Transforming from Call Center to Contact Center How-To Guide

1. How-To Guide Transforming from Call Center to Contact Center: Utilizing Intelligent Information Flow to Create a Lead and Revenue Generating Contact Center April 2015 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY If loyal customers are the lifeblood of a successful marketing program, call centers are the heartbeat. It is within the call center that happy customers become loyal advocates or disenchanted. All too often, however, call centers are viewed by marketing professionals as an afterthought instead of a key to customer loyalty, customer satisfaction and as a lead generation. Modern marketers must move from seeing Customer Care as a secondary supporting function to one of primary importance to marketing programs and lead generation, along with other digital marketing and sales activities. This How-To Guide challenges marketers to view the call center as a potential source of revenue and lead generation as well as the hub of Customer Care. This report discusses the misperceptions around call centers and shows modern marketers how to transform their call center (cost center) into a Modern Contact Center (profit center) by recognizing its strategy in lead generation and customer experience. © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

2. How-To Guide OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES OF THE CALL CENTER Call Center Challenges The traditional call center faces many challenges in the current business environment. These include: Increasing complexity, rate of change and regulatory compliance issues, especially in Healthcare and Financial Services, which can diminish customer service agent performance. Call center information resides in many systems where the volume of information is high and the velocity of change is rapid. It can be difficult for employees to find the right information in a timely manner. Numerous IT systems that complicate business processes, which agents need to be able to perform in order to serve customers well. Training requirements that make initial agent on-boarding as well as cross-training and multi-skilling increasingly difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Financial and downtime cost of agent replacement when lack of training or skill make job replacement necessary. Focus on increasing customer satisfaction at all levels of the organization, especially within Customer Care, but often without increased staff or resources. Increased contact velocity and volume. This trend also amplifies information erosion and accelerates the spread of misinformation across multiple channels. The Modern Contact Center Forward-thinking organizations see the need for a tight alignment among Marketing, Sales and Customer Care departments. To demonstrate the need for this change, they are repositioning the call center as the primary contact for customer interaction. This is more than a cosmetic name change. The Modern Contact Center shows a fundamental shift in strategic thinking and implementation. It impacts staffing, resources, organizational alignment and the deployment of new technology. Demand Metric’s Customer © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

3. How-To Guide Engagement Maturity Model highlights that world-class organizations, “fully align marketing, sales and customer care with cross-functional responsibility for sales and revenue.” Furthermore, the Maturity Model identifies that World-Class organizations also, “utilize comprehensive, end-to-end system integration of all customer engagement related platforms with tight integration to CRM systems, marketing automation software and ERP systems.” Demand Metric defines the Modern Contact Center as the staff, strategies and technologies that create a Customer Care Communications Hub within the organization, where customer service is viewed, staffed and resourced as a critical part of the customer sales journey, not limited to after-sale support. The Modern Contact Center is intelligent, forward-thinking and central to customer activity. It is a true communications hub where knowledge, information and solutions flow between the customer and the company. The Modern Contact Center has five key characteristics that set it apart from the legacy call center: Intelligent Information Flow. In the Modern Contact Center, information overload is replaced by an intelligent information flow where the information presented to the agent is right-sized for the immediate need and in the right context for the multi- channel environment. According to Demand Metric’s recent study, the Enterprise Digital Marketing Benchmark Report, “The B2B enterprise is very likely to use multiple digital marketing strategies, with over three-fourths using three or more strategies.” Clearly, the digital marketing environment has become extremely multi-faceted, which the Modern Contact Center can help to integrate further. Additionally, customers’ needs are met through the intelligent application of data effectively mined in real-time. With the intelligent information flow, agents don’t need to search for information from every database and training on effective information access replaces rote memorization of facts that often change frequently, making their memorization problematic. Context Aware. Traditional call centers struggle with many information-related challenges, including too much information, irrelevant and out-of date-information and constantly changing © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

4. How-To Guide regulations, practices and procedures. Yet, traditional call center agents are expected to quickly (within milliseconds) find the right information for the customer. Context aware functionality enables higher levels of performance because it filters information by key criteria (employee role, type of inquiry, customer history, etc.) to address specific issues with relevant information in real-time. Relevant information is offered based on corporate process and compliance rules and guidelines. Context aware functionality also supports the intelligent information flow by enabling rapid information retrieval, understanding and training (while filtering out non- relevant ‘noise’). Multi-channel. Information in the Modern Contact Center flows freely between the customer and the company regardless of touch point or device, offering greater message consistency. Customer information is shared by all internal points of contact, including Marketing and Sales and Operations. This omni-directional information flow increases the quality and speed of customer service activity and sets the stage for the Modern Contact Center’s role in lead generation. Increasingly Cloud-based. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications provide users with cost, flexibility and scalability benefits. Updates to cloud-based software are ongoing. The days of multiple software versions and “dot” releases are numbered. Cloud applications are future-proof. In addition, hosting customer information in the cloud instead of, or in addition to, on premise increases availability and disaster recovery. Contact Center agents always have access to the most relevant information no matter where they are located. This eliminates the need to constantly update manuals and other materials as things change, while easing the burden of supporting the increasing number of home-based agents. Cloud-based Contact Centers support the range of mobile devices that most customers use today, making the experience with the Contact Center transparent to the customer and increasing engagement. Virtually Supported. Organizations are increasingly leveraging the power of the cloud to outsource or decentralize key business processes. A result of this is the proportion of agents now working from home is growing. The power of the cloud to © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

