Embarking on Digital Transformation
The company knew it needed to implement a modern contact centre because calls were missed, customers were held in queues or routed to the wrong department. Incoming calls were set up in hunt groups, making it confusing, as no one knew what was happening with the incoming calls. And, for overspill calls they used a third party which was proved to be very costly.
Adam Pickett, IT Manager at EnviroVent, had just joined the company and was aware they needed to implement a contact centre to streamline and manage the calls more effectively to improve the customer and agent experience.
I worked with Britannic at a previous job and knew they were the best company to assist us with a contact centre and our telephony. I was proved right when I called Jonathan, the CEO, and he invited me to London the following week, where we scoped out an 8x8 contact centre together. Starting with the customer care team and then planning to roll it out to the other departments.
Streamlining and Increasing Efficiencies
EnviroVent already used 8x8 telephony for standard handsets, so adding on and integrating the contact centre was a seamless process. Britannic and EnviroVent implemented a queue-based system so customers’ calls were not missed, and they could request a callback if they were stuck in a queue for too long. This model was then rolled out to the technical helpdesk and the installations team, who managed the engineers’ schedules.
The solution was also deployed within the order processing team, which uses it for emails to process customers’ orders.
Reaping the Benefits
The company has streamlined calls that come into the contact centre, so they are routed to the correct department and enquiries are always answered with first call resolution prioritising the customers’ needs. This has improved the customer experience radically by ensuring more customers than ever receive swift responses. Measuring customer answer rates, abandonment rates, sentiment and call recordings for training purposes. All of these help to develop the team's skills and the ability of management to understand the true voice of the customer.
IVR has also been introduced so customers know what number to press for each department when they call. It also informs them of their position in the queue and provides an option for a callback if they don’t want to wait too long.
It has also helped them identify problem areas that they didn’t know existed. For example, they received 25 calls asking questions about pricing, so they knew they had to clarify it in the catalogue.
Pickett comments, “Implementing the 8x8 contact centre has transformed our customer service. The agents are now supercharged with the tools and insights required to handle calls more effectively. They connect instantly with customers and resolve their enquiries and issues to deliver outstanding service. Britannic was instrumental in helping us design and deploy the roadmap and working with us to constantly augment it.”
The Technology - Improving the Customer Journey and Experience
Turning the Lights on
The contact centre and team have gone from operating in the dark to turning the lights on and having complete visibility of all activity. Reports and stats are easily accessible to determine actions and assist with schedules, training, and forecasting for busy periods.
Call recording can be used for training to help understand where agents need help to improve and identify areas for training and development. It can also help with customer disputes.
Starting with Webchat
Realising the benefits of an operational contact centre, EnviroVent is eager to improve constantly and is currently piloting Webchat on all its website pages. The objective is to understand how its customers want to communicate with them. The webchat will ask them who they are and then direct them to the department they require, where they will speak to a human.
Change Management
The design and implementation of the contact centre solution were straightforward. The challenge was that several agents now experienced a different way of working.
“For the employees who had worked in other contact centres, it was no problem as they were used to this way of working. However, it was more of a challenge for the agents who had only worked for EnviroVent. Britannic helped us manage the change through training sessions, and we trained the agents to be comfortable using the solution,” said Pickett.
Constantly Modernising and Improving
EnviroVent has a large customer base in the social housing sector and Pickett identified a major problem with the customers in this sector that he wanted to resolve.
If a property requires a ventilation solutions repair or installation, EnviroVent will either call or text the tenant. But tenants were reluctant to pick up or answer texts because they didn’t recognise the number and were scared of scam calls due to the increase in cybercrime.
Therefore, this caused two challenges—the first was that EnviroVent couldn’t make an appointment to fix the issue, and the second was that the tenant was left with the repair that needed fixing.
Call Branding and Message Branding Solution
When Pickett attended Britannic’s annual summit, he found the answer.
“Every year, I attend Britannic’s annual summit because it is a great event for learning about new technologies that have come to market. It was here that I learnt about their Call Branding and Message Branding solution.
It was the answer to my problems. We were wasting time and resources attempting to contact customers, who didn’t answer or respond because they didn’t recognise the number. This solution enables you to personalise your communications so customers can immediately identify it is from you,” says Pickett.
The Message Branding Solution uses RCS messaging, which provides the additional capacity and flexibility to include images, web links, and more text than traditional SMS.
Who's There? The Power of Call Branding
Britannic worked with EnviroVent on setting up the Call Branding solution, which was straightforward. They contacted all the network providers to ensure that the solution was integrated into their network and followed up to confirm it had been completed.
“We are delighted with the results. The call branding solution has fixed the problem of customers not picking up or responding to our texts because they didn’t know who we were. Now, when the contact centre calls or texts, a customer can see our logo, name and number and know that the communication is from us.
There were 25 failed jobs per month over a three month period compared to 0 in May. This is an effective revenue boost of £20,000 per month!
Also, at the end of a job, we always send a customer survey to ensure we get feedback, but customers didn’t respond before this solution. Now, with the message branding solution we have increased our response by 50%!
The call branding and message branding solution is vital today due to the increase in scams and cybercrime, as it reduces the fear of unidentified calls, increases trust, and improves the customer experience. Also, it is more cost-effective than our traditional SMS service, so it is a win-win all around,” comments Pickett.
Effective Revenue Boost
from 25 failed jobs in a three-month period to 0 after Britannic's Call Branding
Response Rate
increase in customers response rate
Failed Jobs
leading from the implementation of Britannic Branded Calls
