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How to Boost Collection Rate with Instant Messaging?

Debt Collections are always tricky. Debt recovery agencies have to be cautious to not to invade the personal space of payees and at the same time need to send frequent follow-ups reminders. There are multiple media sources that are used in debt collection software to communicate with late payers like emails, calls or SMS. But choosing the right strategy to connect in combination with the right technology is the key to saving time and costs. Gone are the days where debt collection software used manual reminders or made manual connects with customers to bring in desired results. In today’s world of digitization, automatic payment reminders to the late payers tend to incur lower collection costs and result in high collection rates. These manifold benefits of auto payment reminders help achieve a balanced cash flow in the business.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Debt Collection Reminders

Connecting with late payers via the right channel to connect, at the right time, is a herculean task that businesses have to take care of. There has to be a mix of channels to connect with customers. Businesses have to keep in mind to respect the customers’ private space. Threatening or harassing clients with numerous bombardment of reminders is a Big NO NO. Having the right tone and the right frequency to convey your message irrespective of the channel to connect is the prime factor. Now there are many hurdles on the way of making the right connections.

With numerous apps like Truecaller etc available in the market to track callers, people often put the agents or reps into a blocklist or stop taking unnecessary calls. Staying connected via emails is not everyone’s cup of tea. A layman businessman who took up a loan to support his family might not check his emails on a daily basis. After all the retorts, what seems feasible and easiest to engage with a larger set of people instantly are SMS reminders.

But with the verified account on Truecaller can increase the chances of call pickup as instead of spam, your number will be displayed with your Business name. Truecaller for Business allows setting the brand details with name, logo, place, verified business tag, and other things.

When can an SMS save your life?

SMS is one of the critical requirements of debt management software. The purpose of sending an SMS is to send a reminder for PTP. In case the customer is busy when tried via calls, the organization wants to inform the customer that they tried reaching and the number was busy.SMS reminders can be sent manually or automatically depending upon the business’s need. The agents can either directly click and send a templatized reminder right from the CRM or can send an automatic reminder message to all the customers who promised to pay tomorrow. Just after the shift ends. Automation can be imbibed in to trigger SMS to all the customers who didn’t pick the call.SMS help in reaching maximum clients in minimal time by letting agents send bulk messages in a single instance.

Ready to share templatized messages are a lifesaver. Quick and instant engagement and no human intervention saves time and effort eventually saving costs.

Now before going ahead, let’s look into a few use cases and some standard quick templates for SMS reminders in a debt recovery software:

Insurance Premium Due Reminder
Your renewal payment is now overdue. Please contact us on <ABCInsurancesCollectNumber> URGENTLY to discuss your policy.
Loan Due Date Reminder
Notice: you have missed your last monthly payment. Please call this number: <APNABANKCollectNumber>. APNABANK.
Defaulted Loan Reminder
Your loan is now in default. We want to help you get this paid by offering a 20% discount off the balance. Please call us on <QuickLoansNumber>. Quick Loans Ltd.
Payment Plan Reminder
Despite several reminders, your loan balance is still outstanding. Please contact us to repay the loan or arrange a payment plan. Quick Loans Ltd.
Unpaid Invoice Reminder
We have not received payment for invoice <InvoiceNumber>, dated <Date>. Please contact us on <XYZCollectNumber> immediately. Quick Loans Ltd.

Now, what next?

Now you may be confused if SMS is the only channel to put in all your stakes. Not all customers are the same, every customer has his/her own set of reasons for not paying. The recovery strategy needs to be tailored as per their unique circumstance. The best way to manage the customer experience well throughout the collections cycle needs communication with borrowers in the way they prefer.

An intelligent strategy is to put in the right amount of resources in all the channels to ripe in the best benefits. As per a McKinsey survey, application of efficient & effective collections strategies on high-risk accounts can decrease collection losses by half from the accounts which are at high risk of charge offs. SMS plays a major role in collections but turning a blind eye to other channels i.e. calls or emails won’t be a smart way of communication. A debt collection software with a combination of channels working in the right direction can help you boost your bottom line and reduce your efforts. Automated, intelligent, omnichannel communication is the way to go for the collection of every penny. Now that you are aware of the key factors to take care of, get set to modernize your debt collection with a smarter outreach.

The Digital Future of BFSI – Ameyo at ET CXO Conclave’19

The banking and financial sector has undergone some major changes in the last decade or so. With the customers becoming more informed and tech-savvy, their expectations have also risen. Customers today do not like to visit the physical bank, they would rather go on the web to perform the banking functions. Even the handful of customers who do visit the bank have no patience to wait in long queues or deal with bureaucracy. Customers want easy access to information along with quick solutions.

