VoiceObjects Optimizes Customer Service at Proximus
Multilingualism and detailed analysis features provided by the VoiceObjects solution convince Belgian mobile operator
Bergisch Gladbach, October 9th 2008 — VoiceObjects, the personalized phone self-service company, has further expanded its customer base in Europe. Proximus, a subsidiary of Belgacom and the biggest mobile operator in Belgium with over 4 million customers, has selected the phone application server software suite from VoiceObjects to optimize its customer service. The deployment of VoiceObjects technology has enabled Proximus to reduce development and maintenance costs for its telephone portal and at the same time improve the caller experience for its customers.
Proximus processes 50,000 calls a day in its three call centers. To help deal with the ever-growing volume of calls, the mobile operator needed an automated, personalized self-service solution that would enable individualized customer support along with a low total cost of ownership. After previous experiences with a proprietary IVR system, whose operation and configuration required huge amounts of specialized knowledge, the only kind of system appropriate for Proximus was an automated dialog system based on open standards. The company looked at various providers in the search for a suitable system. A major requirement was multilingualism: as a minimum, the system had to support the official Belgian languages of German, French and Dutch, as well as English. VoiceObjects convinced Proximus that with a well thought-out layer concept, voice user interfaces (VUIs) could be created in several languages with reasonable ease. In addition, the solution’s low-maintenance, low-administration features, which in daily deployment result in considerable time and cost-savings, scored points. Comprehensive references and in-depth knowledge of the telecommunications sector confirmed Proximus’ decision. VoiceObjects partner NG-Solution, one of the leading CTI (computer telephony integration) consulting companies in Belgium, was responsible for implementing the solution.
Now, before callers are connected to a call center agent, the self-service phone portal carries out a pre-qualification. In this way, Proximus service center staff is no longer burdened with the task of dealing with standard questions and have more time to concentrate on advisory and sales-generating services. The VoiceObjects technology enables flexible, dynamic menus, which adapt to the requirements and experiences of the caller. In addition, via the automated self-service phone portal, customers can check their account balance, get invoicing information, report stolen or lost mobile phones and SIM cards or check tariffs. Moreover, Proximus also has the option of carrying out surveys via the service hotline. Users are prompted to choose between four languages at the start of a call. The system saves each customer’s preference. Automated call number identification enables language selection to be omitted for subsequent calls.
For analyses and evaluation of caller data, Proximus deploys VoiceObjects Analyzer, a component of the phone application server software suite. Linked to Proximus’ business intelligence solution, the application supplies detailed information on caller behavior, system performance and recognition results. This means the mobile operator is able to further develop applications on an on-going basis and constantly improve the quality of calls. At Proximus, professional technical support is no longer necessary to deal with changes to different system applications. Administrators can change settings within a few minutes in real time.
“Since the VoiceObjects solution has been deployed at Proximus, our call center staff has worked much more productively. The services implemented disburden our agents enormously, as simple but time-consuming queries are transferred straight to the portal for processing,” explains Philip Vermoens, Manager of the Service Channel Products division at Proximus. “In addition, we were able to make radical cost reductions and reduce the time we had to spend on adapting the system hitherto. Thanks to VoiceObjects, we are now in a position to increase customer retention and at the same time optimize service costs per customer.”
VoiceObjects CTO Michael Codini adds, “Against the background of saturated markets, mobile operators like Proximus must step up their concentration on customer retention. VoiceObjects supplies companies with innovative self-service technologies that provide high-quality interactions and significantly improve the call experience for customers.”
Further information on VoiceObjects can be found at: www.voiceobjects.com.
About VoiceObjects
VoiceObjects is redefining automated phone-based customer service for global 500 enterprises and mobile carriers. By delivering personalized self-service solutions, VoiceObjects enables organizations to enhance each user experience, integrate phone self-service into comprehensive customer service strategies and manage phone self-service applications residing on VoiceXML-based IVR platforms. VoiceObjects is used by leading companies including Adobe, Hershey’s, T-Mobile, Vodafone and Volkswagen Financial Services, providing personalized customer service experiences to more than 500 million callers each year. VoiceObjects is privately held and headquartered in San Mateo, CA. For more information visit www.VoiceObjects.com
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