Best self-service. Ever.

Customer Service Solutions
Best self-service. Ever.
Best self-service.
Ever.
5 ways to deliver the effortless, intelligent
experiences customers crave.

2
The contact center executive’s catch-22
Over the past few years, a great deal of research has been done to
dissect the customer experience – and understand what truly leads
to loyalty. And what countless studies have found is that it’s about
making things effortless.
Consider this: In today’s world where 78% of customers now take
action after a bad customer experience, such as warning friends
and family, blasting it out on social media, or worse, quit doing
business with the company altogether, delivering an effortless
experience is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s an imperative.
But here’s the twist—or the contact center executive’s catch-22:
to evolve and modernize your contact center to meet these needs,
demonstrating improved experience isn’t enough. You must be able
to show hard ROI.
This is a guide to achieving the seemingly impossible. Inside, we
outline five imperatives for delivering intelligent self-service that will
help you balance the need to reduce costs with the mandate to
improve the customer experience.
Let’s get started.

3
1. Make self-service intuitive
Despite the proliferation of digital self-service channels, the phone is still
one of the most popular ways for customers to contact your company. And,
for most, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system is the first company
representative they reach.
So, what’s their experience like? If the answer is a fast, no-hassle solution to
their problem, you’re likely inspiring their loyalty. If the answer is confusing
menu trees, multi-step authentication and being directed to the wrong
departments – the frustration they experience could be driving them to the
competition.
There’s a very real cost to callers who experience “IVR ire”: 83% of
consumers say that the quality of the IVR experience impacts their
opinion of a company. And 37% say they might decide to stop doing
business with a company altogether after a single bad IVR experience.
Our first recommendation is simple: Start by making your IVR experience
the best it can be—namely easier and more intuitive. You’ll save a fortune by
containing more calls, reducing agent-assisted calls and improving time to
resolution.
Five ire-inducing Interactive Voice Response (IVR) mistakes.1
Too many menu options
Long and confusing prompts
Wrong or inadequate menu
choices
Making it difﬁcult or impossible
to get to an agent
Not carrying context and
content from the IVR to
the agent
Too many menu options
Long and confusing prompts
Wrong or inadequate menu
choices
Making it difﬁcult or impossible
to get to an agent
Not carrying context and
content from the IVR to
the agent
1 Van Bellegham, Steven (2013). Why the
Future of Customer Service Is Self-Service.
Fast Company. Retrieved from: http://
www.fastcompany.com/3013177/creative-
conversations/why-the-future-of-customer-
service-is-self-service
Doing Intuitive Right
Challenge: More than 70% of callers
to Amtrak’s IVR were “zeroing out”
to reach an operator.
Solution: An on-demand, cloud-
based Conversational IVR to
resolve calls more effortlessly, faster.
Results:
54%
54% of calls are now
fully resolved by the IVR,
with no agent assistance
53% increase
in customer
satisfaction
53%
50,000 calls per day
are answered via
automation
50,000
Amtrak Boosts Satisfaction with a Conversational IVR
Read the full story.
“Amtrak Julie has become
a guiding light of sorts for
the thousands of automated
voices that companies use
as first responders to
customers’ inquiries all
over the world.”
Emily Yellin, Author of “Your Call Is
(not that) Important to Us”

4
Here are our top tips for getting started.
–– More natural talking
Today’s leading companies are providing IVR experiences that feel more like
a conversation—allowing callers to use their own words to ask for and get
what they need, instead of requiring them to select from a predefined list of
menu options.
A conversational IVR creates an amazing first impression, helps customers
solve problems faster, and is proven to drive higher sales, increased loyalty
and lower costs.
How does it work? Simple. By leveraging technology like Natural Language
Understanding (NLU) in the IVR, instead of being greeted with a generic
prompt and a dozen menu options, callers hear, “Hello Sandy, how can
I help you?” The caller answers using his or her own words, and the IVR
correctly interprets the request and guides them to resolution in seconds.
(Learn more about NLU on page 6.)
–– Ditch the passwords
Can’t remember your PIN, password, pass phrase, security question
and secret hint answer for all your accounts? Neither can anyone else.
Customers build resentment and frustration as they try to get a fast solution
to a pressing problem — and instead, get stuck in a never-ending loop of
password resets.
The best solution? Get rid of passwords altogether. Leading companies
today are solving this problem with voice biometrics, an easy-to-implement
and highly secure technology that allows customers to use their voice as
their passwords.
It’s faster than traditional authentication, and more secure than alpha-
numeric PINs and passwords. The best part, though, is the savings: On
average, companies using voice biometrics report an average 3-year cost
reduction of $15M.
“The ability for customers
to use their voice to gain
access to their accounts is
an easy and natural process,
allowing the first point of
contact with our bank to be
enjoyable and hassle-free.”
José Ignacio Zorrilla
Executive Director for Multichannel
and Innovation, Banco Santander
Mexico
Doing Intuitive Right
Challenge: With more than 65% of
callers failing authentication, Banco
Santander was wasting valuable
money and negatively impacting
customer satisfaction scores.
Solution: Use customer’s voice
as their password with voice
biometrics.
Results:
Santander Reduces Average Handle Time with Voice Biometrics
53 agents repurposed
at an annual savings
of $1M
$1M
42% reduction
in authentication
time
42%
2015 Bronze Stevie
award recipient
for Innovation in
Customer Service
(Financial Services)