These rising customer expectations and the changing times have created the need for the BFSI sector to go through digital transformation. Taking this thought forward, all the major BFSI and technology leaders like Anup Purohit, CIO at Yes Bank, Sachin Bhatia, Co-founder at Ameyo, Rajiv Sabharwal, MD & CEO at Tata Capital and others gathered at the ETBFSI CXO Conclave’19 held this 16th May at Sahara Star, Mumbai to share their thoughts and deliberate on the future innovations, challenges and the ways to tap BFSI’s digital potential.

From net banking to e-loans and bots answering customer queries, the technology has enabled the sector to take customer experience to the next level by opening up the digital channels which offer multiple benefits such as instant replies, round the clock customer support and self-service options as mentioned by Mr. Sabharwal, MD & CEO at Tata Capital. Meeting and exceeding customer expectations can further be achieved by well supported advanced technology. To this effect, Mr. Bhatia addressed the shift in the way consumers seek support. As opposed to face to face interaction earlier then moving to phone calls, today consumer expectations are different – they seek support via multiple channels. That’s where the business-technology fit comes into play. The businesses need a technology partner which not only caters to their current requirement but, at the same time allows the businesses to grow.

Another important aspect of the BFSI segment is the need for high-tech security, curtailing any cyber frauds. At the same time complying with the regulatory requirements. The good news is that the regulators are accommodating and encouraging innovation in the banking sector. Peer to peer banking and opening up the APIs being just a few examples.

This digital wave in the BFSI domain led many to question the future of CEOs and whether the CIO and CTOs will take over that position. Mr. Purohit being in agreement said that the role of the CIO has changed – from being one of support to being an enabler and quickly moving towards technology in banking becoming a business in itself.

The bottom line is, the speed at which we are moving towards digitization, banks will soon be technology companies in the business of banking.

Ameyo at ETBFSI CXO Conclave, The Digital Future – 2019

AI in Customer Engagement, What’s the real value? – An Emerging
Market Perspective

AI has changed the definition of customer experience. With the increase in adoption of chatbot and conversational AI solutions for assisting customers and solving their problems, banks are reduced to digital apps. In ETBFSI CXO Conclave 2019, The Digital Future, industry leaders like Munish Mittal, CIO, HDFC Bank, Sachin Bhatia, Co-Founder & Head – Global Sales & Marketing, Ameyo, Upendra Rao, CTO, State Bank of India and many more will come on a platform to tell us how AI can add value to customer experience.

Now, cash transfer can take place with a voice command, the cyber frauds have become more prevalent. While it has made the job easier for customers to click and transfer, there’s a challenge of Building Future Ready Banks that will embrace the digital transformation strategy. In the discussion with these leaders, we will discover how AI will impact the shape of businesses considering the needs of agents and customers in the prevailing times. With the onset of AI technology, organizations can ensure cohesive communication.

ETBFSI CXO Conclave will help the participants understand how CXOs are rebuilding the BFSI sector.

68% of service professionals at organizations using AI chatbots say their teams have seen reduced call and email volume, says a report.

Rightly said, from gathering basic customer information to routing the cases to right agents, AI adds value throughout customers’ journey, making it easy for agents to focus on critical issues. The next big question is how financial inclusion will help acquire the next set of customers? In the sessions, CEOs from the BFSI sector will discuss the customers’ life cycle, smart banking processes, back office automation and digital strategies pushing boundaries.

Automating the handling of routine customers’ issues like resetting the passwords or checking product information gives the best of both worlds. Agents can prioritize their work and customers can self serve to find answers to their routine queries.

While the discussion furthers with the question of cybercrime, CEOs will answer the most awaited question of cyber frauds. With the onslaught of internet connection and coding, banking security is put to risk. Putting it in words of technology, we will find answers to how the BFSI sector is staying put with robust laws protecting the industry from fraudulence.

However, using a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence to improve customer service is gaining popularity in recent times. It is, in fact, a preferred method for most businesses looking to save manpower and resources with technology innovation.

Come and witness the largest ever gathering of the BFSI leaders at the conclave of May 16, 2019, Sahara Star, Mumbai. While the event will help the participants draw useful insights, there’s the big launch of ETBFSI.com, a new portal that will cover the challenges of BFSI.

Ameyo is participating in the event as an omnichannel engagement partner and is all set to explore the digital future of BFSI sector. Get ready to meet the industry leaders with some useful insights on BFSI reigning with AI technology.

