IVR / VoiceXML Featured Article

Report: IVR Can Help Boost Customer Experience

By Michael Dinan, TMCnet Editor

Leveraging technology through Web sites, interactive voice response systems and service e-mails are good ways to drive a positive customer experience during this recession, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research firm said today.

 

Officials at Forrester Research, Inc. say that just 11 percent of companies earned an “excellent” rating in their “Customer Experience Index of Large U.S. Firms.”

 

According to Bruce D. Temkin, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester (News - Alert), executives regularly say that customer experience is critical to their competitiveness, but this year’s Customer Experience Index demonstrates that there’s room for improvement across all industries.

 

“While many firms are dealing with rough economic times, they can’t let customer experience fall to the back burner,” Temkin said. “If firms let their customer experience deteriorate, then they’ll lose customers and amplify the negative impact of the downturn.”

 

The firm surveyed more than 4,500 consumers about their interactions with 114 companies across 12 different industries. The report is based on the usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyability of those experiences. Thirty-eight percent of firms were rated as “poor” or “very poor.”

 

Here’s a look at the top of the list:

 

 

The research firm says that it’s critical for companies to “prioritize the moments of truth” during customer interactions, as they have the biggest impact on overall satisfaction, and likelihood to repurchase or recommend.

 

It’s also critical to keep employees apprised of any shifts in priorities and engaged with overall customer experience efforts, Forrester says.

 

Compared with last year, banks made the largest improvements, led by U.S. Bancorp, SunTrust, and Citibank. Meanwhile, Time Warner (News - Alert) Cable, Charter Communications, and Blue Shield of California had the largest decline.

 

At an industry level, retailers and hotels ended in the top spots for all categories, while medical insurers and TV service providers ended up at the bottom.

 

It’s no surprise that the hospitality industry ranks high on the list. Hotels and spas regularly adopt technology to improve customer service and experience.

 

As TMCnet reported, one Arizona hotel boosted cost-savings and customer satisfaction with a Toronto-based company’s unified communications solution, including VoIP.

 

Officials at Nortel, a communications solutions provider, say they’re transforming the Miraval Resort and Spa in Tucson into an “all-IP resort.”

 

According to Joel Hackney (News - Alert), president of enterprise solutions at Nortel, Miraval stands to bring its guests a reliable, cost-effective communications industry that’s based on his company’s IP data infrastructure.

 

“These products are third-party proven to provide 20 times better performance and seven times more resiliency than our chief competition while consuming up to 40 percent less energy and costing less than half as much to own and operate,” Hackney said.

 

What may be more surprising for some are those companies listed toward the bottom of the Forrester list, including technology companies such as Intel (News - Alert) and Dell, and cable and Internet service providers such as Comcast, Cox and Verizon.

 

Here’s a peek at the bottom of the list:

 

 

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Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To read more of Michael’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Michael Dinan