READING, UNITED KINGDOM — (Marketwire) — 07/25/11 — , an innovative leader in customer to brand marketing, protection and travel products, has experienced substantial improvements in efficiency and productivity since deploying an and from .
Affinion-s 270 advisors answer thousands of calls every day on behalf of Affinion-s business customers, but with an expanding customer base came a growing pressure on the contact centre. As part of a strategic drive to exceed customer expectations, Affinion saw the opportunity to automate selected customer service functions.
After evaluating several vendors, Affinion elected to deploy solution together with the screen-pop application in a partnership with .
The IVR solution supports Affinion-s Sentinel Card Protection business by identifying customers using data protection questions such as a reference or card number. This customer data is then retrieved from Affinion-s Siebel CRM system and screen-popped on the advisor-s display when they receive the call.
The automated verification service has improved the speed in which callers are identified, thereby improving the engagement experience. Because the IVR solution has off-loaded the authentication process from agents, Affinion-s contact centre operates more productively with shorter handling times and better utilisation of agents- skills.
As a result of installing the new solution call handling time has been reduced by at least 12 seconds per call and allows the agent to open the interaction with a personalised greeting, leading to a better experience and more efficient service which underpin customer retention.
“Affinion International handles customer contacts on behalf of some of the UK-s biggest brand clients and the automated service is of critical importance to ensure that during peak call periods, our contact centre delivers best in class responsiveness,” explains Andrew Mutch, Vice President Field Operations at Affinion International. “The provision of this channel, together with enhanced online services, represents major steps forward in how Affinion International offers continuous improvements for our substantial and loyal customer base. The solution is resilient and flexible enough to cope with significant change over a multi-year term. These benefits, together with the ability to respond quickly during a comprehensive procurement process, allowed CCT and Syntellect to stand clear of the competition.”
CCT-s Syntellect solution has enabled Affinion International to concentrate on providing exceptional service, a dedication that was recognized recently when they won the Team of the Year 2011 award at the prestigious .
About Syntellect
With over two decades of pioneering leadership and thousands of solutions deployed globally, Syntellect is a premier provider of enterprise-class contact centre solutions for the utilities, financial services, government, high-technology, help desk, consumer products, and the healthcare industries.
About CCT:
CCT, part of the Capita Group, is a specialist ICT services provider and recognised contact centre solutions integrator, CCT supports voice, contact centre and data networks across nearly 50 countries.
About Affinion International
Under the umbrella of our parent company Affinion Group, a leader in this area with 3,500 employees globally, Affinion International is helping brands build a more profitable relationship with close to 66 million customers worldwide. From our roots in providing packaged products for retail bank accounts, through to our latest stand-alone product offerings, we are able to offer expertise that builds genuine value. .
Affinion International Case Study
Profile
Affinion International, as part of the Affinion Group, offers a wide range of protection and lifestyle products to over 65,000,000 members worldwide whilst providing their partners with additional revenue streams and increased customer-to-brand loyalty.
Providing marketing solutions for some of the world-s largest financial institutions, insurance companies, utility suppliers and others for over 35 years, the organisation has enjoyed rapid growth over the past 15 years with operations in 18 countries.
Challenges
Affinion International-s contact centre in Portsmouth is their largest in Europe with 270 advisors. This team answers thousands of calls every day on behalf of Affinion-s business customers, so it-s imperative that they present themselves as part of the client-s brand experience.
Affinion prides itself on delivering outstanding service on behalf of all its customers, but with an expanding customer base came a growing pressure on the contact centre. As part of a strategic drive to exceed customer service expectations and responsiveness, Affinion saw the opportunity to automate some customer service functions. They sought an interactive voice response (IVR) solution to identify their callers and screen-pop customer information to the customer service agents. This ensures that agents are able to provide a more personalised service and are free to spend time on the more valuable aspect of a customer call.
Solution
After evaluating several vendors, Affinion International elected to deploy Syntellect-s flagship IVR portal together with the Syntellect Phonelink for Siebel screen-pop application in a partnership with Call Centre Technology Ltd (CCT).
The IVR service supports Affinion-s Sentinel Card Protection business by identifying customers using data protection questions such as a reference or card number. This customer data is then retrieved from Affinion-s Siebel CRM system displayed on the agent-s screen when they receive the call.
Results
Affinion now provides its customers with an automated verification service which has improved the speed in which callers are identified, thereby improving the engagement experience. Because the IVR solution has off-loaded the authentication process from agents, Affinion-s contact centre operates more productively with shorter handle times and better utilisation of agents- skills.
The Syntellect solution has also enabled Affinion to leverage their CRM investment to personalise their customer-s service experience. The Screen Pop that provides agents with customer details as soon as the call arrives at the agent-s desk, has reduced call handling time by at least 12 sec/call and allows the agent to open the interaction with a personalised greeting, leading to a better experience and more efficient service which underpins customer retention. Agents no longer have to spend time looking up customer information and can concentrate on quickly servicing customer needs.
“Affinion International handles customer contacts on behalf of some of the UK-s biggest brand clients and the automated service is of critical importance to ensure that during peak call periods, our contact centre delivers best in class responsiveness,” explains Andrew Mutch, Vice President Field Operations at Affinion International. “The provision of this channel, together with enhanced online services, represents major steps forward in how Affinion International offers continuous improvements for our substantial and loyal customer base.”
Russell Attwood, CEO of CCT said “Syntellect is a world leading IVR solution provider helping businesses, such as Affinion International, to reduce costs while increasing customer service. We-re delighted that Affinion has begun to realize the benefits of the Syntellect IVR application.”
Andrew Mutch agrees: “The partnership has provided a targeted approach to resolving Affinion International-s business objectives. The solution is resilient and flexible enough to cope with significant change over a multi-year term. These benefits, together with the ability to respond quickly during a comprehensive procurement process, allowed CCT and Syntellect to stand clear of the competition.”
CCT-s Syntellect solution has enabled Affinion International to concentrate on providing exceptional service, a dedication that was recognized recently when they won the Team of the Year 2011 award at the prestigious Call Centre Management Association Awards.
About Affinion International
Under the umbrella of our parent company Affinion Group, a leader in this area with 3,500 employees globally, Affinion International is helping brands build a more profitable relationship with close to 66 million customers worldwide. This huge depth of experience has allowed us to build an extraordinary fund of marketing knowledge and to continue to develop new products and services that are perfectly suited to changing customer needs and channel usage. From our roots in providing packaged products for retail bank accounts, through to our latest stand-alone product offerings, we are able to offer expertise that builds genuine value. .
About Syntellect
At Syntellect, we help our customers create, maintain and continuously improve superior end-to-end service for their customers – personalised service that values their preferences from the way they contact a business to the level of help desired. We measure our success by our ability to implement and continuously support solutions for our customers. With over two decades of pioneering leadership and thousands of solutions deployed globally, Syntellect is a premier provider of enterprise-class contact centre solutions for the utilities, financial services, government, high-technology, help desk, consumer products, and the healthcare industries. .
About CCT:
CCT, part of the Capita Group, is a specialist ICT services provider and recognised contact centre solutions integrator, CCT supports voice, contact centre and data networks across nearly 50 countries. .
Contacts:
Pippa Rhys
0118 972 8505
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