How smartphones are making customer care hi-tech

BANGALORE: Indian enterprises are increasingly using touch-enabled smartphones and data analytics tools to transform traditional call centre work, reducing workload on staff and claiming significantly improved customer satisfaction levels. 

By integrating traditional voice support with real-time support through smartphones, enterprises are encouraging a form of self-service, sometimes without any human intervention. 

That is being supplemented through predictive analytics to improve efficiency and sometimes forecast outcomes of interaction between a customer and a support executive. At India's second-largest private lender HDFC Bank, for instance, a customer applying for a loan only has to submit account credentials through a smartphone using the bank's customer-support platform. 

The system, which incorporatesinformation pertaining to the customer, will analyse the credit background instantly and accept the application through the touch-based screen on the mobile phone. Using predictive analytics tools, the system also offers new services to existing customers based on their previous credit history. 

"Potentially, a man with a smartphone will have the same capabilities as an entire bank branch. Automated technologies can liberate the workforce currently engaged in primary call centres to participate in more productive activities which are higher on the value chain," said Nishant Singh, chief executive officer and founder of Noida-based customer relationship management firm CRMnext, which helped HDFC Bank create this service. 

A recent survey by technology market researcher Gartner indicated that there would be a 60-85 % drop in call volumes when such automated self-service options are made available to customers. First piloted by a few banks, these tools are now being widely used by insurance companies and information technology firms. 

Tata AIA Insurance and Reliance Capital are among other firms that are adopting similar technologies to improve customer care. Thanks to increased adoption of touch-based phones, more service providersCRMnext are offering innovative customer service ideas to clients. 

For instance, Silicon Valley-based 24/7 has developed a single platform which integrates speech, touch and visual display. 

"These solutions can provide cost savings to enterprises by requiring fewer human agents," said PV Kannan, cofounder and CEO of 24/7 Inc, who claimed that service efficiency of clients improved by 50-75 % due to the adoption of visual and speech technologies. 

Even companies that are not traditionally into customer service management are now keen on developing new platforms in this space. Corporations such as Convergys and Accenture have devised automated self-service platforms for various services hoping these would become the predominant form of customer engagement in the near future. 

While the advantages of automated platforms are plenty, experts caution that it is too early to rule out human interaction as an integral part of customer care. 

"According to best estimates, 50-60 % of feedback calls still go through to human agents at contact centres," said Praveen Sengar of Gartner, adding that many customers still prefer that 'human touch' while resolving their problems. But optimistsCRMnext's Singh says the adoption of 4G technology will reduce the cost of internet connectivity, thus allowing automated mobile phone and internet based customer services to permeate into more areas, including rural markets.