How a Help Desk Ticketing System benefits Customer Service

If you are into a company that offers customer support, you would be well aware of its challenges. Customers demand perfection and proactive responses to their queries. They are customers who either make or break your business. So, it is of utter importance for any business enterprise to achieve customer satisfaction. This can be done through potential team collaboration and increased agent productivity. For that, you need to provide quality customer assistance and support round the clock. But, your staff cannot be available 24/7 as they will require taking leaves. However, you cannot let your IT support cut down in the absence of your employees. So, an efficient help desk ticketing system is a perfect solution to provide quality customer support and assistance at any point of time.

What is a Help Desk Ticketing System?

In general, Web Help Desk also known as Customer Support Desk or Customer Service Desk is a point of contact for customers from where they gain assistance to get answers to their questions and in solving problems.
Now, to automate this entire cycle of resolving customers’ complaints, IT help desk software comes into the role. This system helps you make your company’s customer care fair, efficient, and transparent.

How does the Help Desk Ticketing System function?

Help Desk Ticketing System unravels customers’ issues by automating the complaint resolution process with ticket management.
Help desk tickets are individual customer support cases. Whenever any new case or complaint is submitted, a ticket is generated. It is forwarded to a designated executive with a unique ticket number. This ticket keeps track of the progress made towards solving a customer’s issues until it is closed. Once a complaint is registered, the customer is sent a confirmation email with the corresponding ticket number. This enables a customer to track the status of the ticket and even contact the concerned executive of the company. However, customers can raise their problems from the business website, email or social media platforms.
Thus, the Help Desk Ticketing system benefits not only a company but also its customer service. Here’s a glance at the advantages of service desk ticketing system for customer service.

24/7 Support

As many companies run on a 9 to 5 basis, it is not the case with businesses providing customer service. They require entertaining the customer queries 24/7. What if the employees are off duty? Will it be good to keep customers waiting? Absolutely, no! Well, Help Desk Ticketing System can help solve this issue.
It works on a 24/7 basis and caters to your customers 365 days a year. Customers can reach out at any point of time and get their problems solved. This system is enormously valuable for companies who are spread across vast geographies and different time zones.

Increased Efficiency

Customer Service System keeps track of every service transaction done, i.e., tickets generated. It then automatically sends it to the concerned agents. Thus, it saves time spent on sorting, managing, and assigning tasks manually.
Complaints about broken or damaged products require immediate attention. So, they are processed first. Then, agents assure the customers regarding the replacement or refund for the product. This ensures customer satisfaction. Besides, customers can be given proactive responses by giving customized reply to their queries. This won’t make the customers feel that they are talking to an automated system.
Help Desk Ticketing System has a high storage capacity. It keeps a record of every communication so that your employees can avoid asking similar questions repeatedly to the customers. Moreover, it also stores past tickets and messages so that it helps your employees to solve issues internally.

Automate Repetitive Tasks

Help Desk Ticketing System enables customer care agents to create automated replies for repetitive queries. For example, you get regular queries based on the price of a particular product. You can automate it, so whenever any question related to it is raised, the system answers automatically.
Moreover, it automates ticket creation, prioritizes tickets automatically, sends the ticket to the customer care executive, and sends an email to the customer about the process. Hence, your employees can save much of their time from these mundane tasks.

Cost Effective

The ticketing system helps you cut down on the operational expenditures of your company. Additionally, it enables you to handle customer requirements with minimum human resources.
As the customers will be satisfied with your best-in-class customer support, they will stick to your business for long. This will help you generate more leads and attain customer acquisition along with customer retention.
It is essential to have impressive features apart from excellent service or products that keep you ahead of the competition. Help Desk Ticketing System not only benefits your customer service requirement but also helps everyone involved in it. Right from easing the communication to solving problems, to keeping the data organized, and to increase the working efficiency, Customer Service Ticketing System aids your business as well as customers.
For any business to be successful, the presence of reliable customer support is a must. It is essential to build trust and drive in customer’s loyalty. Quick customer support is the key to stay on top of customer’s minds. Choosing the right Help Desk Ticketing System for your company can help you achieve this.

Author Bio: Sawailal Jangid is a content specialist at SoftwareSuggest. He is very enthusiastic and optimistic about his work. He loves to dig deep into various software categories. In free spare time he loves to do sports activities.

Ameyo Emerge and Freshdesk Mint Integration – The Why and How of it

For businesses grappling with the customer experience and agent experience, it is almost a daily struggle to deal with customers who have no to zero attention spans and are not patient enough to share details such as Email D or Order ID. Thankfully, Ameyo Emerge and Freshdesk Mint have come to the rescue of such businesses!
By combining the power of Ameyo Emerge and Freshdesk Mint, organizations can radically improve how they serve their customers. Ameyo Emerge has simplified the integration that combines the strength of out-of-the-box products.

