TuVox Speech Central

There’s little doubt that personalization (automatically delivering relevant information) and customization (controlling the display) have been a boon for surfing the web. We get more relevant information, find things more quickly, and are more likely to stumble (or Stumble) upon things of interest.

This works for the web experience because we get the thing we’re looking for immediately, and the elements brought to us via personalization are unobtrusive. For example, on the Google search results page, the main results are in the center of the page, with relevant ads at the top and on the side. On an Amazon.com shopping page, the item we chose is at the top of the page, and recommendations/substitutes are below.

Note that in both cases, the design allows direct access to complete the desired task – getting information or completing a transaction – we’re interested in, and puts the other information nearby – in case we need it.

What about the telephone?

The key difference from a communications point of view between visual and audible content is fast random access vs. linear, fixed speed listening (delivery). Audio requires attention, where graphical content is less demanding. It’s ok if your eyes wander a bit while you think and return to a page, but if you get distracted while listening you often need to listen again. This attention makes audio a bit more involving and more personal than a pure graphical presentation. Both these qualities – linear delivery and the involving nature play key roles in the use of personalization.

Arguably, the most critical factor to consider when using personalization techniques on the phone is the relevance of the information you provide. The relevance test is more important for callers than for web visitors due to the qualities of each channel. Highly relevant personalization strategies will add value by shortening calls, increasing automation, and providing increased customer satisfaction. However, if the relevance isn’t high enough, you’ll be presenting information to the caller which is potentially “in the way” of the caller’s objective. If you have any information to present which may not be relevant, be sure to consider presenting it only after the caller has completed their primary task.

Be sure to check out the new TuVox personalization module, a great way to get together the data and rules you need for a highly relevant set of offers.

We’d like to give a warm congratulations to Telecom New Zealand, who won the prestigious 2007 Implementation Award by Speech Technology Magazine. The award is provided to companies who achieve significant results from their implementation. The results speak for themselves, and are the result of careful planning, attention to detail, and follow-through.

Check out the article on TMCnet at: TuVox Customer Wins Prestigious Implementation Award.

Personalization Arrives in the Voice Channel

It’s amazing how quickly you get used to personalized customer service. Most merchants and companies I do business with have a personalized web experience. On Amazon, Netflix, eBay I’m greeted by name. My recommendations are highly tailored and my account information is readily accessible.

I’ve been waiting for this for years on the phone, and it’s finally happened.

I was just greeted by name when I called American Airlines. It’s about time!

American has just deployed a really amazing new system that has some really cool features. My favorite is one of the simplest — I can opt-in so my cell phone is recognized, so I’m immediately identified and authenticated.

“Thanks for calling American Airlines. Welcome back, Steve.” It’s very cool. Better yet, I get proactive service — when I’ve got a flight coming up, I automatically get flight status. When I land, I’m offered help with lost baggage. If I need to be rebooked, it is handled automatically. The most common options are menu-free — they’re proactively offered.

The phone has taken a huge step forward.

Are you an American frequent flyer? Try it! You can get information on the American Airlines website.

TuVox built this system using multiple personalization techniques. A series of dynamic features are used to create a highly personalized experience. Some of the personalization features include greeting by name and context-specific menus — so that I’m only offered appropriate choices at any point.

The other key element of a next-generation personalized experience is what we refer to as ‘anticipating intent’. The American application looks at your current status to see if you’re flying; if you’re between legs of a trip; if you’ve just landed; if you’ve got an upcoming return flight, etc. On top of your status is event-based information — are planes late, have you been re-booked. The combination of these may result in a high probability reason for a phone call.

Anticipating intent allows American to offer service without having to present a menu selection. This is very forward-thinking and breaks significant new ground for a phone system.

This is the phone system of the future, here today.

Putting a Voice to your Key Support Knowledge
We need to acknowledge that there are two clear classes of callers. First, the web-oriented callers who have already tried all our web resources, were unable to solve their problem, and are now on the phone. Those callers need to be directed to an agent and encouraged to continue to use self help.

Second, are callers who have not used the web – either it’s not convenient (they’re mobile) or they just didn’t bother. In any case, BOTH know there’s a website. Just telling them there’s a support website is a waste of their time and precious telecom costs.

That’s a shame, when it’s relatively easy to help callers with knowledgebase content right on the phone. Or, just a way to guide callers to specific information online – not general message, but a specific page that will help.

The question is:
Why aren’t companies making this information available over the phone?

If you’re in charge of providing telephone-based support at your company, I have to ask — are you leveraging this information across all customer interaction channels, including Web self-service and voice self-service?

The reality is that some customers will use Web support and some won’t. In many cases, customers have tried Web support, but couldn’t easily find a solution.

Others might not have tried Web support at all — some customers are unable (not near a computer, technologically challenged, etc.) and a few are unwilling — they would prefer to speak with a live customer service representative at any cost.

For these reasons, your technical support line continues to ring (and ring). And every call handled by a live agent is costly, cutting into ever-narrowing profit margins.

When customers have reviewed all your Web articles, and are willing to wait any length of time, it is difficult to decrease the business impact of these calls.

For all other callers, however, using voice automation to access your knowledgebase can save up to 90% per call.

To successfully automate a large percentage of routine technical support calls, there are five key best practices to keep in mind.

Download the rest of the article here.

5 Best Practices to Make Your Knowledgebase “Talk”