Retailer outsources technical support to Callzilla; FCR rises 20%, CPC drops 25%
Summary: An online retailer of CDs, DVDs and books added Callzilla to its roster of two existing contact centers to provide outsourced customer care. Callzilla outperformed the other two centers, resulting in one being eliminated. The client also expanded Callzilla's role by adding live chat services to scope.
When this online retailer contacted Callzilla, we learned they were up against performance issues with their incumbent contact center handling Technical Support/Help Desk interactions. First Contact Resolution (FCR) hovered around 76%—meaning two to three out of every ten times customers needed tech support, they had to contact the company more than once to get their issue resolved.
In addition, we learned, Cost Per Call (CPC) had risen lately. The leaders of the customer care function, which encompassed technical support/ Help Desk services, needed to know whether a different service provider could improve the situation.
Discovery
We asked numerous questions to get a handle on the scope and source of the problem(s). For example, which channels were used most heavily by customers seeking Tech Support? In terms of what was driving repeated contacts by customers: was it slow response time, poor troubleshooting measures, language barriers, problems with written expression, something else? How was Tech Support affecting overall Customer Satisfaction?
Project Brief
Callzilla provided a Project Brief recommending:
- Overall key performance indicators that reflected the client's business goals
- Starting to use Customer Satisfaction and Net Promoter Score surveys, tools that the client had never used before
- Characteristics that Callzilla agents would need to have
- Initial and ongoing training for agents and supervisors, including the role of incentives and gamification
- How to track Callzilla's performance as it filled the Technical Support function
First-hand troubleshooting experience
Agents used the products and services that we would be providing technical support on, simulating diverse challenges and practicing troubleshooting steps. By practicing these kinds of scenarios, we reduce or eliminate the need for scripts. And that frees agents to have natural, trust-building conversations with customers and potential buyers about their options.
Aligning "carrots" with KPIs
As in other campaigns, we aligned agent and supervisor incentives with campaign key performance indicators. Often the "carrots" and "sticks" for agents run counter to customer experience goals. In some sense it's understandable -- it takes work to shift away from traditional measures like cost-per-call to modern metrics such as cost-per-resolved-issue.
Scoring each mission-critical task
As in other engagements, each mission-critical task had its own line item and was scored individually. Our evaluations were performed on an individual call level basis, agent basis, shift (time of day) basis, program/campaign basis and other variables. This approach allowed us to take data samples and benchmark our performance against the criteria and standards that we agreed on with the client.
Enhancing agent engagement
We integrated e-learning and gamification into the client's solution to enhance agent engagement. The shared vision was to reinforce team and individual engagement and speed to competency through social collaboration, support from a gamified platform, and ensuring a feeling of recognition.
Results
- First contact resolution rose from 76 percent to 91 percent
- At the same time, Callzilla helped the client reduce the cost per call by 25 percent
- Within 90 days, the client stopped using one of its other outsourced call centers
- Callzilla was awarded 65 percent of total call volume
- The client further expanded the engagement by adding Callzilla-staffed live chat services for customer care and sales
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