Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

Best self-service. Ever.5 ways to deliver the effortless, intelligent experiences customers crave.

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The contact center executive’s catch-22

Over the past few years, a great deal of research has been done to dissect the customer experience – and understand what truly leads to loyalty. And what countless studies have found is that it’s about making things effortless.

Consider this: In today’s world where 78% of customers now take action after a bad customer experience, such as warning friends and family, blasting it out on social media, or worse, quit doing business with the company altogether, delivering an effortless experience is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s an imperative.

But here’s the twist—or the contact center executive’s catch-22: to evolve and modernize your contact center to meet these needs, demonstrating improved experience isn’t enough. You must be able to show hard ROI.

This is a guide to achieving the seemingly impossible. Inside, we outline five imperatives for delivering intelligent self-service that will help you balance the need to reduce costs with the mandate to improve the customer experience.

Let’s get started.

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

3 Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

1. Make self-service intuitiveDespite the proliferation of digital self-service channels, the phone is still one of the most popular ways for customers to contact your company. And, for most, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system is the first company representative they reach.

So, what’s their experience like? If the answer is a fast, no-hassle solution to their problem, you’re likely inspiring their loyalty. If the answer is confusing menu trees, multi-step authentication and being directed to the wrong departments – the frustration they experience could be driving them to the competition.

There’s a very real cost to callers who experience “IVR ire”: 83% of consumers say that the quality of the IVR experience impacts their opinion of a company. And 37% say they might decide to stop doing business with a company altogether after a single bad IVR experience.

Our first recommendation is simple: Start by making your IVR experience the best it can be—namely easier and more intuitive. You’ll save a fortune by containing more calls, reducing agent-assisted calls and improving time to resolution.

Five ire-inducing Interactive Voice Response (IVR) mistakes.1

Too many menu options

Long and confusing prompts

Wrong or inadequate menuchoices

Making it difficult or impossibleto get to an agent

Not carrying context and content from the IVR to the agent

Too many menu options

Long and confusing prompts

Wrong or inadequate menuchoices

Making it difficult or impossibleto get to an agent

Not carrying context and content from the IVR to the agent

1 Van Bellegham, Steven (2013). Why the Future of Customer Service Is Self-Service. Fast Company. Retrieved from: http:// www.fastcompany.com/3013177/creative- conversations/why-the-future-of-customer- service-is-self-service

Doing Intuitive Right

Challenge: More than 70% of callersto Amtrak’s IVR were “zeroing out” to reach an operator.

Solution: An on-demand, cloud-based Conversational IVR to resolve calls more effortlessly, faster.

Results:

54%

54% of calls are nowfully resolved by the IVR,with no agent assistance

53% increasein customer satisfaction

53%

50,000 calls per day are answered via

automation

50,000

Amtrak Boosts Satisfaction with a Conversational IVR

Read the full story.

“Amtrak Julie has become a guiding light of sorts for the thousands of automated voices that companies use as first responders to customers’ inquiries all over the world.”

Emily Yellin, Author of “Your Call Is (not that) Important to Us”

4 Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

Here are our top tips for getting started.

– More natural talkingToday’s leading companies are providing IVR experiences that feel more like a conversation—allowing callers to use their own words to ask for and get what they need, instead of requiring them to select from a predefined list of menu options.

A conversational IVR creates an amazing first impression, helps customers solve problems faster, and is proven to drive higher sales, increased loyalty and lower costs.

How does it work? Simple. By leveraging technology like Natural Language Understanding (NLU) in the IVR, instead of being greeted with a generic prompt and a dozen menu options, callers hear, “Hello Sandy, how can I help you?” The caller answers using his or her own words, and the IVR correctly interprets the request and guides them to resolution in seconds. (Learn more about NLU on page 6.)

– Ditch the passwordsCan’t remember your PIN, password, pass phrase, security question and secret hint answer for all your accounts? Neither can anyone else. Customers build resentment and frustration as they try to get a fast solution to a pressing problem — and instead, get stuck in a never-ending loop of password resets.

The best solution? Get rid of passwords altogether. Leading companies today are solving this problem with voice biometrics, an easy-to-implement and highly secure technology that allows customers to use their voice as their passwords.

It’s faster than traditional authentication, and more secure than alpha-numeric PINs and passwords. The best part, though, is the savings: On average, companies using voice biometrics report an average 3-year cost reduction of $15M.

