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Consumer Preferences for Outbound Notifications
Outbound calling using predictive dialing technology is nothing new to contact centers. The use of outbound calling for “proactivenotification” purposes however, is significantly improving the contactcenter’s opportunity to further the customer relationship while savingoperational costs. To better understand how this newer model continuesto evolve, Nuance Communications sponsored a Harris Research studythat surveyed consumers about current usage and preferences relating to outbound notifications. This white paper outlines these findings,providing key insights into the use and best practices for implementingproactive notifications in the contact center.
customer care solutionsfrom Nuance
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IntroductionIn the past, predictive dialing occurred when an outbound call was timed with agent availability resulting in alive interaction between agent and customer. These calls were typically telemarketing oriented and rarely tiedto a customer’s personal interests. Today, however, companies can leverage customer-specific accountinformation and business rules to trigger outbound notifications that are personalized, relevant and welcomedby the customer.
Automated outbound notifications have advanced far beyond their ancestry: the dreaded “dinner-interrupting”calls from predictive dialers. Today’s proactive notifications use SMS, email or the voice channel tocommunicate and interact with customers in relevant ways throughout the customer lifecycle. When appliedskillfully, proactive notifications are welcomed by the consumer. They improve customer experience when theyare used to communicate information that is timely and relevant (e.g. flight delays). They encourage people tobuy when they present renewal reminders, personalized offers or alerts that an item on back order is now instock. From a business viewpoint, they displace inbound call volume when they correctly anticipate thereasons a customer would otherwise call (e.g. confirmation of transactions). They create additional revenueopportunities through personalized, relevant cross-sell and up-sell offers. They can even shorten collectionscycles by reminding people to pay overdue bills.
“Your account is past due; would you like to make a payment?”
“Your prescription is about to run out...”“Your recent transfer of fu
nds was...”
“Due to w
eather conditions, your flight...”
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To get the most from their proactive notification campaigns, contact centers must be able to design andlaunch campaigns so customers are contacted when and how they want to receive communication. This must be orchestrated – all while complying with key government regulations and best practices.
We all know that customers don’t appreciate untargeted, unsolicited and non-interactive “push” calls. The keyto balancing this delicate dynamic between costs and your relationship with your customer is to make sureyou understand consumers’ preferences for outbound contact – when, how and why they want to hear fromyou. As we’ll detail in this white paper, a Harris Research study sponsored by Nuance Communications thatsurveyed consumers in both the U.S. and U.K. validates that consumers are ready to embrace proactivenotifications. Respondents who felt that proactive notifications had a positive impact on a company’s brand far out-weighed those who believed otherwise.
About the StudyNuance engaged Harris Research to conduct a 30-minute online survey with consumers in the U.S. and U.K.Respondents were at least 18 years of age. The sample only included consumers who had experienced someform of proactive notification in the six months prior to the survey. Each respondent was asked questionsregarding current usage, usage preferences and opt-in preferences.
For the purpose of this research study, we defined proactive communication as follows:
A proactive communication to your phone is
when you receive content, messages, promotions,
reminders or offers that are personal, relevant
and that you find useful as opposed to intrusive.
In some instances, you might have asked for (or
opted-in) to receive communications. (Opting-in
is when you register to receive information, or
check a box saying you wish to receive future
notifications for a service or company.)
Messages Promotions
Reminders & Alerts Offers
PROACTIVECommunications
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Current Experience Most Common Interactions: Appointment Reminders & Order Status Updates by Email
To gain an understanding ofconsumers’ current proactivecommunications experiences,we asked questions regardingthe types of communicationsthey currently receive and howthey receive them. While SMSwas one of the waysconsumers currently receiveproactive notifications, email ismore common. 72% of U.S.consumers surveyed havereceived proactive notificationsvia email with SMS contactcoming in at a mere 32%. Inthe U.S., appointmentreminders (49%) and orderstatus (42%) top the list ofproactive notifications receivedfrom companies.
