The telephone remains by far the most common channel of customer service, particularly appropriate for complex enquiries and problem solving, including complaint handling.

Interactive voice services are not ideally suited to such free-form task handling, and yet up to 90% (depending on industry sector) of all calls into a contact centre are greeted by a generic IVR, leading to widespread customer frustration.

Understandably, improving customer satisfaction remains the number-one contact centre focus, and improving self-service remains a top-priority with regard to contact centre technology.

HTK Horizon™ addresses three key challenges of customer service.

1. Reducing customer frustration
   By minimising the number of inbound calls met by a generic IVR
    
2. Improving customer satisfaction
   By improving the experience of IVR and other self-service channels
    
3. Creating customer delight
   Through timely, proactive and value-added outbound customer contact

Proactive automated outbound contact (for instance the notification of a delay, the reminder of a delivery date, or regular information regarding an ongoing service issue) can improve customer satisfaction and significantly reduce the number of inbound calls; particularly problem calls.

As a hosted service with no requirement for capital expenditure, these benefits can be introduced quickly and cost-effectively as part of a transformational strategy to reduce cost, increase customer loyalty and create long-term differential business value.

Features

• Advanced IVR including speech recognition, synthesis and verification
• Inbound and outbound SMS, MMS, email and fax communication
• Can be integrated with internal CRM data and systems
• Real-time reporting of key performance indicators
• Based on open industry standards
• Easily drive automated multi-channel communication to and from email
• Standards-based tools to communication-enable existing business processes

Benefits

• No capital expense. Utility-based pricing for optimal use of budget
• Scalable to meet peaks in demand
• Fast to implement
• The best possible customer experience, delivering a true cost saving