The market opportunity for using self-service or IVR voice recognition solutions as part of a complete contact strategy to engage your customers, has never been so important. These solutions are entering a key phase, fuelled by introduction of a whole new range of associated technologies.
These include SIP based VOIP telephony, advanced speech technologies and improved processing and software architectures plus the advent of some industry standards and particularly in the current economic climate the necessity to deliver more with less whilst still keeping the customer happy.
Speech applications are largely recognized as the “way to go”, by many. There are strong arguments in favor of their use, with benefits including:
- Increased automation by simplifying the user interface and making it easier to use
- A resulting reduction in costs (a 25% automation of calls in a 250 agent call center will deliver savings of more than $1m!)
- Access to the vast universe of web-enabled content, enabling dramatically improved e-business strategies
- Improved customer service because voice-based systems eliminate many of the constraints posed by the touch-tone interface
- A clear competitive edge, as a well-designed corporate voice portal allows a company to project its personality through the style or quality of a recorded voice, and the script styles used
- Security in that the newest capabilities of speech-enabled applications, which use voice prints for secured access to information
Well the reality is that there is a huge difference between understanding the benefits of speech solutions and actually delivering them properly!
There is often a complete lack of understanding of the end users’ requirements when deciding where speech can play an appropriate role or not. Too many times well-intentioned plans by “Speech Champions” to use speech for everything don’t work and result in poor delivery and unsatisfactory customer feedback.
This is the single largest reason why speech has not become as ubiquitous in the contact center as it should be. The other challenge with speech is the COST! There are only a few practitioners who know how to do speech properly.
So how do you acquire cost effective and powerful speech solutions that will deliver real benefit to your customers? The answer is PSS.
We don’t just talk about the value and benefits of speech – we have delivered them to customers and have great case studies that demonstrate the return on investment and end user satisfaction. We differentiate ourselves because our focus is on delivering value in the long term and not just in the initial period of delivering the project.
We understand what can and can’t be automated, understand where speech can add value and where it is an unnecessary and costly complication. We are driven to deliver long term value rather than simply just short term benefits to sell speech technology licenses
In the current business environment, when everyone needs to deliver MORE for a lower cost, speech solutions have an awful lot to offer – BUT ONLY when appropriately used and deployed.
So talk to PSS!