Best Approach for Urgent, Sensitive and General Information Delivery
Depending on the type of communication, consumersmight label it less or more important to receiveurgently – or at all. To gain an understanding of thebest use of proactive notifications, survey participantswere given a list of usage scenarios and asked tolabel each communication as one they perceived tobe general, urgent or sensitive in nature. Whenconsidering how to send outbound notifications, it isimportant to take into consideration the consumer’sperspective on a per scenario basis – as “one sizedoes not fit all.”
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The most common way in which respondents are typically contacted depends upon the type of notification.
Marketing/Sales Promotion
Fraud Check
Account Information
Payment Reminder
Appointment Reminder
Travel Status Updates
Prescription Status
Order Status
Outage Notification
CC calls from automated system
CC calls from live agent
CC calls from automated systems
CC calls from automated system
CC calls from automated systems
Communication Type Top Ways of Current Contact
Most Common Current Method of Contact Based on Communication Type (U.S. Example)
Order Status - 42%Appointment Reminders - 49%
Most Used Proactive Communications (U.S.)
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As might be expected, almost all (96%) of respondents feel that marketing/sales promotions are generalinformation and these types of communications are not perceived as urgent or sensitive in nature. Thisresponse held true for both U.K. and U.S. consumers. However, 48% in the U.S. feel that fraud checks to verifya purchase is urgent information. Finally, 60% in U.S. feel that account info is sensitive information. Knowingthis – how should you be contacting your customers? When asked, consumers prefer contact by email formost types of proactive communications. For urgent (67%) and sensitive (68%) information, however, theywish to be contacted by a live agent.
Marketing/Sales Promotion
Order Status
Outage Notification
Travel Status Updates
Appointment Reminder
Payment Reminder
Prescription Status
Account Information
Fraud Check
General
General
General
General
Urgent
Urgent
Sensitive
Sensitive
Urgent
Communication TypeTop Perception of the Type of Information
Consumers Categorization of General, Urgent or Sensitive Based on Communication Type (U.S. Example)
Order Status
Payment Reminder
Marketing/Sales Promotion
Travel Status Updates
Account Information
Prescription Status
Outage Notification
Appointment Reminder
Fraud Check
Email (62%)
Email (55%)
Email (50%)
Email (44%)
CC calls from live agent (43%)
Email (32%)
CC call from auto sys (32%)
CC calls from live agent (38%)
CC calls from live agent (73%)
Communication Type Preferred Contact Method
Perference for Contact Based on Communication Type (U.S. Example)
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Call Backs Preferred over “Please Hold”As reported in numerous research studies, one of the most frustrating customer care experiences for theconsumer is to call a business with a question or concern and to be placed on hold. A “call back” feature, nowavailable in some outbound notification solutions, gives consumers the choice of holding or receiving a callback. Using a solution like this, a business can let the consumer know there is a hold time, the estimatedlength of the hold time and give them a choice to continue holding or to receive a call back when an agentbecomes available. This provides the consumer with a choice and puts them in control of how they want tointeract – eliminating a lot of frustration.
As might be expected, our research found that as hold time increases, the perceived usefulness of a call backalso increases. In the U.S., almost half (48%) find a call back appealing or somewhat appealing. This findingpoints to a great opportunity for businesses to address one of the consumer’s biggest “pet peeves” whiledriving down call volume and related costs.
Consumers Are Not Receptive to Fees for Proactive Communications There has been discussion in the industry as to whether consumers would be willing to pay a modest fee toreceive information based on level of sensitivity or urgency. This study tested that idea along with theconsumer’s willingness to pay to receive updates on valuable promotional opportunities. The Harris Researchfound that a fee for proactive notifications has a negative impact on interest levels in all industries tested andamong all communication types. Consumers were a little more positive towards paying a fee for proactivenotifications regarding fraud (21% for U.S.). The study also explored payment preferences for proactivenotifications – subscription or pay-per communication. The findings weren’t conclusive. It was a 50/50 splitbetween subscription and pay-per-communication in the U.S.
