are required to attempt phone contact with delinquent borrowers every three days. Fannie wants servicers to make every possible effort to assist borrowers in avoiding foreclosure by communicating all the loan modification programs the government has made available. But if the borrower has provided a mobile number (and for 30% of American households, that is the only number they have), in most cases the servicer would be at legal risk if they used automatic dialing technology to make these calls. That's because the original lender failed to obtain the necessary consent when the loan was issued. Catch 22.

I could go on. Prescription refill reminders, credit card fraud alerts, COD package delivery notifications - all good for the consumer, but risky for the business under the current TCPA. That's why a coalition of sixteen business associations ranging from the American Bankers to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce came together to draft an amendment to the TCPA that has now been sponsored as a bill by a bi-partisan group of congressional representatives.

This week I went to Washington, D.C., to lobby for this bill, HR 3035 "The Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011", the primary intent of which is to remove the distinctions made in the TCPA between landline and mobile service when using "assistive technlogy" (dialers and recorded messages) to communicate with customers for informational, not marketing, purposes.

We may not be flying dangerous missions over well-defended enemy territory when we try to do the right thing by contacting customers with information they need, but we would still have to be insane to keep doing it in the face of our own Catch 22. The only sane thing to do is change the rules.

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