It has been said that data has become the world’s most valuable resource – even more valuable than oil, because of its potential to revolutionise the way we do business. Just as oil and the internal combustion engine revolutionised transportation for every sector and industry, the application of big data to help drive cost savings and improve efficiency is practically limitless in any business environment, when applied creatively.
The state of technology today means that a business’s customers have access to thousands of options when seeking out a product or service, and access to other customer reviews of each business at the click of a mouse. Customer service – as one of the only remaining available avenues for a business to differentiate itself – is at the forefront of the data revolution. Businesses in every sphere of operation are frantically seeking out ways to use the insights gathered from big data, to maintain their competitive edge and retain customer loyalty – and for a large organisation, that means applying data in the contact centre.
Data gleaned from customers is everywhere. In a stock-standard working environment, it is being gathered and recorded in many ways throughout the day, from call recordings and email archives to website enquiries and social media reviews. The contact centre is responsible for generating much of this data, but the difficulty comes in sorting, organising, processing and extrapolating that data into something meaningful – an actionable insight that can tangibly improve the customer experience and the ability of contact centre agents to immediately meet the customers’ specific requirements.
A big part of keeping your customers happy is the ability to predict their needs. That’s why a modern data management system is vital. Automated analysis of voice calls can enhance performance of call centres by measuring and shortening call-waiting times. Speech analytics can offer insights into agents’ ability to reach resolutions to customers’ problems quickly and professionally. Depending on the business involved, a fully digitised contact centre means that many tasks can also be entirely automated, saving precious hours of labour on mundane tasks, like providing order and delivery status updates via phone, or appointment reminders over text or email. It also opens up the option of exploring the utilisation of RPA’s (robotic process automation) to further streamline mundane tasks that don’t have to be performed by live agents.
All of this has one end goal in mind – to personalise the customer experience to never-before-seen levels, while freeing up even more time and resources in the contact centre. Providing agents with instant, updated and highly relevant information on their customers is one of the best ways to accurately anticipate exactly what each caller wants, and to provide it in a way that creates an outstanding customer experience.
Contact centre data management has become so pervasive and multifunctional over the past few years, that many organisations have difficulty grasping all the ways it can streamline their customer service operations. For this reason, it is essential to deal with experienced and knowledgeable providers, who can guide them through the variety of applications available today and to make the right choices regarding the features that would be most valuable to their business and their customers.
At Innovation Group, we have built our success on helping our clients achieve just that. We aim to create and implement cutting-edge digital management systems that bring business processes into greater harmony with people’s lives, to improve the customer experience, save time, and open the possibility for insight and better planning for the future.
Karin Kruger, Operations Director: Innovation Group
Randburg, South Africa – July 19, 2017 –Innovation Group (Pty) Ltd, today announced the appointment of Drew Schnehage as Commercial Director.
Drew brings over 28 years business experience to Innovation Group, including strategic planning and execution, business plan execution and executive leadership. Having spent the majority of her career within financial services and insurance industry, Drew has a passion for the industry and making a notable change. She currently serves as Ambassador for the Insurance Institute of Gauteng (IIG) and also served four years on the South African Underwriting Managers Association (SAUMA) council.
“We are pleased to welcome Drew to Innovation Group,” said Andries van Staden, Managing Director. “Her background in the financial services and insurance industry and her proven track record in organisational growth will stand her in good stead as we evolve and grow our business.”
Economic uncertainty seems to be the buzzword on every South African’s lips these days. While individuals review their insurance premiums and take a closer look at their food and travel budgets, businesses, too, are looking for ways to keep the lights on with the prospect of dwindling international investment hanging over their heads.
The good news is that for many companies, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) can go a long way toward tightening the corporate belt – without leading to job losses or restricting cash-flow – while precarious markets stabilise and the effects of South Africa’s recent ratings downgrade begin to subside.
With increasing interest from local and international organisations, South Africa’s BPO sector is thriving, and could well prove to be South African businesses’ saving grace when it comes to streamlining operations without downsizing. A report by Deloitte reveals that telecommunications and data services are some of the most commonly outsourced functions and that South Africa’s struggling rand is making our shores a more attractive prospect for international companies who are intent on cutting costs. And on the local level, the advantages of a strong BPO sector are even more promising. Deloitte’s report asserts that the sector contributes R50 million to South Africa’s annual GDP and provides employment for 215,000 people.
In fact, BPO has been identified as one of the best ways for South Africa to shift its priorities to better suit our economic downturn. So much so that the government has framed BPO as a vital tool against recession, a buffer against the country sliding backwards into even more desperate levels of joblessness and economic stagnation.