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Phone
IVRSpeech
AdvisesFirst Available
Agent to ReturnCustomer Call
Call Backs
Mobile DeviceSelf-Service
Phone
DTMF
PBX
PBX
OUTBOUND
BusinessIntelligence(Backends)
INBOUND
Mobile Device
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Opt-in Remains Important – Especially forPromotional CommunicationsThe study did confirm that most respondents feel permission should be asked before proactive notifications aresent. However, the need for permission varies across proactive notification types. In the U.S., more than half(56%) of respondents feel it is absolutely/very essential that their permission be asked before a company sendssales or marketing-related proactive notifications, while only a quarter (24%) feel it is essential for order statuscommunications. For notifications that are very important or absolutely essential, respondents would prefer togive permission via email or by talking to a live agent. A third of respondents (33%) feel that it is not importantat all to ask permission to send proactive notifications regarding fraud checks and/or order status.
Overall the study found very low interest in proactive notifications of a promotional nature, even whenconsumers were offered something of value. 38% of respondents in the U.S. stated they are not at allinterested in proactive notifications of a promotional nature. Consumers’ experience with SPAM-relatedcommunications probably heightens sensitivity here. As more and more organizations build relevant, proactivecommunication interactions with their customer, this reaction is likely to change.
56%
33%
56% of Survey Respondents Want Companies to ask Permission Before Sending Proactive Notifications
Opt-in for Proactive Notifications
33% of Survey Respondents FeelIt’s Not Important toAsk Permission Before Sending Proactive Notifications
Conclusion The customer care operation plays a pivotalrole in both top-line growth and bottom-linebusiness management. Proactive notificationsoffers a new opportunity to cut operatingcosts, increase customer retention andloyalty, increase revenues and expandbusiness – both with existing customers aswell as new customers. Being reactive is nolonger enough in today’s highly competitiveand cost-conscious business environment.Winning organizations are realizing strategicbusiness value through a comprehensivecustomer contact approach which combinesinformed, proactive contact with the moretraditional, reactive customer care.
Nuance OutboundNotification SolutionNuance Notification Hub (www.nuance.com/care/solutions/outbound.asp) is a complete outbound customerlifecycle solution that enables automated, personalized, actionable notifications over SMS, email and voice.Nuance Notification Hub helps businesses reduce inbound call volumes, increase customer satisfaction, andcreate new revenue opportunities by delivering interactive, relevant communications to customers.
Unlike other outbound offerings, Nuance Notification Hub may be deployed on premise, as a managed service,or in a SaaS model. The Nuance Notification Hub solution can be easily extended to integrate with third-partyoutbound dialers. Add-on modules such as Nuance Subscription Manager help companies comply with MMA(Mobile Marketing Association) best practices and FCC (Federal Communications Commission) regulations byallowing customers to set preferences for communication channels and times. With Nuance Notification Hub,your contact center can successfully design, develop, launch, manage, and analyze your multichannelproactive notification campaigns.
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781 565 5000nuance.com
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Cost Per Call
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Agent Out
Automated In
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Cost per call for automated out is about 50% less than automated in.
About Nuance Communications, Inc.Nuance is in the business of helping companies better support, communicate with and understand theircustomers while maintaining operational efficiency goals. Nuance currently supports over 8 billion careinteractions around the world. No other company has as much experience as Nuance in understanding howcustomers interface with a care operation. Our vision is to make every customer interaction a winningexperience. For more information about our customer interaction solutions, business consulting andprofessional services, please visit www.nuance.com/care.
© 2009 Nuance. All Rights Reserved. Nuance is a registered trademark of Nuance. All other trademarks mentioned here are the property of their respective holders. WP 021709 NUCC376
