I recently moved house, and of course I had to go around ringing my utility providers updating my address. What makes this more interesting, is the building is a new build and therefore a new postcode.
Some providers obviously update their postcode software regularly, and therefore had no problem finding me. The majority though clearly don't update their systems regularly. While this means in the most part a simple manual address entry, one provider couldn't update an address manually, telling me instead to call back in a few months!
However on ringing my bank Lloyds TSB, they not only found my address instantly, they also offered to re-quote me for my home insurance on the same call. Now, you may think this isn't rocket science, but none of my other providers asked me, even though several of them also offer insurance.
In the end, the insurance quote was 50% cheaper than my current insurer, and they obviously gained the business. I would be very interested to know the conversions on that simple up sell question. Particularly as it was a bank, and I'm sure they're one of the first people on every one's list to call.
Monday, 28 May 2007
Is your database secure?
A recent High Court action over Cable & Wireless' former ISP, Bulldog, has highlighted the need to ensure your database is secure.
It's somewhat suprising to hear how an entire copy of the database was available on one person's laptop. I don't understand why someone would require a report of every customer and their bank details. When designing reports it's important to consider data theft, and only make available the information actually required by the user.
It's somewhat suprising to hear how an entire copy of the database was available on one person's laptop. I don't understand why someone would require a report of every customer and their bank details. When designing reports it's important to consider data theft, and only make available the information actually required by the user.
Make sure you're open!
It was interesting to see yesterday on TV and advert for Network 3 which is advertising their latest £15 promotion. Calls to action for the advert included their website, stores and their telesales team. However if you were to ring their call centre, you'd have been told they were closed.
What's more interesting, is they were closed all day Sunday, so why advertise on a Sunday? If you can't stop your media agency running the ads on a Sunday, at least put a voicemail service on for the customer to leave a number, or even refer the customer to a website. Needless to say, 3 didn't have either option.
What's more interesting, is they were closed all day Sunday, so why advertise on a Sunday? If you can't stop your media agency running the ads on a Sunday, at least put a voicemail service on for the customer to leave a number, or even refer the customer to a website. Needless to say, 3 didn't have either option.
Sunday, 12 November 2006
Recruitment Ads
I always find it interesting to see how call centres run their recruitment ads. From the big blue chips running full half-page adverts to the small line ads from seemingly small call centres. Here's some things I've learnt
- I don't believe in spending the extra money on full-colour adverts. I think a spot-colour magenta or yellow background to an advert is far more effective and cheaper.
- Running more than one advert with different copy in the same edition doesn't provide double the response. I've seen many try it and end up with the same people ringing both adverts even if the copy is significantly different.
- Don't advertise on a Friday - people are more interested in the weekend.
- People replying to ads on a Monday have had the highest no-show rate.
- People replying on a Thursday have a lot of other offers to look at - make sure this day more than ever you answer the phone quickly.
- Do not send your recruitment line to a voicemail line - you're a call centre! They'll just move on to the next ad.
- Don't spend a fortune on a memorable number - they have the paper.
- Don't spend a penny on radio - I've never to this day see anyone make a return on it.
- Build a pattern to your adverts - people don't often "suddenly" decide to look for a job. People recognise those employers who regularly advertise and those that don't.
- Change your copy regularly - see point 9 - people read the job section even when they're not looking for a job.
- Filter on your calls not your copy - outbound telesales? Why not try "Telesales" then on the phone call tell them it's Outbound after they've got a feel for you. Same with location - don't put "Smallville" on the advert. Let them find out about how great the job is, let them want it. When they find out it's a bit further out of town than they wanted they may consider it when they wouldn't have if they saw it on the advert.
- Don't mention age - it's illegal under the Age Discrimination Laws. "Young, energetic" is dangerous.
Address Verification
Many of you will now know that a lot of companies that accept credit cards require you to use your billing address as the delivery address. But how do they know that?
It's called the Address Verificaiton Service (AVS). AVS is an indiciator flag, and the bank will often approve a transaction even if the address does not match and leave the decision of whether to accept the card to the merchant themselves.
The AVS flag is split into two values - the address and the postcode. There are traditionally 3 possible outcomes to each check, although certain Merchant providers may have more:
It's called the Address Verificaiton Service (AVS). AVS is an indiciator flag, and the bank will often approve a transaction even if the address does not match and leave the decision of whether to accept the card to the merchant themselves.