5
2. Get more conversational
“OK Google, where is the nearest gas station?” Just a few years ago,
this type of interaction seemed like a novelty. Today, it’s the new face of
customer service. Consumers can ask their mobile devices a question and
get a quick answer — so why can’t they do the same with the companies
they do business with?
With technology like Natural Language Understanding (NLU), they can.
Instead of listening to menu options, navigating touch tone mazes, and
scrolling through pages of cryptic search results, NLU lets users simply
say what they need — and then routes them to the proper resolution quickly
and painlessly.
With more than 55% of teens and 41% of adults already using voice search
more than once a day, it’s important that you get ahead of changing
consumer expectations instead of playing catch-up.
83% of consumers said that they would prefer the
option of a conversational dialogue with their personal
assistant on their mobile device.
83%
“Through the successful
implementation of
cutting-edge speech
recognition and intelligent
call routing, we’re providing
our customers with the
quality and ease of use
they have come to expect
from New York City.”
Joseph Morrisroe
Executive Director, NYC311
Doing Conversational Right
Challenge: As the popularity of
NYC’s 311 service exploded, the
city needed to increase automation
to handle an increasing call volume,
while delivering an effortless
customer experience.
Solution: Conversational IVR
featuring natural language
Call Steering.
Results:
NYC 311 Evolves IVR to Conversational, Increasing Capacity
and Satisfaction
25% increase in
agent availabilty
25-30% calls contained
within IVR (NYC 311's
call volume rose from
350K per month in 2014 to
540K per month in 2015)
20% increase
in contact center
capability during
high-demand days
25+% 25% 20%

6
The key to success? Understand the intention, not just the words.
As you research NLU technology, look for solutions that go beyond just
“recognizing” words. The most effective, efficient and impactful solutions
are able to identify what the customer is trying to say—or their intent—and
make smart decisions in real-time to speed up problem resolution.
NLU shouldn’t be limited to just phone calls, either. A well-implemented
solution can deliver faster, easier interactions across virtually all of your
interaction channels.
Whether on the phone, on the Web or via a mobile app, NLU and
conversational technologies can:
“We’ve taken advantage
of natural language speech
recognition technology
to better direct our
callers, making it a very
conversational experience.
...we expected to increase
usage of IVR self-service
capabilities by 3%. In fact,
we’ve seen a 6% increase
in automation, far exceeding
our goals.”
Gina Maiden
Managing Director, FedEx
Recognize the meaning of both spoken or typed input.
Remember what customers have already said throughout
the call, so customers are never asked to repeat themselves
or provide duplicate information.
Use appropriate greetings and farewells, and even
understand and properly handle criticisms and compliments.
Determine the intent of the customer, and route or resolve
the matter accordingly.
Ask questions as needed to further clarify ambiguous intent.
Understand what information is needed to complete a task,
and prompt the customer for missing information.
Recognize and correctly interpret slang, mispronunciations
and misspellings, and even grammatically incorrect sentences.