Speaking to CNBC Africa at the Business Process Service Action Lab in Johannesburg, Gauteng Premier David Makhura recently extolled the abilities of BPO to help fight unemployment through partnerships between business and government.
“We have a powerful presence of CEOs and BPO companies, many of whom are global companies or local companies with a global footprint. They are already providing back-office services all over the world, and we have forty such companies here today, led by their most senior representatives. They have made commitments to working with the government in promoting Gauteng as a preferred BPO destination, to help address youth unemployment and attract investment in our economy.”
As previously mentioned, communications and contact centres are particularly popular BPO options, helping international companies cut costs and offer better levels of service (Durban is a particularly popular choice with multinationals). On a local level, South African companies can reduce their operating costs, protect their customer-base, and free up precious resources by outsourcing these labour-intensive and time-consuming functions to the people that do it best.
And BPO holds far greater potential than just helping business cut costs in tough economic times. Outsourcing certain business processes allow a business to transform their costs from fixed to variable, refocus their resources from peripheral to mission-critical, and improve their competitiveness through innovative enhancements to their customer service.
Companies from every sector are now beginning to see the importance of including BPO in their corporate strategies to help them weather our current economic storm, which threatens to wash even the larger and more established players away.
Andries van Staden, Managing Director, Innovation Group South Africa
Our world is built on information. There are unimaginable amounts of data pouring in from every direction, just waiting to be analysed, and put to good use. Whilst data was once limited in volume, well-structured and easy to use, the massive amount of data generated today is unstructured and complex to analyse. For businesses with the courage to tackle it head on, Big Data holds untold potential for driving business forward.
Data is constantly generated from smart technologies, sensors, mobile devices, social media interactions, and thousands of other sources. Since much is generated by analysis of personal habits, preferences and behaviours, it can be used to form actionable insights to help businesses form more specific, targeted, and personalised engagement strategies.
Here are just four areas where, if applied properly, Big Data can translate into big business success:
Data-driven businesses need to be agile. Key decision makers need to be able to rapidly change course in response to shifting business trends. Doing so would be impossible without access to the data that enables informed, sound decision-making in real time. Basing these decisions on month-end reports, bills and financial statements is nowhere near fast enough to provide the kind of flexibility that today’s businesses need to be capable of. Quick decision-making is the key to operational efficiency, and Big Data is the fuel that drives it.
What if you could free up your business, its employees, and a large part of its operating capacity just by making a few tweaks? Big Data and predictive analytics can help you achieve it. Using historical information on your business’s operations, systems and processes, bottlenecks can be quickly identified and attended to. Decision makers can now easily spot where materials and efforts are inefficient and improve these processes to run optimally.
Before the advent of big data, information about the various departments within an organisation were isolated in silos that limited internal communication and collaboration. Gone are the days of looking at data sources one at a time to yield small answers. Big Data draws information from a broad range of sources and all corners of an organisation, including customer relationships, purchase histories, competitors, partners, social media and many more. Thanks to Big Data analytics platforms, corporate information can easily be shared across all levels and departments of an organisation, enabling them to work collaboratively, share insights and formulate aligned strategies that drive results.
There are many benefits to using Big Data in the development of new products and services. Businesses can create products that appeal to and increases value to their customers, mitigate product launch risks, and manage product development resources more efficiently. With the ability to rapidly develop products and services, businesses can better serve their customers and attract new ones based on their preferences.
Big Data continues to prove itself to be an extremely powerful tool for those organisations with the foresight to embrace it. Investing in the necessary IT architecture and infrastructure, staff training and development of a data-driven company culture, will give organisations the competitive advantage in information-driven markets and enjoy sustainable, profitable growth for years into the future.
Andries van Staden, Managing Director: Innovation Group South Africa.
No one wants to be left stranded on the side of the road during the Easter period due to a mechanical vehicle fault. More so, nobody wants to deal with the unforeseen costs of having to pay for these damages. Fortunately, automotive value-add products can mitigate the potentially exorbitant out-of-pocket costs that you can incur. “Last year we saw claims starting at around R5 000 and reaching a staggering R50 000,” says Andries van Staden Managing Director: South Africa, Innovation Group. “In fact, last year, there was an average of 557 claims during the Easter period.”
Innovation Group manages critical incidents in the car and home on behalf of the world’s leading insurers, brokers and fleet managers, together with warranty and service plan provision for many automotive manufacturers globally.