The AVS flag is split into two values - the address and the postcode. There are traditionally 3 possible outcomes to each check, although certain Merchant providers may have more:
- Matched
- Not Matched
- Not Supported
Some banks will provide AVS responses even when the card declines. Only certain merchant providers will pass this information on though. Barclays Merchant Services for example do, while HSBC ePayments doesn't.
AVS was designed to run from PDQ (Pretty Damn Quick) machines - i.e. terminals rather than from a computer, and therefore it's designed just to check the NUMBERS of an address, not the whole address. This is a very important concept to understand for both customers trying to get a successful AVS and merchants deciding on fraud risk.
For example an address of
1 John Street
Manchester
M1 1AA
Would pass an AVS check if the billing address was
1 Mary Street
Glasgow
G1 1BB
As the Address numbers are "1" for both and the postcode numbers are "11" for both. This is clearly not the correct address though. Never rely on the AVS check as a full-proof anti-fraud measure.
To a customer, particularly Scottish customers, it's also helpful to know that the order of the numbers is also important. You see this when dealing with buildings with flats.
1/1 50 George Street
Glasgow
G1 1AA
Depending on the postcode lookup software being used this may have come out on the form as
50 George Street
Flat 1/1
Glasgow
G1 1AA
Simply swapping lines 1 and 2 would result in a successful match. Also important is when you have a building name. I have seen numerous examples where Postcode software inserts house numbers where they're never used. For example, your bank statement might be:
101 Manchester Towers
Manchester Road
Manchester
M1 1AA
But when you look up your postcode on a website it may come up
101 Manchester Towers
50 Manchester Road
Manchester
M1 1AA
Notice the 50. Simply remove this and you will receive a successful AVS.
Footnote
American Express is as usual different and has some more sophisticated checks as well as AVS.
More info about Credit/Debit card Security Codes
This is the number published on credit cards which is used to verify you are actually holding the card.
VISA / MasterCard / Maestro / Switch
On the signature strip there will be SEVEN digits. The first FOUR digits are the LAST FOUR on the front of the card. The next THREE are the Security Code.
American Express
On the front of the card, just above the card number is a FOUR digit number. This is the Security code on an AMEX. Out of interest, the back of the card has the full card number on the security strip but no security digits.
VISA / MasterCard / Maestro / Switch
On the signature strip there will be SEVEN digits. The first FOUR digits are the LAST FOUR on the front of the card. The next THREE are the Security Code.
American Express
On the front of the card, just above the card number is a FOUR digit number. This is the Security code on an AMEX. Out of interest, the back of the card has the full card number on the security strip but no security digits.
Caller ID on outbound calls
Long before Ofcom's rules I always suggested to call centres to display Caller ID, particularly if you are dialling mobile numbers. This is a fantastic tool for both reassuring customers (especially on telesales calls) but also for inbound lead generation from missed calls.
Make sure you answer the 1471 calls though, and that the lines are open during the same period you are actually making outbound calls. There's nothing more unprofessional to a customer than having a missed call at 7:30pm then ring back to hear the company closes at 5pm!
In terms of volume for every 1000 non-answered calls you make (this is No Answer and Answer Machines that actually rang) you should expect at least 200 calls back. Ringing out on an 08xx number provides a much lower response rate than dialling out on an 01xx or 02xx number.
Avoid 0800 numbers. While you think you are doing the customer a favour, try ringing an 0800 number back from a mobile. Depending on the network you'll either get a recorded message telling you the call is about to cost you or telling you to redial with the "0" and be charged a special rate. Customers may well think the message is coming from your centre and/or is a scam. My strong recommendation is to use a real number based where you are.
Make sure you answer the 1471 calls though, and that the lines are open during the same period you are actually making outbound calls. There's nothing more unprofessional to a customer than having a missed call at 7:30pm then ring back to hear the company closes at 5pm!
In terms of volume for every 1000 non-answered calls you make (this is No Answer and Answer Machines that actually rang) you should expect at least 200 calls back. Ringing out on an 08xx number provides a much lower response rate than dialling out on an 01xx or 02xx number.
Avoid 0800 numbers. While you think you are doing the customer a favour, try ringing an 0800 number back from a mobile. Depending on the network you'll either get a recorded message telling you the call is about to cost you or telling you to redial with the "0" and be charged a special rate. Customers may well think the message is coming from your centre and/or is a scam. My strong recommendation is to use a real number based where you are.
Dropped Call Message - What do you say?
Here is the basic greeting I suggest to call centres who can they customise how they wish:
Make sure the message is clear and well-spoken. I don't see the need to repeat the number in the message as the customer has the Caller ID to redial should they need to.
