Winners and Losers – October 2010

This month we bring you news of partnerships between CyberTech and Nexidia, GHM Communications and ShoreTel, Panasonic and Eptica, Firstsource and Barclaycard, Ventrica and Nuance, Spark Response and Ethical Superstore, M&S and Transversal & MSL and Opal.

We also hear of a small call centre in Nottingham, Aspect are ranked as one of the world’s largest software companies and Convergys are recognised for defining Global Outsourcing.

CyberTech and Nexidia announce global partnership agreement

CyberTech and Nexidia have announced a global partnership agreement which brings the power to extract deep and meaningful business intelligence directly from recorded interactions to the global marketplace.

Jonathan Wax

“Speech analytics is rapidly becoming a must-have for many organisations that need to access the vast store of critical business intelligence in their call recordings,” states Paul Manyweathers, Director of Global Business Development at CyberTech.  “Partnering with Nexidia is a natural fit for us because of their reputation for technical innovation, and because there is a great deal of synergy between our company philosophies and markets already addressed.”

Jonathan Wax, VP EMEA at Nexidia adds, “CyberTech’s global reach will enable us to provide leading edge solutions to a wide customer base, both in Europe and the United States as well as the Middle East and other parts of the world.   This partnership reinforces our motivation to provide solutions that solve real business problems, generate substantial returns on investment for clients and keep pace with evolving market needs.”

Online customer service technology

Panasonic is rolling out online customer service technology from Eptica to facilitate provision of immediate online answers to both routine and complex support questions and optimise the response to customer enquiries from its Customer Communication Centre.

In a normal month, Panasonic UK’s Customer Communication Centre receives in excess of 40,000 contacts from customers by telephone and email.  Eptica Self-service uses an advanced ‘meaning based’ search engine to provide visitors with immediate online answers to their questions.

The solution has also provided an effective platform for helping to cut the length of time required to resolve complicated product enquiries, by enabling video answers including product demonstrations to be embedded within the customers’ self-service answer.

Neil McManus

GHM Communications today announced it has signed a partnership agreement with ShoreTel, a growing provider of IP phone systems with fully integrated Unified Communications (UC) and contact centre solutions in the UK.

“Working with ShoreTel, we can give our customers the competitive advantage by offering them industry-leading technology that delivers real value to customers,” said Neil McManus of GHM Communications. “We’re committed to working with the best in the business, so we’re thrilled with the agreement and look forward to a bright future with ShoreTel,” he said.

GHM Communications has joined ShoreTel’s partner network to strengthen its portfolio of end-to-end solutions and call centre services.

Serif Call Centre

A customer service centre in Wilford, Nottingham, has been named in the “Top 50 Call Centres” list, published by UBM. Serif, the design, publishing and creative software developer, was rated highly for its customer care following the UK’s mystery shopping exercise.

Each organisation that took part received 200 calls and 100 emails as part of the exercise. The standards have increased each year and Serif was up against some of the biggest brands such as Tesco, Thomas Cook, Aviva and American Express.

“We aim to inspire our customers – not only with our creative software but also with our positive attitude, exceptional service and simple honesty,” says Alex Loach, Head of Customer Services at Serif. “Our team is dedicated to delivering consistent high quality customer care, so it is fantastic to be recognised.”

Matthew Vallance

The five-year customer service contract will involve Firstsource managing Barclaycard’s credit card and payment businesses beginning 1 November 2010.

Firstsource will manage the majority of the services currently provided by the Teesside centre, as well as a related payment servicing team located in Wavertree, Merseyside.

Matthew Vallance, CEO and managing director of Firstsource, added: “We are delighted to have won this contract from Barclaycard which reinforces the relationship we already have with Barclaycard in the US and is an acknowledgement of Firstsource’s expertise in the financial services sector and in particular for credit card services. We look forward to working with the Barclaycard  team and to providing excellent customer services for Barclaycard’s customers.”

Jim Foy

Aspect has been ranked as the 98th largest company by revenue on Software Magazine’s annual list of the top 500 software and services companies in the world.

The 2010 Software 500 ranking represents Aspect’s sixth consecutive year on the list with five uninterrupted years in the top 100. The ranking,  now in its 28th year,  also positions Aspect as the 9th largest privately-held software company in the world.