Make Life Easier and More Efficient for your Agents

Freshdesk Mint is a great tool to help your business maintain and strengthen customer relationships. In a normal scenario (without integration), call center agents receive a call, ask the caller details and thereafter, manually enter information into, while the customer is on the call. This inefficient process can result in confusion, disorganization and a decline in customer experience. The Ameyo Emerge- Freshdesk Mint Integration will by far resolve these issues, by increasing the agent’s efficiency and saving time to switch between two applications. Agents would be now able to create and update tasks without ever leaving the Application. Ameyo Emerge has now combined the power of our call center software, with the functionality of your favorite helpdesk solution.
So, let us talk about the various benefits of this integration in great detail:

Readily available Caller Profile Information

Ameyo Emerge also retrieves the caller’s previous interactions (tickets) with your business from the Freshdesk Mint application. Henceforth, agents can create a new ticket or update an existing ticket, on a single interface, and reap the benefits of both the applications.

Create and Close the Tickets from One Interface

Two-Way Synchronization

This feature allows agents to update information on Freshdesk Mint. Thereafter, information on Ameyo Emerge about the customer will automatically be updated. Agents can update information such as disposition codes. Agents can work on the Freshdesk Mint Interface without having to go to the Ameyo Emerge toolbar to dispose the call.

Click-to-Dial

The Click-to-Dial functionality helps agents to call customers directly from theFreshdesk Mint interface by clicking on the phone number. Agents don’t have to copy and paste the number from Freshdesk Mint to Ameyo Emerge to dial the numbers. This helps the agents to remain on the Freshdesk Mint interface and never waste time in dialing the numbers.

Quick Call Functionalities

Agents can quickly access call records to drive contextual interactions with the customer. Allowing agents with functions like call recording, conference call, and scheduling a callback gives them an edge to resolve customers’ queries quickly. They can also add notes to the conversation for future reference and it gets updated automatically in the Freshdesk Mint interface.

Manage Redundant Objects

Multiple objects for the same customer could be mapped with quick telephony panel that allows attaching the call with the correct association. When Ron, the customer calls in for refund status, and Bryan, the agent finds multiple objects associated with this number, with a dropdown menu, he can associate Ron’s call with the right object without wasting any time in finding Ron’s details in his interface.

How To Boost Your Call Center ROI With An Auto Dialer?

How many numbers do you dial each day? And, how many of them get connected. For every 100 calls dialed manually, only 15 would reach the right person. For a business that runs on customer interactions, these numbers could be really depressing.

When each minute, each second, counts, a call center auto dialer works beyond being a time-saving software. The end goal for the businesses is to generate revenue and you will be surprised to know that your agent’s productivity increases from 120% to 300% if you have a auto dialer software for outbound call center.

An auto dialer software or automatic dialer would not only make agents’ life easy but will also change the way you do business. This software analyzes the availability of agents and routes the call to them based on the preset algorithm.

Call center auto dialer systems should not only give you better connect rates, but you should also be able to derive the reports that give you real-time insight into your business.These comprehensive reports will help the supervisors or call center managers to analyze agents’ performance and of course, you need numbers to drive motivation in your team.

Here’s How An Auto Dialer Software Can Help You Improve Your Call Center’s ROI

Increased Call Connect Rate

Calls are initiated automatically with a powerful call center auto dialer which in turn reduces agents’ wait time. Also, manual dialing time is saved. With smart capabilities like Answering Machine Detection, the auto dialer system detects if the number is busy, is disconnected, or answered by a machine and therefore, the agent does not have to wait for a person to respond, the dialer automatically would dial the next number.

Agents’ talk time increases from 15-20 minutes per hour to 45-50 minutes resulting in better customer engagement.

Improved Conversion Rate

Agents are always hanging in the air when a call lands on their number and would frustrate any customer when they have to repeat their stories multiple times. With a preview dialer in place, complex sales process can be managed effectively. Agents are given a quick preview of customer history for an existing customer that helps agents to get prepared to serve customers with their precise requirements or queries.

And, personalization is a big thing that customers appreciate. With prior information about customer details, agents can personalize the conversation, thus resolving their queries quickly.

Clear Dispositions- Clear Call Status

How terribly high is your average handling time? Do your agents take time to wrap up the call and dispose it with a long message? One of the Auto dialers known as predictive dialer uses predefined call dispositions that would save time and standardize the calling process. Agents can update the outcome of the call instantly when they wrap the call with dispositions like ‘Call Back’, ‘Issue Resolved’, ‘Busy’, etc.

