Online Retailers and Call Centres Reduce Customer Service Costs With Eptica

Eptica launch low risk, short commitment business terms for Web Self-service and Email Management

Eptica has today introduced low risk, short commitment business terms for its web self-service and email management solutions, to help organisations achieve tough cost reduction targets in the economic downturn. According to Eptica, delivering an effective strategy for managing online ‘Help' and ‘Contact Us' is fast becoming a critical differentiator for online retailers - many of whom are under pressure to improve sales and customer service with fewer resources.

“Valuable margin and goodwill is eroded when online customers are forced to use other channels to find information. When customers can't find the answers they want on the website, the company risks losing their interest,” comments Dee Roche, European marketing director, Eptica.

“Consumers have infinite choices and will engage with the companies that provide what they want, this includes good service. Companies need to work smart to balance customer satisfaction and cost reduction. New customer service technology needs to provide a fast return on investment, be quick and painless to implement, and offer flexible business terms should the dynamics of the business change,” adds Roche.

Eptica Self-service allows customers who prefer to interact online to find the information they need easily without having to make a phone call or send their questions by email. Around 80% of routine sales and customer service questions can be answered online at the moment of interest - and crucially, it keeps customers on the web site.

Eptica Email Management will typically reduce email handling time by 60% and repeat emails by 25%. Using Eptica, leading insurance aggregator Confused.com, has been able to handle a 135% increase in customer enquiries while reducing the cost of providing service by half. 99% of inbound enquiries at Confused.com are now processed automatically, whereas these were previously dealt with by phone.

Eptica Self-service and Eptica Email Management are available separately or as a fully integrated service and can be up and running within a month. Eptica Self-service is typically deployed to manage online Help and Contact Us and sits in front of email to reduce inbound contact and improve agent utilisation. This frees agents from routine enquiries, allowing them to focus on high value and more complex customer service issues.

Both systems utilise a self-learning knowledgebase of customer service information. Customers can access information by asking questions using everyday language, key words or browsing. Agents' handling emails are automatically provided with the best reply from a set of pre-scripted answers. Telephone agents can also access the system to improve first contact resolution, reduce resolution time and ensure consistency of answers across all channels - an important consideration for organisations that need to meet quality and compliance targets.

For further information you can join an Eptica webinar on Wednesday 11th February at 11.00am. You can register by visiting www.eptica.com.