5. How-To Guide eliminate geographic constraints is a boon to Business Process Outsourcers (BPO) and their clients. Role in Lead Generation The Contact Center has a critical role in demand generation, as well as lead nurturing and post-sale opportunities (renewals and upsell and cross-sell opportunities). This role is driven by several key needs: Creating loyal satisfied customers who will provide direct referrals and social influence in favor of the company or brand due to exceptional customer service. Providing the customer care view in the company’s holistic picture of customer experience, which can be used to determine better performing offers and calls-to-action for Marketing. Offering suggestions for product/service improvements that drive the customer, product or brand into new market niches. The Modern Contact Center should be recognized as an “in- house” focus group. Supporting the entire customer journey, especially the post- sale experience. The Contact Center can be an influential component of the lead generation process and the overall buyer’s journey. In Demand Metric’s recent study, the Sales Experience Quality Benchmark Report, “70% of the time, it takes months or years to restore the relationship after a bad sales meeting.”Furthermore, the study found that, “In about half the cases, the vendor is eliminated from current and future opportunities as a result of a bad sales meeting.” If Contact Center teams are trained and equipped at the front end of this meeting process, their existence will benefit the overall buyer’s journey and lead nurturing process to avoid these common pitfalls. When the Modern Contact Center is fully equipped at the front end, they can help ensure a consistent message is delivered to customers throughout their journey and capture prospect information to be shared with Sales and Marketing. Benefits to the Modern Contact Center The Modern Contact Center offers several key benefits for the Modern Marketing Organization. These include: Reduced time agents spend in information discovery to increase the speed of response to customer inquiries. © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

6. How-To Guide Better personalized interactions via Contact Center activity integration with CRM and Marketing Automation profiles to customize emails, offers and calls-to-action. Better multi-channel access through the integration of social, email, mobile, live chat and call records to determine customer behavior for lead generation. Increased behavioral analytics when Contact Center data is included in the marketing metrics mix. Preservation and constant capture of institutional knowledge in Customer Care, Marketing and back-office functions. Creation of an Information Hub, that allows interconnected departments to benefit from Contact Center information. Given these advantages, it is time to rethink the call center’s role in the organization; and, particularly, its role in supporting marketing efforts to drive new leads and revenue. CREATING A MODERN CONTACT CENTER Successfully transforming the call center to a Contact Center that better supports marketing programs and lead generation requires a series of well-orchestrated steps. Follows these four best practice steps to begin this transformation: Step 1 – Evaluate Your Call Center Operations: The first step in creating a Modern Contact Center is to evaluate the current role your call center has in your marketing and business strategy efforts. These questions are central to that evaluation: What role does the Contact Center play in your Sales, Marketing, Product Management and Operations today? What impact is Contact Center data having on strategic business, product and marketing decisions today? How well coordinated is the information flow internally across Marketing, Sales and Customer Care, the back office and/or the Contact Center? © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

7. How-To Guide Do all departments have access to the right information at the right time? If not, why not? Is that information timely and accurate? How well are customer activity records (CRM, Marketing Automation and Customer Service) integrated? Is the Contact Center staff trained and prepared for all multi-channel interactions like social, mobile and video? Is there a process for identification and handoff of potential revenue opportunities from the Contact Center to Marketing and Sales? Step 2 – Change Your Point of View: The second step in call center transformation is changing the perception within the organization. It’s much more than a rebranding or a name change from call center to Contact Center. Rather, it’s a new perspective: thinking of the Contact Center as a central Communications Hub for Customer Success. For this to occur, it requires an “outside in” perspective, which involves taking the perspective of the customer and their journey, not the perspective of the organization and its products, systems and processes. For this reason, we recommend strategically positioning the Contact Center as part of the Customer Success organization (with cross-functional responsibility), which highlights its role in the customer journey, the development of customer relationships and loyalty & advocacy as well as demonstrates its ability to increase customer lifetime value. Step 3 – Create a Strategy for Alignment: Alignment among Marketing, Sales, Customer Care, the back office and the Contact Center is a critical best practice for success. Alignment must occur on strategy, process, systems, guidance information and the information flow. Organizationally, a cross-functional team with an executive sponsor and champion must be designated. Intelligent information flow is particularly important in the multi-channel environment. The added velocity, volume and complexity of multi-channel communication, especially social media, increases the risk of misinformation spreading in ways it otherwise would not. Be sure to develop an efficient © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