Even with comprehensive vehicle insurance and value-add products, no one should be subjected to the frustration and danger of an unforeseen mechanical failure. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive checklist for everything that you need to know about travelling long distance.
There’s more to tyres than pressure, although that is definitely worth checking. But be sure to also check the tread on your tyres. Worn tyres compromise road traction, as well as your ability to brake. Wheel alignment is another important check, and we recommend that you ask a tyre expert before undertaking any road trips to avoid undue accidents or breakdowns.
Whether you use coolant or plain old tap water, it’s important that you top up before travelling long distance. Without sufficient fluids to keep your engine cool, you could cause very serious, expensive damage to the engine.
Oil is just as important to check. A lack of lubrication will quickly reduce your engine to scrap metal, so be sure to check your oil. Finally, make sure your fan belt and hoses are in working order.
Cellphones increase your chance of having an accident by as much as 400%. So, no matter how tempted you are, you should not be using your cellphone on the road.
With your depth perception and vision compromised, every hazard on the road becomes that much more dangerous at night. Before leaving on your trip, be sure to check that your car’s exterior lights work properly – front and rear, reverse, brake lights and high beams. When driving, keep a fair distance between you and the car in front of you, and always be on alert.
By ensuring these items are in your car, you can avoid all sorts of nasty circumstances:
Now that you’re ready to go, we want to wish you, from everyone at Innovation Group, safe travels over the Easter period.
Andries van Staden, Managing Director: Innovation Group South Africa.
Millennials and the technology-infused world, in which they live and work, are without a doubt creating a stir within the traditional customer engagement model. New, future-thinking models of engagement are needed if brands are hoping to claim their slice of the Millennial Pie.
Generally well educated and socio-culturally diverse, Millennials will soon be the largest consumer segment. According to research, approximately 58% of Millennials prefer unique goods over mass produced products and 87% have their phones by their side every second of the day. They require different styles and means of communication, as well as individually targeted relevance from customer service agents, or they’ll take their business elsewhere.
The race is on to formulate a customer engagement strategy that focuses on a population segment that trusts social media influencers’ more than traditional brand and advertising tactics. Here’s how forward thinking businesses today are updating their contact centre strategy for the Millennial Generation:
Millennials are inundated by direct marketing initiatives on a daily basis, ranging from cold-calls to SMSs, emails, or social media advertising. Too much exposure can inevitably lead to desensitisation and your contact centre’s efforts are more likely to be ignored especially if you have not tailored it to the unique needs of the Millennial. When approached with an offer or dealing with a customer service issue, this generation is more likely to favourably engage with a brand if the message is tailored around their individual needs and requirements. The perceived value from the interaction is derived from the personalisation of the message or customer service interaction and not the actual product or service. Technology is able to provide this type of personalisation through big data processing and automated market segmentation, ultimately leading to more relevant messaging and more interested and engaged customers for those businesses who apply this.
Leading companies are increasingly funnelling customer contacts through their digital channels based on the type of query. They are also using proactive contact during complex interactions to ensure the customer’s issue is resolved efficiently and timeously. Whilst the dominant thinking a few years ago was that allowing customers to reach you on any channel, the future thinking for today’s leading contact centres is to move away from a multichannel strategy, to a “right channel” strategy. Here, customers are guided to the most appropriate channel for their query. Whether through voice contact, intelligent online FAQs, social media or live video chat, every query is dealt with in the manner that is most likely to lead to a quick and agreeable resolution for the customer and on a channel that meets their requirements.
In addition to adopting the “right channel” approach, modern-day businesses are proactively contacting customers who need help during complex online processes. Customers who spend longer periods of time on a web page are proactively offered contact through a “voice” interaction, via a live chat channel – the perfect merging of technological efficiency and the warmth of the human touch.
At the end of the day, the shift towards a more interactive engagement strategy allows businesses the opportunity to provide the right type of customer support that today’s “switched-on generation” and the generation that come after them require. It allows customers to be communicated with on their own terms and to have their needs met more quickly and efficiently than ever before. With more and more options for innovation in the contact centre, those who are quick to embrace the resources that technology offers are perfectly positioned to gain the competitive edge.
The vast amount of data generated and collected each day is staggering, and data’s ability to align and grow companies within any single industry – even across industries – is truly unprecedented. Innovation Groups’ Andries van Staden discusses Big Data.
Data is prolific; it’s ubiquitous and pertains to virtually every aspect of life and its ability to offer additional value to customers – and, in turn, the industry’s ability to leverage it – is extraordinary. The trouble is effectively collating raw data across multiple industries and platforms and transforming it into useful analytics. But despite the challenges, the future is Big Data.