This is Widgets Ltd. I'm sorry it has not been possible to connect your call at this time. For further information or to opt-out of further communication please ring 0161 000 0000.
Make sure the message is clear and well-spoken. I don't see the need to repeat the number in the message as the customer has the Caller ID to redial should they need to.
What is a Predictive Dialler
To those of you who've never heard of one of these, it's a system that automatically calls people and then connects the call to a call centre agent.
If you think every call you make may not be a live person, but also might be an answerphone, engaged or a bad-number. The IT world came up with the technology that could detect the call outcome and only pass through “live” people.
A “predictive” dialler also understands that making these calls and filtering out non-live contacts is a time-consuming task. So rather than wait for an agent in the call centre to become available and waiting for a call, it tries to “predict” when someone will be available for a call.
As with any form of prediction it sometimes gets things wrong and may have a customer on the phone but no-one to handle the call. When this happens the system will “drop” the call. This is also known as a “Silent Call”.
Si
lent calls have been illegal in the UK since March 2006. Calls which cannot be connected through to a live agent must now play a recorded message informing them of who called them and how they can opt-out of further communication. The purpose of the call does not need to be given in this message and it can not be used as a means of telemarketing.Ofcom Silent Calls Warning
BBC News has covered the recent Ofcom warning to four companies about their use of predictive diallers. These companies have been warned of their failure to comply with March's directive. This is in summary:
- No more than 3% of "live answered" calls can be dropped - that is, not connected through to a live operator.
- Any "dropped" call must be played a message informing them who is calling them and how they can opt-out of further communication (Debt collectors and certain other industries are however not obliged to accept your opt-out)
- Outbound calls must be made with Caller ID. This number must be valid and either be answered live or provide a recorded message as above (i.e. with opt-out rule)
- Calls must ring for a minimum of 15 seconds before being abandoned
- Calls must be connected through to a live operator within 2 seconds of the customer answering
These rules are not hard to abide by and Ofcom has given the industry several months to get it's act together before entering the enforcement stage. I welcome the action of Ofcom in sending a clear message to outbound call centres that they must play fair. The only thing that slightly disappoints me is they have chased the large corporate call centres which will of course find the investment and change.
You will probably find the named centres abused the rules but you'll probably find a lot of smaller call centres are much worse. I've heard of call centres that target their systems at 50% drop-rate, ring from a withheld number , then hammer the same customers again and again. These are the real culprits and Ofcom should be making clear messages to the smaller centres that they too must fall into line.
Footnote
I think it's interesting to note that 2 of the 4 companies warned use the same technology supplier, which also supplied 50% of the people warned last time. It is also probably interesting to note that supplier does not have anything like 50% of the market.
Callbacks
Call centre managers love to look at FCR (First Call Resolution). It's the ultimate aim of course - to settle the problem within one call. However there's a far bigger problem brewing underneath.
The type of customer who's going to be dealt with through FCR is typically a query, non-serious complaint, sales call. These customers should have been dealt with in one-call anyway - it's a no-brainer. The more problematic queries nearly always require consultation or investigation which means inevitably a call back - and that's where the real problem starts.
I'm not even talking about the time it takes to investigate, resolve, re-investigate or consult. I'm talking about the dirty word of "I'll call you back". Do you provide a time line for the callback? And more importantly do you call them back when you say you will. Failure to call a customer back is often more irritating to the customer than the original query or complaint. The fatal "you said you'd call me back but you didn't" line is made even worse when that follow up call from the customer leads to yet another callback. What confidence do you think the customer has in receiving that call?
It's essential for any call centre to have a ticketing or case system . It's important that every call regardless of how petty or short is logged and that someone actually monitors the tickets to ensure that everything is not just resolved but is done so in a timely manner. It could simply be an Excel spreadsheet with the customer's name, contact number, issue notes and whether it has been resolved or not - you don't need to spend a fortune on a full-blown CRM or Helpdesk application.
The type of customer who's going to be dealt with through FCR is typically a query, non-serious complaint, sales call. These customers should have been dealt with in one-call anyway - it's a no-brainer. The more problematic queries nearly always require consultation or investigation which means inevitably a call back - and that's where the real problem starts.
I'm not even talking about the time it takes to investigate, resolve, re-investigate or consult. I'm talking about the dirty word of "I'll call you back". Do you provide a time line for the callback? And more importantly do you call them back when you say you will. Failure to call a customer back is often more irritating to the customer than the original query or complaint. The fatal "you said you'd call me back but you didn't" line is made even worse when that follow up call from the customer leads to yet another callback. What confidence do you think the customer has in receiving that call?