This clear dispositions make it easy to understand the call status and agents can derive the exact outcome of the call from the list of call logs.

No Missed Callbacks

Agents have no time to remember about the callback schedule. With an auto dialer software for call center, agents can schedule a callback and forget about it because the dialer pushes notifications to the agents for whom the callback is scheduled, thus preparing him prior to the call is initiated. This allows agents to optimize their time when there’s a never-ending database of calls.

The auto dialer system also pushes notifications for the lead lists to be uploaded. This ensures that agents are not sitting idle, once all the calls are initiated, it will request for a new lead list and churns the existing ones that were disposed off with a ‘busy’, ‘disconnected’, or ‘answering machine’ note.

Adjustable Pacing Ratio

Predictive Dialers maximize agents’ productivity because they use algorithms to define the dialing pace based on past interaction history and customer’s profile. Dialer adjusts the pacing ratio based on various factors like the number of agents available in the queue to take calls, the number of calls connected per hour, average handling and wrap up time for each call, etc.

Predefining maximum calls per agent to reduce the call drop ratio helps the supervisor keep a check on agents activities which certainly ensures to boost agents’ productivity as they are not bottlenecked with a huge call list.

Filter-Based Calling

It just gets better with auto dialer software for call center because admins can control the filters to reach the maximum customers with the right strategy. Calling based on specific rules like geography, target group, etc.

Let me take an example to make this clear. In a bank, admins can decide to call the customers who’re above 40 and have LIC installments pending to remind them at earliest and create a filtered list to ensure that agents speak to those customers first.

Know When To Call

You do not want to disturb your customers at the wrong time. ‘Not Call Before’ feature enables agents to call customers at their preferred time. PACE dialer had this smart capability that determines customer’s availability on the basis of previous interaction history, thus initiating a call to a specific customer at their chosen time.

A school teacher would not want to be disturbed at early hours of the day but she/he will be available post evening. With the previous interaction data, call center auto dialer systems recognize their available hours to initiate the call at the right time.

If you are defining your budget against your call center’s performance, do not miss these auto call dialer features while determining your ROI because smart and quick features will boost your agents’ productivity and once you have your agents up and running with a call center software, you can expect some significant changes in your ROI resulting into numbers that you have always been trying to achieve.

Wondering, how to select the right dialer software for your call center? Check this quick checklist for selecting the right auto dialer.

Guide-To-Select-Right-Call-Center-Software-for-Your-Business-300x178

Why does the Automobile Industry Need a Call Center Software

Globalization and economic development in the past decade or so have significantly improved the purchasing capacity of people. One of the industries which have benefitted from this changing trend is the automobile sector. Owning a vehicle has become a necessity for a major section of the population today as opposed to a decade ago. This increased demand for vehicles has also given a boost to ancillary industries. All this has further increased the competition within the automobile industry. Since consumers now have more options, they are in a position to demand a lot more from the automobile industry. One of these is high customer service expectations. The automobile manufacturers and dealers are facing various challenges in this respect.

Let us try to look at some ways in which having a Call Center Solution can help the automobile players overcome these challenges.

1. Pre-Purchase Consideration

Buying a car is a big deal. After all, it’s a high-value commodity that requires careful consideration. Customers usually browse through multiple options, do some research, take test drives, etc before making the purchase. One of the most common ways of doing that is by surfing the manufacturer’s website, checking some review websites, or booking an online test drive on the dealership’s web page. In all of these situations having a proactive live chat will help to answer any quick questions that the consumer might have. Additionally, publishing the FAQs on the website will further answer some of the consumer questions. This will reduce the call volume that the agents have to encounter on a daily basis as well as reduce the consumer’s efforts to seek answers to their questions.

2. The Actual Purchase

Now that the consumer has researched and shortlisted a vehicle, they buy it. But most consumers do not pay for the automobile upfront. They usually make a down payment and get financing for the rest of the amount in the form of an automobile loan. The customers are supposed to make monthly payments on these to keep the vehicle. For a dealership, it is important to make sure that the customers do not miss out on these payments. Additionally, this gives them an opportunity to cross-sell as well because in case of big dealerships, they usually offer the whole package – financing options, any add-on fittings and/or after-sales services. So, having an integrated system i.e. in-house/third-party DMS syncing with CRM and any other third-party system that might be required on the dealership’s end. Providing the whole package increases the chances of sustaining a long-term relationship with the customer.