In the auto insurance business, for example, the ability to ascertain a driver’s driving habits in real-time enables insurers to offer more accurate premiums, based on their unique risk profile. And the vast sum of data that can be accrued from across industries – insurance, health, law enforcement and automotive – will significantly improve the ability to accurately predict the likelihood of a claim. This will greatly aid Insurers in the calculation of loss ratios and the pricing of premiums.
Across industries, data gathered through ever-lengthening longitudinal studies would go a long way to inform improved car design and innovative safety features. Authorities would be notified of an accident or infringement instantaneously over a wide area network like LoRa. And the real-time telematics, concerning driver performance, engine performance and the health of the vehicle might alert a contact centre to a potential problem, who then contacts the driver over a built-in hands-free device to notify the driver of the imminent problem.
Of course, Big Data will also prove indispensable to mastering AI implementation – in self-driving cars, city planning, health, finance and virtually all of industry. But it will also allow industry to optimise systems, extract expense, more accurately segment markets and crucially, improve customer experiences and offer more customer-centric products and services.
Data sharing needs to be used to monitor customer feedback at every point of the sales journey, to allow for optimisation and innovation. And it’s needed to create an almost powerful omnichannel experience, since it costs significantly more to earn a new customer than it does to retain an existing one.
The rise of Big Data will force industry to continuously innovate and disrupt the market with new services and products, to keep pace with customer buying habits.
It’s going to take a lot of work to initially implement – to master data security, relevancy and redundancy, migrate away from legacy systems into the cloud, and to adopt a far less siloed approach between businesses and across industries. POPI also means that compliance is going to be more of a focus than ever, and sharing data won’t be as simple as uploading it to the cloud for all to access.
The potential for substantial return on investment – more than other innovations has made prior – will far outweigh the risks and expenses. It will require that industries come together, to form holistic alliances and partnerships and share data in a way that has never been done before. Ultimately, the future of Big Data is a bright one, filled with unfathomable potential.
Andries van Staden, Managing Director Innovation Group South Africa.
Big data is an immense collection of different types of data that can be mined for information. This information can then be combined and analysed by businesses to find ways to improve profit and performance. The contact centre plays a major role in this process, because for most businesses, it’s the only human touch point they have with their customers. This will become self-evident in the discussion on the benefits of big data in the consumerisation of the insurance industry.
The contact centre is no longer limited to voice-calls. The versatility of big data means that everything from customer on-boarding documentation and web-browsing click-stream data to auto telematics, geo-spatial data and social media interactions can be lumped together for convenient analysis.
The result is improved customer profiles, enabling businesses to offer their customers a more personalised service. This is why insurers may offer rewards for the opportunity to track their individual customers’ information, such as cash back on fuel spend or value added services for integrating different insurance packages.
The insurance industry is dependent on data, using predictive and statistical modelling to make accurate risk assessments. This means the more customer data an insurer has access to, the more effective they can become at product segmentation per individual, so they can offer each customer exactly what they want and need from the company.
Contact centres play a major role in this regard, which is why there has been an influx in emerging contact centre trends to push the envelope of customer engagement. These include migrating to the cloud, utilising bigger and better data analysis tools and real-time
communication, adopting an omni-channel approach, embracing the Internet of Things, gamification and even sometimes transitioning to a hosted contact centre that can ensure companies are getting the most out of their contact centres.
This leads to ultimate customer satisfaction and retention as a result, because the customer does not have to sift through mountains of information or go through extensive procedures to get what they need from the company. It also allows insurers to identify gaps in their product offerings to address and improve upon.
Another huge trend gripping the contact centre industry right now is using social media as an impactful channel of communication for customer retention and growth, seeing as the greater majority of people prefers to interact in this way.
From an insurance perspective, many motor insurers offer telemetry-based packages, where hardware is installed into the customer’s vehicle to track their driving information and behaviour. If they are aware that their actions are being monitored, they are more likely to drive carefully, which will benefit them in the form of lower premiums.
By the same token, if customers are aware that their engagement with their insurer translates into improved offerings via big data analytics, they will be far more likely to willingly offer up any information, contributing further to their insurer’s big data stockpile.
There is of course the apprehension that insurers are out to gather data that will adversely affect the customer if known. It seems the model here is to reward the good and not necessarily punish the bad in order to drive the right behaviour.
Lastly, companies need to be cautious of overestimating big data. It alone cannot streamline interaction with customers. It requires optimal processing power, analytic capabilities, interpretation skills, and as a result, it means finding the right partner to optimise the process and information.