“The ability for customers to use their voice to gain access to their accounts is an easy and natural process, allowing the first point of contact with our bank to be enjoyable and hassle-free.”

José Ignacio Zorrilla Executive Director for Multichannel and Innovation, Banco Santander Mexico

Doing Intuitive Right

Challenge: With more than 65% of callers failing authentication, Banco Santander was wasting valuable money and negatively impacting customer satisfaction scores.

Solution: Use customer’s voice as their password with voice biometrics.

Results:

Santander Reduces Average Handle Time with Voice Biometrics

53 agents repurposed at an annual savings

of $1M

$1M

42% reduction in authentication

time

42%

2015 Bronze Stevie award recipient for Innovation in

Customer Service (Financial Services)

Read the full story.

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2. Get more conversational“OK Google, where is the nearest gas station?” Just a few years ago, this type of interaction seemed like a novelty. Today, it’s the new face of customer service. Consumers can ask their mobile devices a question and get a quick answer — so why can’t they do the same with the companies they do business with?

With technology like Natural Language Understanding (NLU), they can. Instead of listening to menu options, navigating touch tone mazes, and scrolling through pages of cryptic search results, NLU lets users simply say what they need — and then routes them to the proper resolution quickly and painlessly.

With more than 55% of teens and 41% of adults already using voice search more than once a day, it’s important that you get ahead of changing consumer expectations instead of playing catch-up.

83% of consumers said that they would prefer the option of a conversational dialogue with their personal assistant on their mobile device.

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

83%

“Through the successful implementation of cutting-edge speech recognition and intelligent call routing, we’re providing our customers with the quality and ease of use they have come to expect from New York City.”

Joseph Morrisroe Executive Director, NYC311

Doing Conversational Right

Challenge: As the popularity of NYC’s 311 service exploded, the city needed to increase automation to handle an increasing call volume, while delivering an effortless customer experience.

Solution: Conversational IVR featuring natural language Call Steering.

Results:

NYC 311 Evolves IVR to Conversational, Increasing Capacity and Satisfaction

25% increase inagent availabilty

25-30% calls containedwithin IVR (NYC 311'scall volume rose from

350K per month in 2014 to540K per month in 2015)

20% increasein contact centercapability during

high-demand days

25+% 25% 20%

Read the full story.

6The key to success? Understand the intention, not just the words. As you research NLU technology, look for solutions that go beyond just “recognizing” words. The most effective, efficient and impactful solutions are able to identify what the customer is trying to say—or their intent—and make smart decisions in real-time to speed up problem resolution.

NLU shouldn’t be limited to just phone calls, either. A well-implemented solution can deliver faster, easier interactions across virtually all of your interaction channels.

Whether on the phone, on the Web or via a mobile app, NLU and conversational technologies can:

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

“We’ve taken advantage of natural language speech recognition technology to better direct our callers, making it a very conversational experience. ...we expected to increase usage of IVR self-service capabilities by 3%. In fact, we’ve seen a 6% increase in automation, far exceeding our goals.”

Gina Maiden Managing Director, FedEx

Recognize the meaning of both spoken or typed input.

Remember what customers have already said throughoutthe call, so customers are never asked to repeat themselvesor provide duplicate information.

Use appropriate greetings and farewells, and evenunderstand and properly handle criticisms and compliments.

Determine the intent of the customer, and route or resolvethe matter accordingly.

Ask questions as needed to further clarify ambiguous intent.

Understand what information is needed to complete a task,and prompt the customer for missing information.

Recognize and correctly interpret slang, mispronunciationsand misspellings, and even grammatically incorrect sentences.

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3. Provide more personalizationYou know your customers pretty well — so why treat every call like it’s the first time you’ve met? A little personalization across every customer service channel will go a long way, whether it’s simply greeting a customer by name or thanking them for their continued patronage.

Our recommendation: Personalize your self-service channels at every opportunity, to make customers feel welcomed no matter where they go. As a result, you’ll increase sales, lower costs and help your company stand out in a competitive marketplace.

A conversational IVR already feels more personal than touch tone menus, so they’re a great place to start. Adding voice biometric authentication (to let customers use their voice as their password, instead of PINs and passwords) takes personalization a step further. For even more personalization — and a bigger payoff in customer satisfaction and loyalty — you should also consider:

– Intelligent virtual assistants are digital personas that deliver personalized customer service through your Web site or mobile app. Customers simply ask your virtual assistant for the help they need, and get it — whether it’s getting a question answered or conducting a transaction.