It's essential for any call centre to have a ticketing or case system . It's important that every call regardless of how petty or short is logged and that someone actually monitors the tickets to ensure that everything is not just resolved but is done so in a timely manner. It could simply be an Excel spreadsheet with the customer's name, contact number, issue notes and whether it has been resolved or not - you don't need to spend a fortune on a full-blown CRM or Helpdesk application.
The 0870 Con
It’s frustrating to see the increasing number of companies using 0870 numbers not just for support, but also for general customer service and even sales. To the customer these are an irritation – with consumers now using their mobiles the majority of the time such calls are costing them up to 40p/minute.
However back last year Ofcom did start the ball rolling to move 0870 back to where it was – so it really is a “national” call. So it really is puzzling to me why so many companies are still using / deploying them. Are they aware that those few pence of revenue are soon to disappear? Will that really break the bank? If not, why use them in the first place.
I strongly believe in companies providing real (e.g. 0161/020) or freephone numbers instead of these special Non-Geographic (NGN) numbers. The cost to the business is negligible - geographic numbers are free and 0800 numbers even for low-volume is around 2p/min mark. The number of customers who won’t call you because you have an 0870 number or won’t put up with any form of a queue.
Take a real example. I bought a product from Supplier A, and I don’t like it. I look for customer service number and I see an 0870 number. I know from experience that calling that number will cost me a lot of money. I might even try it, sit in a queue for 5 minutes then give up and just return the product.
Let’s say I bought the exactly same product Supplier B and also didn’t like it. I saw they had a freephone number so gave them a call. Even if I was on hold for 5 minutes I didn’t mind so much – it wasn’t that the call was costing me, and the fact it’s a freephone number means they could actually care? The customer service team found out why I didn’t like the product, managed to find the correct product for me and offered to swap the products. Not just a saved sale, but also a happy customer.
Supplier A might have the best customer service department in the world, but unless they get the fundamentals right they won’t succeed as well as Supplier B. Total cost to Supplier B? 10 minute call at 2p/min = 20p. If someone came to you and said you can reduce your return rate by 50% for just 20p per sale I think I know what your answer would be.
Footnote
Even more interesting thoughts are on the new Ofcom rules will affect 0871 – the more expensive cousin. These are now to be regulated as Premium Rate which is what they really are. Also investigated were 0845 “local” numbers. These again are simply a revenue generator for the call centres. However these aren’t changing mainly due to the Internet Service Provider’s heavy reliance on them to provide “free” or next-to-nothing Internet connections.
However back last year Ofcom did start the ball rolling to move 0870 back to where it was – so it really is a “national” call. So it really is puzzling to me why so many companies are still using / deploying them. Are they aware that those few pence of revenue are soon to disappear? Will that really break the bank? If not, why use them in the first place.
I strongly believe in companies providing real (e.g. 0161/020) or freephone numbers instead of these special Non-Geographic (NGN) numbers. The cost to the business is negligible - geographic numbers are free and 0800 numbers even for low-volume is around 2p/min mark. The number of customers who won’t call you because you have an 0870 number or won’t put up with any form of a queue.
Take a real example. I bought a product from Supplier A, and I don’t like it. I look for customer service number and I see an 0870 number. I know from experience that calling that number will cost me a lot of money. I might even try it, sit in a queue for 5 minutes then give up and just return the product.
Let’s say I bought the exactly same product Supplier B and also didn’t like it. I saw they had a freephone number so gave them a call. Even if I was on hold for 5 minutes I didn’t mind so much – it wasn’t that the call was costing me, and the fact it’s a freephone number means they could actually care? The customer service team found out why I didn’t like the product, managed to find the correct product for me and offered to swap the products. Not just a saved sale, but also a happy customer.
Supplier A might have the best customer service department in the world, but unless they get the fundamentals right they won’t succeed as well as Supplier B. Total cost to Supplier B? 10 minute call at 2p/min = 20p. If someone came to you and said you can reduce your return rate by 50% for just 20p per sale I think I know what your answer would be.
Footnote
Even more interesting thoughts are on the new Ofcom rules will affect 0871 – the more expensive cousin. These are now to be regulated as Premium Rate which is what they really are. Also investigated were 0845 “local” numbers. These again are simply a revenue generator for the call centres. However these aren’t changing mainly due to the Internet Service Provider’s heavy reliance on them to provide “free” or next-to-nothing Internet connections.
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