The call centre industry works much harder on the realisation of brand dialogue than traditional brands. Simple inquiries will often be handled by an automated system whilst more complex inquiries will be dealt with by the help desk. Call centre employees are ever better trained and more expert, they are helped by all sorts of tools which ensure the inquiry is dealt with as efficiently as possible. Location intelligence provides call centre employees with demographic and geographical information about the caller. The time of day (dependant on the time zone), the local weather, the area in which he lives, economic conditions, important sporting events, public transport strikes, threats of war: all sorts of factors that can influence the conversation. Whether someone is calling from a mobile or a land line can give an indication of the situation that the caller is currently in, as well as indication how much time the caller is likely to have.

The technology will also make it possible to evaluate the callers state of mind, by analysing the speech for speed, volume, rhythm and key words. The information is used to give the employee tips on how to handle angry, excited, disappointed, pleased or impatient customers.

The predecessors of this technology are word spotting systems that analyse the words a customer uses to asses how he feels about the company, the service, or a specific product. In this way it is also possible to use this information to see if marketing and PR campaigns have influenced the words chosen by customers. A simple example: after a change of name how long do customers keep using the old name? When a customer file is created notes can be added so that customers who are often react angrily or aggressively can automatically be connected to employees who have been trained to deal with their behaviour.

With the help of the customer information, history and demographic information the system will also give tips about which products any given customer may be interested in purchasing. The software can use the information available to determine the social circumstances of the caller and what their interests are likely to be. The voice analysis decides if it is appropriate to offer additional products or services during the conversation.

Voice analysis and, when it becomes available, analysis of live image connection will help insurers to detect if a customer is trying making a fraudulent claim. Although this will never offer a 100% guarantee, comparisons with earlier conversations would be able to show that the caller is more nervous than usual. The call centre worker will be able to ask additional questions to check the status of the claim. Voice recognition will also provide proof that the caller is who he says he is.

These techniques will also be used to improve the quality of the service provided to customers. It is possible that employees who receive more angry reactions from customers than is average are making mistakes in the way they handle their customers. Certain forms of questioning can provoke negative reactions, whilst making the right comment at the right moment can change the tone of a conversation, resulting in a more positive response. The software helps the employee to say the right thing at the right moment.

(via mb)

Related trends

• Brand-dialogue

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