Overcome customer service challenges in your industry with contact center software

3. After Sales Services

The job of the dealership is not done once the automobile is sold. To be honest it just starts. To provide a delightful customer service experience, it is important to take care of every touch point throughout the customer’s journey. Even after the purchase is made. Following are some of the ways in which a dealership or automobile manufacturer can use a call center software for after-sales services:

Lead Management: Dealerships maintain the record of all the automobiles that they have sold. By integrating the Call center software with a Dealership Management System (DMS) the dealerships can easily manage and use this data. For instance, a customer who has recently purchased a car from the dealership calls in and requests to update his email id. The call center agent will simply enter the registered mobile number and all the customer details with a pop-up with the help of computer telephony integration (CTI). Now the agent can edit the information and it will be saved in real-time. Thus, improving the response time and resolution rate.
Payment Reminders: Dealerships would want the customers to make the EMI payments on time as it affects their cash flows. That’s where a call center software comes into the picture. You can set automated payment reminders across multiple channels such as call, email, or SMS. This will be beneficial in two ways a) timely payments and b) the customers will appreciate the brand taking care of them.
Communication and Promotions: Apart from all the above-mentioned used, the dealerships might also need contact center software for basic communication purposes. For example, there is some issue with a part of the vehicle and the cars from a certain batch need to be recalled. Having the agents call all the customers individually will be time-consuming. Instead, it’s better to run a voice blast campaign on the said lead list. Additionally, the same can also be used to inform prospects and customers of any upcoming/ongoing offers.

Conclusion

All these efforts and planning come down to one thing – customer service experience. I cannot emphasize this enough. Every touch point and every interaction between the brand and the customer is significant. It has the power to make or break the relationship. A customer might have an amazing pre-purchase and purchase experience but might struggle with after-sales services. Thus, ruining the experience. Having the right customer service software will help with that and make the customer journey a happy one from start to finish.

Overcoming Agent Productivity Challenges with Computer Telephony Integration

Customer expectations have significantly increased in the past couple of years. This change can be attributed to a lot of factors – technological advancements, improved purchasing capacity and plenty of options to name a few. The customers have come to expect fast response without compromising on the quality of service and rightly so. Having said that, for any business with a Contact Center setup, it is imperative to cater to these demands while optimizing the contact center operations.

One way to do that is by focusing on one of the major stakeholders in a contact center aka the agents. For a contact center to achieve its goals and meeting customer expectations, requires that the productivity of the call center agents is optimal. This can easily be taken care of with the help of a call center software powered by the right CRM and CTI integrations

For the purpose of today’s discussion, we will focus on some of the ways in which Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) can boost agent productivity.

Having Qualified Conversations

The moment a call is connected, a CTI pop-up with the customer information such as their name, contact number, email id, company, and other details are displayed on the agent’s screen. The agent can quickly go through that information and have personalized conversation in record time. Thus, reducing the average handling time. Additionally, in the case of an outbound call, having this information empowers the agents to have educated conversations with the prospects which increases their chances of converting a lead into a sale.

For instance, Jack is a sales representative for ABC bank is making customer calls for upselling and cross-selling. While talking to a prospect Linda, he realizes that she already has a home loan from their bank. So, in extension to that, Jack offers her a home insurance plan customized to her needs and manages to close the sale. Having that customer information in front of him helped Jack to tweak his sales pitch according to the customer requirement. Which in turn led to a positive outcome.

Single Intuitive Interface

With the CTI system, the agents are able to make calls from their desktop (computer) itself using softphones. They do not need to rely on any hard-phones. This basically translates into eliminating the need for the agents to hop between a desk phone and making calls via their desktop. CTI allows it to happen on one screen itself. Additionally, the agents can perform any call actions on the CTI telephony panel such as receiving a call, putting it on hold, transferring, or have a conference call with a single click itself. This not only saves the agent’s time but also increases their productivity.

Real-time Reverse Feed

A contact center agent handles numerous calls in a day. Be it inbound customer queries or making outbound sales calls. So, it is not uncommon for them to encounter situations where they have to add or edit the customer information such as changing the registered mobile number, adding a secondary contact number, updating a different email id or changing the customer’s address details. This means the agent having to log in to different systems to update the same information, This just wastes their time. A computer telephony integration system that comes with a single-sign-on (SSO) capability can easily solve this problem with real-time reverse feed.

For example, While pitching home insurance to Linda, she asks Jack to email her the quote and other policy details. At which point Jack realizes that her email id is not there in the system and asks her for the same. With CTI in place, he updates the detail in the CTI popup. This data is automatically pushed to the CRM or other third-party databases in real-time. Thus, eliminating the need for Jack to login to the CRM separately to update Linda’s email id.