– Proactive engagement solutions allow you to better anticipate customer needs, doing things like sending automatic reminders to customers via text and phone outreach.

– Creating a shared data layer between your self-service channels (like your IVR, Web site, and mobile apps) and related business systems (like CRMs or loyalty systems) can create even more personalized, consistent and relevant experiences.

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

Doing Personalized Right

Challenge: As the popularity of Windstream’s digital channels grew, agent-assisted digital support volume grew 81% from 2010 to 2012.

Solution: An intelligent virtual assistant – which Windstream named “Wendy.”

Results:

Windstream Optimizes Agent Utilization by Personalizing the Web Experience

78% improvementin first contact

resolution

78%

45% reductionin live support

interactions withWendy

45%

24K virtual assistantconversations

handled each month

24K

Read the full story.

8Finally, a few tips to personalize all of your self-service channels.

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

1First, always greet your customers by name

Never miss this opportunity — whether it’s on the phone, on a chat, or via mobile application. IVR and virtual assistant technology make this easy and practical across all your channels.

3Lastly, tailor experiences tofit unique customer needs

Just like your favorite localrestaurant, your IVR and virtualassistant solutions should continually learn about yourcustomers. Leading intelligentvirtual assistants can capturecustomer usage data, and analyze and aggregate it to provide even more meaningfulcustomer experiences.

“I see you were recently logged intoour Website lookingat home loans. Is thatwhat you are callingabout?”

2Next, whenever possible, add some additional personalization, too

Know your relationship withyour customer and why/how they communicated with yourecently.

“Thanks for calling ABC Industries Greg!”

“Welcome back Greg. The status of flight 114 from Newark to Atlanta is unchanged and is still scheduled to depart at 2pm from gate C115. Would you like me to text you if the status changes?”

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4. Anticipate what customers wantThe only thing better than solving a problem quickly is solving it proactively. Many companies are already doing this today, using a combination of intelligent IVRs and virtual assistants, and proactive outbound messaging systems.

How does it work? At Southwest Airlines, they use proactive, highly interactive outbound voice communications to advise travelers of critical delays or service changes. Customers can confirm flight choices, and even connect with live service agents as needed.

The results have been amazing. At Southwest, the proactive approach has reduced transfers to a live agent by 44%. The average call duration for flight delays has dropped 23%. And they’ve experienced significant improvements in service and CSAT scores, too.

80% of incidents where customers switch providers due to poor service could be avoided through better problem resolution.2

Want to know more about how Southwest is anticipating their customer’s needs?

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

2 Accenture, “The $6 Trillion Opportunity: How Digital Improves Customer Experience”

80%

Read the full story here.

10No matter what business you’re in, here are four steps you can take to provide even better, more anticipatory service — and get big business results in exchange.

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

Reach out to customers before they call you

Proactive communications go a long way in boosting CSAT scores,reducing inbound call volume and cutting down on agent-assisted calls.For example, an insurance company might send a text message to acustomer asking if they would like to renew their policy that expires in2 weeks, and then connect them to a natural language IVR to exploretheir options and complete the transaction.

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2 Understand the big picture

Connecting your self-service systems to other critical data warehouses(like billing and usage, for example) will give you a holistic understandingof your customers, and allow you to anticipate why they are likely calling.For example, a satellite TV customer who calls your IVR just 10 minutesafter subscribing to a sports package online may be having troubleaccessing the new channels. Greeting the customer with, “Hello, Mr.Hernandez. Do you require assistance with your new sports subscription?”takes the customer experience to a new level — and the results will show.

Simplify the experience3

Once you’re armed with the “big picture” view of your customers, youcan streamline their experience even further by presenting only the mostrelevant options. For example, a customer who has pre-paid for a yearof service probably isn’t calling to make a payment. So why serve it as amenu option?

In this step, look for easy-to-identify indicators of why a customer mightbe calling or logging onto your mobile app or virtual assistant, and makeit even easier for them to get what they need. Start by looking at commonscenarios that draw from a single data source, like checking the billingsystem to see if a payment is past due.

