New research reveals over 50 per cent of contact centres don’t have technology to personalise customer service

  • Findings highlight urgent need for 'intelligent', personalised call routing

WOKINGHAM, 1 July, 2008 - Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, an Alcatel-Lucent company (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), has announced the results of its latest research on how contact centres can improve the customer experience. The survey, which polled contact centre managers and customers, shows that offering a more personalised service should be a contact centre's top priority. This challenge can be addressed through an 'intelligent Customer Front Door' (iCFD) approach to routing that identifies both the caller and the purpose of the call - but over half of contact centres still employ DTMF (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) systems that force customers to wait through many options.

The research also reveals that only five per cent are using speech activated systems, which enable callers to voice their requests and 'jump the queue'. While speech activated systems are a step forward from DTMF, only 22 per cent offer this as a personalised service, which to a certain extent identifies the customer on the call. This could be identifying them by their account number or calling the customer by name - extended knowledge which makes the customer feel valued and improves the customer experience.

"iCFD is the next generation of call routing," commented Bruce Eidsvik, Vice President of Voice Portal Sales, EMEA at Genesys. "It not only identifies the caller based on his or her name or account details, it also intelligently maps the intent of the call by collecting context information from the back office system. For example, in the case where a customer puts a call into his or her insurance company to check on the status of a claim recently submitted, the iCFD system would, once initial identity and account number verification checks have been completed, do a "data dip" into back office information and see that the caller logged a claim only five days ago. It would then assume that the customer is looking for an update on the claim and would first ask 'Are you calling for a progress report on your recent claim?' If that were not the case, then all other available call options on the system would be put forward to the caller thereafter.

"We believe that a personalised, intelligent service is key to improving customer satisfaction," Bruce Eidsvik continued. "Yet our results show that over 50 per cent of contact centres are not using personalised routing as part of their applications. As automated menus rate among the worst offenders for customer frustration, now is the time for contact centre managers to begin looking for new solutions. To date we have been working most closely with IBM and SpeechStorm as partners in this project. Their expertise helps to analyse the obvious route of the call, instead of listing menus for customers to choose from, which reduces wait times and improves customer satisfaction. If the option they want comes up first, customers are more likely to think of phoning the contact centre as a convenient way of getting in touch, rather than see it as a chore which will inevitably frustrate them."

An archived recording of the webinar can be viewed and listened to at www.genesyslab.com/icfd

About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, is the only company that focuses 100 per cent on software to manage customer interactions over the phone, web and in e-mail. The Genesys software suite dynamically connects customers with the right resources - self-service or assisted-service - to fulfil customer requests, optimise customer care goals and efficiently use resources. Genesys software directs more than 100 million customer interactions every day for 4,000 companies and government agencies in 80 countries. These companies and agencies can leverage their entire organisation, from the contact centre to the back office, to improve the overall customer experience. As a result, Genesys helps stop customer frustration, drive efficiency, and accelerate business innovation. For more information, go to www.genesyslab.com or visit the industry blog at www.betterinteractions.com

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research, technology and innovation organisations in the telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved adjusted proforma revenues of Euro 18.3 billion in 2006 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. [All figures exclude impact of activities transferred to Thales]. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

Media Contact:
Duncan Burford, UK PR for Genesys, 01780 721 433, dburford@iba-europe.com

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