“This designation reflects both our strong financial performance,  even in challenging economic times,  and the deep-rooted confidence among Aspect customers that we will continue to deliver the right solutions and services to meet their business needs, ” said Jim Foy,  president and chief executive officer,  Aspect. “Being named to the Software 500 underscores Aspect’s passionate,  company-wide focus on accelerating the success of our customers by providing unified communications solutions for the contact centre and enterprise that are equipped for the next generation of customer contact.”

Steven Steenhaut

Outsourced contact centre Ventrica has won a contract to supply  B2C and B2B lead generation services for Nuance Communications, well-known for its ‘Dragon NaturallySpeaking’ PC-based speech recognition software.

Nuance’s Senior Marketing Director, EMEA, Steven Steenhaut commented, “We looked at a number of outsourcers, but were convinced by Ventrica’s professionalism and their expertise in both the B2C and B2B environments.   The telemarketing campaign will coincide with a number of digital marketing initiatives as well as our latest ‘Stop Typing. Start Living’ TV advertising for our Dragon range, currently appearing on Sky TV.”

The warehouse at Spark Response

Spark Response has secured a contract to provide support to EthicalSuperstore.com, the online retailer of ethical, fair trade and eco-friendly lifestyle products.

The new contract is valued at around £2m over 4 years and will support the ethical retailer from Spark’s Gateshead base at Follingsby Park, transferring the campaign from its current in-house-managed operation at Team Valley, also in Gateshead.

Peter Slee, Managing Director, Spark Response says: “We are delighted at securing the contract to service the company’s contact centre and e-commerce fulfilment requirements. As we continue to operate in a challenging and unpredictable economic climate, to add another market leader to our existing portfolio of high profile brands and organisations is strategically crucial for our business. Furthermore, our new partnership with Ethical Superstore is testament to the commitment of our staff to deliver the highest possible standards of customer service and excellent value.”

Convergys Corporation has been named to the 2010 GS 100 List of Companies that Define Global Outsourcing.

Convergys was also named to the lists of Top BPO Vendors and Top Call Center and Customer Management Vendors.

Andrea Ayers

“As a company that defines global outsourcing, Convergys helps optimize everyday interactions, turning the customer experience into a strategic differentiator for our clients,” said Andrea Ayers, Convergys President, Customer Management. “As a single-source provider of self-service and agent-assisted care, Convergys supports its clients by combining innovative technology and agent-assisted services to optimize the customer experience.

“This recognition helps validate Convergys’ commitment to providing a superior service experience to our clients and their customers in all of our geographies,” Ayers added. “We are very pleased to be included on the list of companies that define global outsourcing because this high honor reflects so positively on our clients and on the unparalleled quality and dedication of our approximately 65,000 employees.”

Marks & Spencer has launched a new customer service tool called Smart FAQ using software from Transversal to enable visitors to its online retail website My M&S to find answers to their most common questions quickly and easily.

To use the tool, customers simply ‘ask’ questions in their own words, using natural language via the search field on the My M&S website. They will then be served with appropriate answers in real time which will present relevant, time-sensitive information that customers are searching for.

An important benefit is that Marks & Spencer will gain detailed insight into the questions that customers who visit My M&S ask. By using the reporting tool, the retailer will be able to build a knowledgebase of data based on customer questions and responses, enabling it continuously to improve the responses it provides.  The technology also has the potential to allow Marks & Spencer to actively promote key messages and announcements using a contextual advertising engine based on customers’ interests

Call centre team at MSL Legal

MSL Legal Expenses Limited (MSL) has recently installed a new IP-based telephone system with integrated call recording, non-geographic numbers, a bespoke IVR and outbound calls handled by Opal.

MSL sought to improve its customer service by modernising its 80-strong contact centre which handles all the claims across its product range. As the backbone of the operation, MSL wanted to increase the centre’s flexibility and simultaneously introduce operational efficiencies.

The new telephone system has been installed across the group but the contact centre is where the benefits are being felt the most. MSL has been able to create new shift patterns which map onto longer opening hours. Previously the system would automatically shut down at 6.00pm but now agents are more available, creating an improved customer experience.

“We wanted to make sure we could answer all calls within certain service levels and monitor our performance,” explained Tony Sharrock, MSL’s Business Development and Quality Manager. “But at the same time, reduce the amount of support needed to run our telephone system and reduce call costs too. In addition, we also wanted an increased capability and more reliability.”

13 Oct 2010 - Filed under Call Centre News

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