8. How-To Guide and consistent process for information access and delivery as well as provide proper training for customer service agents tasked with addressing customer issues in a multi-channel environment. Step 4 – Choose the Right Systems, Platform & Applications: A fourth best practice in call center transformation is choosing the platforms and tools that can support the foundation of a communication and customer success hub. Use the selection criteria listed below to evaluate potential platform vendors. CONTACT CENTER APPLICATION SELECTION CRITERIA The Contact Center applications your organization selects will help determine the quality of your customer care user experience. While the Modern Contact Center touches on and extends to all information- related systems, this guide focuses on business process guidance and information access systems and platforms that improve customer service performance. Evaluate potential solutions according to the following criteria: 1.Intelligent Information Flow. Does the solution support the intelligent information flow? If so, the solution should be right- sized. This means that the solution should be able provide the right information at the moment an agent needs it, and should be able to present that information in the right context for the multi-channel environment. 2.Speed of Information Access and Retrieval. With the intelligent information flow, speed of information access and retrieval is dramatically improved with a guided learning system that takes the agent through the process by recommending the next action or task. This type of ‘guidance system’ gets agents up to speed faster with less training and support, and eliminates unproductive search by providing the most current and relevant information from the repository in real-time. 3.Context Aware. The knowledge base should recognize agent profiles and information needs, and respond with relevant information filtered by details such as role, screen activity, experience and expertise. This means every agent is presented with the best information for their current task. 4.Ease of Use. The Contact Center platform should offer advanced global search and intuitive ‘wizards’ for information retrieval that © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

9. How-To Guide do not require detailed training and education of Contact Center staff. Independence from or minimal reliance on internal IT support is highly desirable. 5.Ease of Content Maintenance. While it is critical that your agents find the guidance system manageable, it is just as important that your process owners and subject matter experts also find it easy to use in creating, maintaining and publishing the guidance information itself. In today’s fast-paced Contact Center environment, ease and speed of information creation and publication of updates holds the key to ensuring the agility that is associated with always being able to meet customer needs and compliance obligations. 6.Embrace the Cloud. Cloud-based Contact Center systems ensure that information is relevant, timely and accurate. This reduces key information worker challenges related to information complexity, compliance requirements and policy or data change management. Other key benefits of embracing the Cloud include: Faster, flexible deployment that shortens time to value. Scalability to expand or contract based on demand. Extensibility and ease of integration with complementary applications and systems to leverage existing investments without the involvement of internal IT resources. Fewer and lower costs of administration and ownership, reducing CAPEX and increasing bottom-line revenue. Future-proofing. Customers always use the current ‘version’ of software because it is constantly maintained by the cloud software vendor. 7.Omni-channel routing capabilities. The information flow should be accessible throughout the multi-channel environment. Both the external and internal information flow should be planned and supported to maximize agent efficiencies. 8.CRM, ERP and BPM system integration should be supported. 9.Social Media, live chat and mobile integrations to support customer journey and lead generation should be supported. © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

10. How-To Guide 10.Reporting and analytics should be tracked and tied to SLAs and agent performance metrics. ACTION PLAN 1.Evaluateyour call center/Contact Center, using the questions in the Creating a Modern Contact Center section of this guide to determine your current level of success. 2.Assessneeds across the organization to set your Contact Center performance goals and to identify the strengths to be enhanced and the gaps to be filled. When doing so, consider the following performance metrics of your call center: Average customer call, wait and hold times. ‘First agent resolution’ statistics as a measure of your agents’ competency, cross-skilling and multi-skilling. Process error and regulatory compliance breach rates. Staff knowledge and speed of access to relevant content and information. Training and on-boarding of new hires. Staff morale and confidence as well as staff turnover. Change management capability of your systems and staff. Data accessibility for staff and customers across all channels and devices. Overall Contact Center performance and improvement. If your call center is underperforming in any of these areas, new processes, systems and tools may be needed. 3.Use the Contact Center Application Selection Criteria section of this guide to evaluate potential vendor partners. © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

11. How-To Guide 4.Choose solutions that will best enable your Contact Center team to increase agent performance and provide new lead generation opportunities for Sales and Marketing. BOTTOM LINE Call centers and Customer Care teams are some of the most critical customer-facing teams within a company. They are where the customer turns first to get questions answered and issues resolved. These operations can have the highest impact on customer engagement and experience with a company or brand. Yet, they are often under-staffed, under-resourced and challenged with constant change and complexity. It is time to rethink the call center. Demand Metric recommends that organizations evaluate the performance of their call center and Customer Care teams as the key drivers of customer experience, engagement and satisfaction as well as the potential drivers of company revenue. Use the contents of this guide and the accompanying action plan to transform your call center into a true Modern Contact Center, and from a cost center to a marketing-focused lead and revenue generator. © 2015 Demand Metric Research Corporation. All Rights Reserved.