Interaction-Based CRM: How Innovation Transforms the Contact Center
To deliver the latest in CRM strategies, Accenture frequently builds solutions for clients in conjunction with pioneering technology leaders across a spectrum of CRM capabilities — such as PeopleSoft, SAP and Siebel Systems. After evaluating the field of universal queue and interaction management providers for this particular facet of CRM in the contact center, we identified Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories as an especially appropriate vendor because of its success in helping contact centers achieve the highest possible level of integration. Genesys has developed a suite of pre-integrated interaction management modules that can be implemented across an interoperable framework as needed. We find this approach to high-end solutions requires less customization. Yet it still represents a best-of-breed solution that costs less to integrate, reduces operational costs after implementation, and can lead to increased revenues through improved customer retention and the creation of upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
Compared to the ad hoc use of point solutions from multiple vendors and their attendant compatibility issues across platforms and products, the Genesys solution has resulted in an overall lower cost of ownership for a CRM-enabled contact center.
Genesys helps contact centers achieve the highest level of integration possible by means of the architecture underlying its solutions, which represents a "nervous system" for managing business communications and workflow processes. It overcomes the broken links in CRM by means of several capabilities that support strategic benefits:
- It establishes an open, flexible framework that links all the disparate pieces in an enterprise, both software and hardware. Eliminating compatibility issues that otherwise arise from bringing together different switches, platforms, databases, and third-party applications protects previous technology investments and lowers the risk for future investments.
- It is media neutral, managing interactions in a universal queue across whatever media channels customers select. Consequently, it lowers costs by eliminating the need to manage the channels separately.
- Highly scalable, it configures to support a small, single-site contact center, up to a multisite global operation — including the ability to make multiple, separate contact centers operate as one.
- It integrates a workforce management capability into the contact center, which lets line of business managers realize immediate productivity gains.
- The architecture effectively "closes the loop" in an essential interaction management area: processing and routing outbound communication requests and matching callback and follow-up requests with a resource.
- The framework creates an information flow that assembles a 360-degree view of customers, allowing the enterprise to segment callers by any criteria to ensure highly personalized service.
- It facilitates more convenient systems integration by means of its pre-built modules, which are compatible with many CRM packages from today's leading providers, such as Siebel Systems, PeopleSoft, SAP, and others.
Engineering a Better Outcome
Let us repeat the previously described real-world scenario, but this time with a call to an enterprise that has introduced Genesys interaction management solution to its contact center. Our financial services customer calls in to inquire about her statement. The system associates her account number with a set of business rules that determines her high-value status and routes the call immediately and transparently to a remote call center, which is one of many tied together to operate as one. Any information she has entered on the voice menu plus her previous interaction and purchasing histories follow the call, appearing on the service agent's screen just before he picks up. In this case, the call goes to a team of representatives who have been "flagged" for high-value customers because of their extra training in financial service matters, such as loans. The agent views the same statement she has and answers her question. At the same time, he notes that she has recently browsed the company's Web site asking for information on refinancing loans. Referring to a script displayed on his screen, he takes the opportunity to acquaint her with the company's loans, walks her through a prequalification application, and sends it off for processing. Moreover, all this activity enters the record immediately, and is available to the representative who receives the next interaction, whether it happens by phone, email, or the Web.
Note the improved CRM situation. No hold time, no lengthy or repetitive explanations for the call, direct routing to a specially trained unit, a single agent handling the call, and the interaction ended in a timely, clear resolution. There was an efficient use of resources, plus the interaction led to an opportunity to generate new business.
Orchestrating the Change
For enterprises looking to upgrade their call and contact centers with more effective CRM practices, it is essential to realize that the solution cannot exist independently from other enterprise applications and systems. A merger between data sources and applications is the only way to achieve greater efficiency within the enterprise (remove redundant processes), to increase revenues (cross-sell and upsell) and cut costs (brings down the cost of interacting with customers).
Also, as a crucial component of any enterprise architecture, CRM cannot be isolated. Integrating and aggregating the multiple communications and information layers within the enterprise puts a growing emphasis on integration between processes and applications. One of these layers is of course the contact center, often the outermost layer of the CRM value chain and the face of a company for most of its customers. Yet, no effort has been made so far to extend the resources available to most call centers and to strengthen ties between the call center and the enterprise.
With so many technologies and processes involved in improving the CRM value chain across multiple departments, the relationship between Accenture and Genesys represents a unique value — even as we collaborate with clients to deliver complete, innovative solutions. Across virtually all industry categories and on a worldwide basis, we provide the expertise to analyze and assess CRM needs, develop proven capabilities and processes to transform an organization, and provide the foresight and leadership to execute the vision and ensure innovative results from start to finish. Our joint involvement as solution and change management providers significantly lowers the risk in CRM transformations and greatly enhances the impact to the overall organization.