Route Calls to the Right Agent

CTI tools can be used to route calls to the right department or agent. This routing mechanism can further be enhanced with configurable routing algorithms based on certain factors such as the agent’s skill, the marketing campaign from which the call was triggered, the time of the day or geographical location. For example, a call coming in from North India will be routed to a Hindi speaking agent (unless the customer opted for English on the IVR). This will help in resolving the customer queries faster and more effectively as opposed to the customer being transferred from department to department. Moreover, if the call is connected to the right agent in the first go, it saves the agent’s time. Rather than taking the details and then transferring the call she/he will save time on small talk and solve the query there and then.

Managing Omnichannel Interactions

Gone are the days when customers used to only contact a business over a call or an email. They have progressed to other channels as well. Such as social media or live chat. So, for a contact center agent, any interaction, irrespective of the channel needs to be handled with utmost care. CTI allows the agent to perform multiple tasks while on a call with the customer.

Explaining this with an example, Jack, a contact center executive receives a call from a customer, Jane. The moment the call connects, a CTI-popup appears with Jane’s details and her open tickets. Jane inquires about the status of her pending request for a new credit card for which she dropped an email the day before. Jack quickly views the ticket and provides an update. He also reverts to her email there itself (on the same interface). Additionally, he attaches the current ticket (created via voice) to the existing ticket (created via email) since their context was same.

Why Do We Need A Strong Call Center Software In FinTech Industry?

The banking landscape has changed over time and FinTech has established its footprint in the market with a strong digital foot to meet the unmet financial needs. The majority of financial service providers share a common strategy of transferring control to the customer. While poor people, immigrants, students find the door of the banks closed for them, FinTech proves to be a savior to these borrowers.

And, customers’ demands vary from region to region where Fintech has to deliver the needs of the customers who have no access to the formal banking system and the ones who turned into tech-savvy and want everything on their tips. To help the unbanked manage their finances better, FinTech industry needs a stronghold of a call center solution that pacifies the growing needs of these people.

According to World Fintech Report by Capgemini, more than 7,500 FinTech firms, combined, have raised over USD 109.8 billion.

But, Why a Call Center Software?

The answer is simple, consistent services that address the changing expectations of the customers.

1. How to get instant loans?

When a student is coming in for a loan, she can update the documents through the mobile app but the journey does not end here. The student seeks assistance from an agent about the terms and conditions, the policy amount, the installments to be paid and in-app chat does not suffice her needs.

When the money is involved, it becomes a critical issue, let a call center agent serve the students’ need instantly and assure her of the best services.

2. How do customers reach out for complaint redressal?

Ron feels disappointed when he paid money for a product/service through mobile wallet but it does not reflect in his notifications. When the money is deducted, it leads to so many queries and Ron have no clue about whom to reach, where to register a complaint, whom to call?

And, that’s when his customer experience is compromised. A call center software for his complaint redressal will drive Ron’s faith and he will become a loyal customer when an agent is there to resolve his problem.

3. How do customers decide which loan to opt for?

Each customer is unique in their own way and so are their needs. Once the customer decides to opt for a loan, the bundle of queries should be addressed instantly. When the customer can’t find answers on the website, they seek assistance from the financial service provider. Provide gates for the customer to reach you and walk them through the entire process while simplifying their journey. With prompt response via Email notifications, chat, and call, deliver the experience that they are looking for.

According to a study by Google, 61% of mobile users still prefer to call the business when they are in the purchase phase of the buying cycle.

4. How to remind customers of paying the installments?

Yes, text messages work but you know what works better? A call. If a customer is reminded of the installments or introduced to a new exciting offer, customers feel valued and they take interest in your services. An intelligent debt collection software can streamline the collection process and customers could be notified with a quick call before the deadline approaches.

How does a call center software solve these problems?

Millennials, who have more power, look for their choice of the communication channel to do the banking. And FinTech sees these underbanked as a missed opportunity to establish the delivery of high-quality service. Give power to your agents with a call center software solution that surpasses all the competitors in the market.

Let Agents Know Their Customers: A safe banking environment promises that agents are well equipped with tools like CRM Integration. When a customer comes in to know the status of their loan approval, an agent should not sound confused about it. A preview of customer’s information that includes the type of loan opted for will help the agents resolve the queries at a fast pace.