7
3. Provide more personalization
You know your customers pretty well — so why treat every call like it’s the
first time you’ve met? A little personalization across every customer service
channel will go a long way, whether it’s simply greeting a customer by name
or thanking them for their continued patronage.
Our recommendation: Personalize your self-service channels at every
opportunity, to make customers feel welcomed no matter where they go.
As a result, you’ll increase sales, lower costs and help your company stand
out in a competitive marketplace.
A conversational IVR already feels more personal than touch tone menus, so
they’re a great place to start. Adding voice biometric authentication (to let
customers use their voice as their password, instead of PINs and passwords)
takes personalization a step further. For even more personalization — and
a bigger payoff in customer satisfaction and loyalty — you should also
consider:
–– Intelligent virtual assistants are digital personas that deliver personalized
customer service through your Web site or mobile app. Customers simply
ask your virtual assistant for the help they need, and get it — whether it’s
getting a question answered or conducting a transaction.
–– Proactive engagement solutions allow you to better anticipate customer
needs, doing things like sending automatic reminders to customers via text
and phone outreach.
–– Creating a shared data layer between your self-service channels (like your
IVR, Web site, and mobile apps) and related business systems (like CRMs or
loyalty systems) can create even more personalized, consistent and relevant
experiences.
Doing Personalized Right
Challenge: As the popularity of
Windstream’s digital channels
grew, agent-assisted digital
support volume grew 81% from
2010 to 2012.
Solution: An intelligent virtual
assistant – which Windstream
named “Wendy.”
Results:
Windstream Optimizes Agent Utilization by Personalizing
the Web Experience
78% improvement
in ﬁrst contact
resolution
78%
45% reduction
in live support
interactions with
Wendy
45%
24K virtual assistant
conversations
handled each month
24K

8
Finally, a few tips to personalize all of your self-service channels.
1
First, always greet your
customers by name
Never miss this opportunity —
whether it’s on the phone,
on a chat, or via mobile
application. IVR and virtual
assistant technology make
this easy and practical across
all your channels.
3
Lastly, tailor experiences to
ﬁt unique customer needs
Just like your favorite local
restaurant, your IVR and virtual
assistant solutions should
continually learn about your
customers. Leading intelligent
virtual assistants can capture
customer usage data, and
analyze and aggregate it to
provide even more meaningful
customer experiences.
“I see you were
recently logged into
our Website looking
at home loans. Is that
what you are calling
about?”
2
Next, whenever possible,
add some additional
personalization, too
Know your relationship with
your customer and why/how
they communicated with you
recently.
“Thanks for calling
ABC Industries
Greg!”
“Welcome back Greg.
The status of ﬂight 114
from Newark to Atlanta
is unchanged and is
still scheduled to
depart at 2pm from
gate C115. Would you
like me to text you if
the status changes?”

9
4. Anticipate what customers want
The only thing better than solving a problem quickly is solving it proactively.
Many companies are already doing this today, using a combination of
intelligent IVRs and virtual assistants, and proactive outbound messaging
systems.
How does it work? At Southwest Airlines, they use proactive, highly
interactive outbound voice communications to advise travelers of critical
delays or service changes. Customers can confirm flight choices, and even
connect with live service agents as needed.
The results have been amazing. At Southwest, the proactive approach has
reduced transfers to a live agent by 44%. The average call duration for flight
delays has dropped 23%. And they’ve experienced significant improvements
in service and CSAT scores, too.
80% of incidents where customers switch providers
due to poor service could be avoided through better
problem resolution.2
Want to know more about how Southwest is anticipating
their customer’s needs?
2 Accenture, “The $6 Trillion Opportunity:
How Digital Improves Customer Experience”
80%
Read the full story here.

10
No matter what business you’re in, here are four steps you can take to
provide even better, more anticipatory service — and get big business
results in exchange.
Reach out to customers before they call you
Proactive communications go a long way in boosting CSAT scores,
reducing inbound call volume and cutting down on agent-assisted calls.
For example, an insurance company might send a text message to a
customer asking if they would like to renew their policy that expires in
2 weeks, and then connect them to a natural language IVR to explore
their options and complete the transaction.
1
2 Understand the big picture
Connecting your self-service systems to other critical data warehouses
(like billing and usage, for example) will give you a holistic understanding
of your customers, and allow you to anticipate why they are likely calling.
For example, a satellite TV customer who calls your IVR just 10 minutes
after subscribing to a sports package online may be having trouble
accessing the new channels. Greeting the customer with, “Hello, Mr.
Hernandez. Do you require assistance with your new sports subscription?”
takes the customer experience to a new level — and the results will show.
Simplify the experience3
Once you’re armed with the “big picture” view of your customers, you
can streamline their experience even further by presenting only the most
relevant options. For example, a customer who has pre-paid for a year
of service probably isn’t calling to make a payment. So why serve it as a
menu option?
In this step, look for easy-to-identify indicators of why a customer might
be calling or logging onto your mobile app or virtual assistant, and make
it even easier for them to get what they need. Start by looking at common
scenarios that draw from a single data source, like checking the billing
system to see if a payment is past due.
Remember their preferences4
Pretend you are on a date. Asking a question once shows you are
interested, right? But what if you ask the same question twice, or even a
third time? Avoid looking like you aren’t listening by using IVR and virtual
assistant solutions that can remember key customer preferences, and
serve them with relevant options faster.
“The more options we have
to proactively reach our
customers, over their
preferred channel of
communications, the better
we can serve them and rise
above their service level
expectations.”
Fred Taylor,
Senior Manager, Proactive Customer
Communications, Southwest Airlines