Remember their preferences4

Pretend you are on a date. Asking a question once shows you areinterested, right? But what if you ask the same question twice, or even athird time? Avoid looking like you aren’t listening by using IVR and virtualassistant solutions that can remember key customer preferences, andserve them with relevant options faster.

“The more options we have to proactively reach our customers, over their preferred channel of communications, the better we can serve them and rise above their service level expectations.”

Fred Taylor, Senior Manager, Proactive Customer Communications, Southwest Airlines

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5. Create consistency across every channelTo earn a Michelin three-star rating, the world’s top restaurants have to provide the same amazing food and service with staggering consistency, time and time again.

The point? No matter what industry you serve, you can’t be great just “some of the time.” Nowhere is this truer than across your myriad of self-service channels.

Today’s consumers expect a seamless experience, no matter where they start or end their self-service journey. They may start a transaction online and then switch to the phone to finish it — and they don’t want to start over or repeat themselves needlessly along the way.

65% of consumers are frustrated by inconsistent experiences across channels.3

In fact, according to Google, 90% of consumers use multiple screens sequentially to accomplish a task — and 98% move between devices throughout the same day.

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

3 Accenture, Global Consumer Pulse Survey

65%

“We must satisfy the expectations of increasingly savvy, highly mobile customers who feel great service is an entitlement.”

Diane Laurent-Jubin, Vice-President, Direct Sales and Service International, France KLM

Doing Cross-Channel Right

Challenge: The passage of new insurance regulations had eHealth working to head off significant new call volumes, increasing average hold times and expensive agent interactions.

Solution: Multi-channel proactive engagement – such as texts and automated calls – to automate routine communication and quickly compose and send ad-hoc messages.

Results:

eHealth Improves Self-Service Completions with a Consistent Experience

95% customer engagementCustomers love the proactive approach

94% per message cost savings High levels of CSAT (4.41 out of 5)

95%

94% 4.41

Read the full story.

12 Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

To keep your customers coming back, we recommend creating consistency and connectivity across all of your channels. Here’s how to get started:

Connect your channels so customers can move between themseamlessly, without having to repeat themselves.

Finally, pay attention to quality, consistency and brandingacross every channel, so you present a unified and tightlyintegrated set of solutions—not random, disconnected acts of service.

Eliminate silos. Customers shouldn’t get different servicelevels, answers or experiences because your IVR is a differentdepartment than your online support team. No matter how youare structured, make sure the customer experience is seamless.

Optimize every channel for the experience it will be delivering.This means taking advantage of the most helpful features andways to interact with each medium. For example, use locationawareness in your mobile application, so customers don’t haveto tell you where they are located. Harness voice capabilities,so customers don’t have to type or tap when it may beinconvenient or dangerous to do so.

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ConclusionToday’s consumers don’t want ‘good enough.’ In an era where you can change TV channels with your voice or ride in a self-driving car, why does your bank still make you push buttons on your phone? Why do you have to talk to an agent at the cable company, instead of just telling a mobile app what channels you want to add?

These are the questions customers are asking today. As a contact center executive or customer experience leader, you’re uniquely positioned to answer them, and deliver great self-service experiences that drive even greater returns.

There’s no question that the ROI on effortless self-service is fast and substantial. The bigger question is who will earn it first — your company, or your competitors?

To learn more, visit nuance.com or email us at customerexperienceexperts@nuance.com

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.

Keep these 5 key elements of a modern self-service experiencetop of mind.

IntuitiveUnderstand what was said, by whom and what it means.

ConversationalEngage customers in an intelligent conversation to accomplish tasks.

PersonalizedTailor interactions based on what is known about the customer.

Anticipate Deliver the data and information customers want, when and where they need it.

Cross-Channel ConsistencyCreate consistent, seamless experiences across channels and time.

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Best self-service. Ever. Hear what an effortless, intelligent self-service experience sounds like.

Copyright © 2016 Nuance Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Nuance, and the Nuance logo, are trademarks and/or registered trademarks, of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

NUAN–CS–2642–01–B, Mar 2 2016

About Nuance Communications, Inc.Nuance Communications is reinventing the relationship between people and technology. Through its voice and language offerings, the company is creating a more human conversation with the many systems, devices, electronics, apps and services around us. Every day, millions of people and thousands of businesses experience Nuance through intelligent systems that can listen, understand, learn and adapt to your life and your work. For more information, please visit nuance.com.

Customer Service SolutionsBest self-service. Ever.