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© 2007 Upstream Works SoftwareAll Rights Reserved

First Call Resolution: How Does Email Affect Customer Satisfaction?

By Upstream Works

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Why Email FCR is Important

» Email has increased in usage» 5% to 60% of traffic

» Doubling over the next 5 years – IDC» In practical terms, we are seeing contact centers actually start to use email as mainstream as of 2010

» As ubiquitous as phone

» Affects customer satisfaction» Email is as important as a phone call

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Why People Use Email» They don’t like the phone

» You’ve invited them to use email

» They have complex information to impart to you

» The phone will take too long

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Careful what the analysts say!

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Email Misconceptions

» Email is Outlook™ -not!

» It is a home phone, not a PBX

» Agents choose the email they want

» Not multi user

» Email is guaranteed to be delivered – not!

» Failure from SPAM filters

» Failure from user error

» Internet failures

» Email can’t be managed like a phone call

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‘EBX’ - Email Branch eXchange

» Email routing solution

»Equivalent to ACD or skills routing

»Agent performance metrics

» Develop processes conducive to call center operations

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Definition of FCR for a Complex Transaction

Setting and meeting the expectation of the customer

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Causes of Repeat Emails» Agent ability

» Authority

» Access to information

» Business process

» Clarity

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Repeat Contacts – Contributing Factors

» Email is only one half of a conversation

» Email is a one way communication

» The reply is simply the second half of the email ‘conversation’

» Increases time to resolution

» Email conveys emotion

» Attached by reader’s interpretation

» Leads to misinterpretation; absolutes where none exist

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Repeat Contacts – Contributing Factors

» Email is not routed to the best skilled agent

» Limited agent performance metrics

» Limited email management metrics

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Impact of Repeat Email» Increased email volumes

» Increased call volumes

» Decreased customer satisfaction

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Be Sure to Fulfill the Promise

» Date: Feb 2 2008

» Promises a prompt reply within 2 days

» After 8 days I phoned them

» This is for a SALE!!

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Too little…too late» Dear RMCDOUGALL@UPSTREAMWORKS.COM:

Thank you for contacting OUR

MAGAZINE Customer Service.

According to our subscription

records, your subscription was

upgraded to a premium

subscription on February 15, 2008.

Please contact us if we may be of

further assistance.

We appreciate this opportunity to be

of service.OUR MAGAZINE Customer Service

subsvcs@ourmag.customersvc.com

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Email FCR» Five main email categories:

»Feedback

»Orders

» Information request

»Status update

»Complex email interaction

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Feedback and Orders

» Feedback

»Only acknowledgement required»Simple FCR

» Orders

»Acknowledgement Required»FCR affected by customer clarity

» Incomplete or obsolete orders

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Information Request

» Standard response providing information

» Simple FCR

» Modify processes to reduce these types of email by updating available information

» Best handled by FAQ

» Email reason tracking

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Status Request» Unique response providing the information

» Simple FCR

» Unexpected responses are bad

»Status may lead to a complex interaction

» Important to track and fix surprises

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Complex Email Interactions» Can accentuate the negative aspects of email

»Misinterpretation

»Tracking complexity

»Delays resolution

»Multiple agent interactions

» Are still a valid interaction scenario

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Improving Email FCR» Complex email

»Change to a phone interaction»Phone customers back with reply

»Suggest they call you and provide priority routing

»Provides the chance to provide great service

»Provides the chance for the “upsell”

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Cross Channel Tracking» Correlate email to phone call

»Never lose information

» Unsolicited phone follow ups

»You never responded the first time!

» Email metrics and management

»Cross channel is effective if managed

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Email - Phone FCR

» A “key” to correlate email and phone call

» E.g. customer number» E.g. email address

» Poor response times for email increase likelihood of email/phone non-FCR

» Respond quickly to emails

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Improving Clarity

» Two email types

» Free form POP3 Internet email

»Web forms “email”

» POP3 email

» Free form

»Hard to route

»Ubiquitous

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Improving Clarity» Web forms from your web site

»Subject control for routing»Easy templating

»No delivery issues» It’s on your website

»Requires web access

»Subject to email address errors

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Best Practices

» Minimize and meet response times

» Long response times increase likelihood of customer impatience

» Auto respond acknowledgement only

» Canned resolutions guarantee failure

» Measure performance

» Agent solve rate» “FCR” rate

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Best Practices

» Track email reasons

» Eliminate email where possible

» Skills based routing

» Assign email to the most effective agent

» Capture email addresses

» Add to customer record for screen pops and repeat tracking

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Customer Satisfaction

» Improve by:

» Eliminating email with self service» Provides faster response times

» Exceeding your email response times

» Determining ‘non FCR’ transactions and fix

» Providing all available information to the agent

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Summary

» Measure and track email like a phone

» Different agent skills

» Five main categories

» Measure email reasons

» Collect email addresses

» From email, from phone» For cross channel correlation

» Improve clarity with web form email

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Business Interaction Management

Track and save the entire interaction as it happens. It’s easier to use and understand later

Provide in-your-face interaction context that’s role tailored for personalized service

Pre-built best practices analytics

©Upstream Works Software

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Customer Insights

Customer Experience

Performance

Improvement

Performance

Management

Training and Staffing

Process Improvemen

t

All customer channels

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Business Interaction Pain Points

» Problem: No methodology or technology used provides a single comprehensive and auditable view of how customers interact with a business.

» Result: Averages are used to allocate funds to drive customer loyalty and reduce costs across the multiple interaction channels in use today.

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Upstream Solution

» Upstream Works’ Business Interaction Management, makes the collective of customer interactions visible, accountable and controllable

» Combines technology and a methodology to track individual customer interactions across the business

» Links outcomes to supporting interactions

» Puts the collected information into a powerful form

» Compliments existing applications and infrastructure

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Next In Series

» How to Systematically Improve First Call Resolution

www.upstreamworks.comDownload the whitepaper from our website: Increasing Call

Center Effectiveness Through First Call Resolution

See the FCR Webinar Series – Coming Soon to Youtube!