11
5. Create consistency across
every channel
To earn a Michelin three-star rating, the world’s top restaurants have to
provide the same amazing food and service with staggering consistency,
time and time again.
The point? No matter what industry you serve, you can’t be great just
“some of the time.” Nowhere is this truer than across your myriad of
self-service channels.
Today’s consumers expect a seamless experience, no matter where they
start or end their self-service journey. They may start a transaction online
and then switch to the phone to finish it — and they don’t want to start
over or repeat themselves needlessly along the way.
65% of consumers are frustrated by inconsistent
experiences across channels.3
In fact, according to Google, 90% of consumers use multiple screens
sequentially to accomplish a task — and 98% move between devices
throughout the same day.
3 Accenture, Global Consumer Pulse Survey
65%
“We must satisfy the
expectations of increasingly
savvy, highly mobile
customers who feel great
service is an entitlement.”
Diane Laurent-Jubin,
Vice-President, Direct Sales and
Service International, France KLM
Doing Cross-Channel Right
Challenge: The passage of new
insurance regulations had eHealth
working to head off signiﬁcant new
call volumes, increasing average
hold times and expensive agent
interactions.
Solution: Multi-channel proactive
engagement – such as texts and
automated calls – to automate
routine communication and
quickly compose and send
ad-hoc messages.
Results:
eHealth Improves Self-Service Completions with a
Consistent Experience
95% customer engagementCustomers love the
proactive approach
94% per message cost savings High levels of CSAT (4.41 out of 5)
95%
94% 4.41

12
To keep your customers coming back, we recommend creating consistency
and connectivity across all of your channels. Here’s how to get started:
Connect your channels so customers can move between them
seamlessly, without having to repeat themselves.
Finally, pay attention to quality, consistency and branding
across every channel, so you present a uniﬁed and tightly
integrated set of solutions—not random, disconnected acts
of service.
Eliminate silos. Customers shouldn’t get different service
levels, answers or experiences because your IVR is a different
department than your online support team. No matter how you
are structured, make sure the customer experience is seamless.
Optimize every channel for the experience it will be delivering.
This means taking advantage of the most helpful features and
ways to interact with each medium. For example, use location
awareness in your mobile application, so customers don’t have
to tell you where they are located. Harness voice capabilities,
so customers don’t have to type or tap when it may be
inconvenient or dangerous to do so.

13
Conclusion
Today’s consumers don’t want ‘good enough.’ In an era where you can
change TV channels with your voice or ride in a self-driving car, why does
your bank still make you push buttons on your phone? Why do you have to
talk to an agent at the cable company, instead of just telling a mobile app
what channels you want to add?
These are the questions customers are asking today. As a contact center
executive or customer experience leader, you’re uniquely positioned to
answer them, and deliver great self-service experiences that drive even
greater returns.
There’s no question that the ROI on effortless self-service is fast and
substantial. The bigger question is who will earn it first — your company,
or your competitors?
To learn more, visit nuance.com or email us at
customerexperienceexperts@nuance.com
Keep these 5 key elements of a modern self-service experience
top of mind.
Intuitive
Understand what was said, by whom and what it means.
Conversational
Engage customers in an intelligent conversation to accomplish tasks.
Personalized
Tailor interactions based on what is known about the customer.
Anticipate
Deliver the data and information customers want, when and where they need it.
Cross-Channel Consistency
Create consistent, seamless experiences across channels and time.
1
2
3
4
5
Best self-service.
Ever.
Hear what an
effortless, intelligent
self-service experience
sounds like.

Copyright © 2016 Nuance Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Nuance, and the Nuance logo, are trademarks and/or
registered trademarks, of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other
brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
NUAN–CS–2642–01–B, Mar 2 2016
About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance Communications is reinventing the relationship between people and technology. Through its voice and
language offerings, the company is creating a more human conversation with the many systems, devices, electronics,
apps and services around us. Every day, millions of people and thousands of businesses experience Nuance through
intelligent systems that can listen, understand, learn and adapt to your life and your work. For more information, please
visit nuance.com.
Here are some recommendations based on your interests in Customer Service Solutions:
- How to Create an IVR that Your Customers Will Love, Not Loathe
- The Millennialization of Customer Service
- Driving Loyalty with Virtual Assistants
- What Do Customers Want? More outreach from companies like yours.

Best self-service. Ever.

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Empfohlen

Empfohlen (20)

Best self-service. Ever.