Connect Customers with Right Agent: Customer experience is not an easy game but you can benefit with an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) to route the callers smartly to the right department thus ensuring first call resolution. Route callers to agents on the basis of their data, IVR selection, defined business hours, agent’s availability and customer’s preference with ease and deliver a smooth experience to them.
When customer A calls in for loan approval status and customer B calls in for the verification process, they both have different needs, thus they could be routed to the best-suited agents.

Provide a Safe Banking Environment: Customers provide their critical information and invest their money for loan requirement only if they trust the brand. Customer acquisition and retaining is a challenge for the financial service provider because traditional banks have an edge on the security of their information. With a PCI-DSS Compliance ensure that your customers’ data is secured and their investment is taken care of at every step of the business.

FinTech Industry sees the underbanked as a missed opportunity and is setting the foot in the market while disrupting traditional banking. This gives more power to millennials who look for dedicated services at every point of their banking experience. A call center software solution ensures that the students, immigrants and poor people are met with the financial banking system that connects the borrower and investors.

In addition to these factors, explore how you can choose the call center software that fits your business needs.

How to Improve Customer Service Support in the E-commerce Industry

We all have heard plenty about the emergence and then dominance of e-commerce over the brick and mortar retail stores. This is not just fluff or random theories. We have data to support these claims. According to Statista, Retail e-commerce sales worldwide were 2290 billion US dollars and are expected to rise to 2774 billion in 2018. This is just the beginning, we can expect a lot more growth in the near future.

As the business grows, so does the customer base and obviously the support queries. This calls for a helpdesk management system powered by the right features to give a boost to your customer support process. Following are some of the ways to improve customer support in the e-commerce industry.

1. Be Quick to Answer Simple Enquiries

Imagine, a prospect or a customer is surfing your website/mobile app and has a quick question. Nothing too complex or detailed. Something very basic. They are looking for a quick chat with your rep. In addition, they might even want to have a short call about it as well. All this and much more can easily be done with a helpdesk software which supports all the channels that your target audience frequents.

For instance, John has a discount coupon for shoponline.com and is surfing the website for a pair of trousers. After spending some time and shortlisting a few items he goes ahead to make the payment. But, while applying the coupon he faces some issue and decides to initiate a web-chat. The agent addresses the problem and gives John a different code which is he applied successfully. Now, this is a simple query needing a quick response. If John had to wait in the queue for long, it would have been a waste of time and lead to a bad experience.

2. Complete Visibility of Order Status

Now, John placed the order and is waiting for it to be delivered with an ETA of 2-3 days. But the shipment is not delivered. On the fourth day, John calls customer support from an unregistered phone number. Once he connects with the agent and asks about the order status by providing his order number, the agent is at a loss. Since John has called from an unregistered number, the agent is not able to locate John in the CRM. This leads to John being angry and threatens to escalate the issue.

In the above case, due to a lack of a helpdesk ticketing system, the agent was not able to track John’s order. With a ticketing system integrated with the order management system, the agent simply has to punch in a unique identity code (order number, registered mobile number, etc) can view complete details of the customer along with historical interactions and any pending deliveries or tickets. Additionally, it is always better to keep the customer in the loop by sending them timely updates via SMS, email or push notifications. So, if John was notified about the possible delay along with the reason and an updated ETA, he would not have to go to the trouble of reaching out to the contact center.

3. Consistent Omnichannel Experience

Customers do not like to be pushed around in circles and definitely do not like to be misinformed. Talking about John itself, suppose he calls in to check his order status and then drops an email for the same. It is important that the same information is communicated to him on both the channels else it will lead to confusion and spoil the experience of the customer.

Moreover, even though millennials prefer online shopping but there is still a significant portion of the population who go to the store to make the final purchase. These customers might first browse the website to check out the available products and then go to the retail outlet to try and finally buy the product. This implies that for any brand which offers a hybrid shopping experience i.e. sells via a brick and mortar outlet as well as via online channels, it needs to have a good inventory management solution. It will ensure that the inventory data on your website, app and in-store match, irrespective of the channel through which the customers are viewing your products.

4. Post Delivery Support and Vendor Management

Once the package is delivered, the nature of customer support requests changes. For example, John received the trousers from shoponline.com. But when he tried them, the fitting was no right so he raised a request to return the package. A customer support system allows John to view the real-time status of his request and notifies him about the ETA of the pickup boy. Similarly, the agent also gets complete visibility of customer’s journey and is thus, empowered to take the query to a satisfactory solution.

Moreover, any e-commerce website or brand have a number of vendor partners and, successfully managing them is as important as managing the customer support requests. It is important to have a ticket management system which integrates with any in-house or third-party system to maintain the vendor details. This will help to tie any loose ends and make the customer experience delightful and one to remember.