Services
Delivering a frictionless customer experience across every touchpoint
Percepta’s global contact center programs focus on delivering a frictionless customer experience across every touchpoint, from engaging with customers during the pre-sales decision making stage, to managing and resolving concerns. We operate purely on our client’s premises and this “insourcing” model allows us to work in true partnership to design and deliver each solution, regardless of scale or complexity.
Our expert teams work across multiple channels, in multiple languages and through our strength in recruitment and training, are dedicated to delivering excellence day in day out.
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Multi-Channel Concern Resolution
Delivering a frictionless customer experience is at the heart of everything we do at Percepta. Across each solution that we deliver, we endeavor to focus on driving customer satisfaction and exceeding Client expectations.
We have a philosophy – Brilliant Basics, Magic Touches – which ensures we get the fundamental basics of delivering a customer operation right, while going the extra mile to wow and dazzle our Clients’ customers. Our Centers of Excellence – Customer Relationship Centers (CRCs) – are dedicated to managing customer inquiries and concerns across multiple channels, in multiple languages, until a resolution has been achieved.
Brilliant Basic, Magic Touches – our CRC Case Management Philosophy
Today we deliver multiple CRCs across the globe for our automotive Clients, varying in size from small dedicated teams to large 600+ seat centers (over the course of a month, our Centers can handle in excess of 50,000 calls).
In each Center, our focus is on people; ensuring the satisfaction of our Clients’ customers and empowering our own people to deliver excellence, day in, day out.
Regardless of the channel that customers use to reach us, from telephone and email, to Social Channels and Live Chat, our approach to managing concerns is always the same. Our teams of dedicated customer experts own each case, from the moment the customer contacts us, through to resolution of the concern. And cases are not closed until a resolution has been achieved!
Our teams are empowered to make this their goal, which at times may mean asking the customer to switch their channel of choice (for example, from a Twitter conversation to a telephone call) in order to achieve a quicker resolution. But this must only be done to benefit the customer!
This empowerment means that our people feel they can truly make a difference to the experience of each customer. Throughout the concern resolution process, we keep the customer up to date on progress of their case, ensuring they don’t have to call the Center multiple times. For us, this makes case handling more akin to “project management” of each customer, as opposed to simply “taking a call”. The best possible outcome is a happy customer; one who receives a frictionless experience from the brand.
“…my customer called the Center with a speedometer issue in their car. We got the customer booked back in to her local dealer and ensured they carried out further testing to find the fault and resolve the customer’s concern. The customer then emailed us back to thank us for our help!”
UK Case Manager, Percepta
To truly understand the impact of each Center, we feel that a combination of “Voice of Process” and “Voice of Customer” metrics should be used.
Voice of Process (VoP) metrics are globally recognized contact center measures, from Average Handle Time (AHT) to Aged Case Analysis, which we use to highlight the overall operational performance of each CRC. For example, Aged Case Analysis, which highlights cases unresolved or “open” over a certain period of time, can help us to identify possible roadblocks in our ability to resolve concerns. Yet while VoP metrics help us to measure and track day to day operations, the inclusion of Voice of Customer (VoC) metrics provides a much fuller picture of our Client’s business.
Across each of our Centers, our VoC metrics focus on Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and ensuring each concern and customer case is resolved. This information helps us to understand the impact we have on the customers we serve and deliver a truly frictionless customer experience.
Across the Globe, we have consistently exceeded Clients’ targets for Customer Satisfaction
We believe our Case Management Philosophy and the value we place on key customer metrics is unique. Because of our Brilliant Basics, Magic Touches philosophies, our Clients’ see us as an invaluable part of their business.
16 year partnership with our Global Automotive Client
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Concierge and Inquiries Management
Our passion for serving our Clients’ customers extends across the entire journey each customer has with the brand. Percepta’s Concierge and Inquiries Management services were designed specifically to help those at the very beginning of this journey, when prospective customers are seeking advice or a helping hand before making that all important purchase.
Developing a Customer Concierge Solution
For our Premium automotive Client in the USA, we developed a Concierge solution, on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week to offer support to customers browsing the brand website. Our multi-skilled team speaks directly to customers (if they choose to call the Concierge number) or offers advice and guidance through a Live Chat option. And their one and only task? To help in any way they can.
To deliver a premium service, as expected by our Premium Brand Client, the Concierge agents focus on the quality of each call or chat, and not on the duration of each.
The team host only 1 chat each at any one time.
When a prospective customer is interested in a new vehicle, the Concierge agent will schedule a test drive at the customer’s local dealer and subsequently follows up to see if the test drive went to plan. Similarly, when advice is needed to resolve a concern, our Concierge agents become a single point of contact to ensure a resolution is achieved. Throughout all contact with customers, the team is sure to adopt a gentle, encouraging approach, with no “hard sell”. In fact, when customers of a competing brand engage with our team, we have the confidence and knowledge to compare both brands with the customer.
Our Concierge agents are true brand advocates, passionate about our Client’s products and equally eager to spread that passion to prospective customers. This stems from our ability to recruit from outside the automotive industry, with a particular focus on bringing in employees with premium brand, retail or hospitality experience.
For our Clients, the ongoing success of the Concierge team is twofold. On average each month, the team contributes to around $2m of sales.
Around 600 Concierge sales inquiries a month amount to over $2m of sales
However, their value extends far beyond the financial gain. The work carried out by the Concierge team in going above and beyond allows them to develop and sustain truly long term relationships with customers.
“We had a gentleman call from Hawaii whose Dad is a current customer living here in the States. His Dad is getting on in age and was having some concerns with his vehicle. So we reached out to the Dad and the Dealer and offered assistance in getting things resolved. After that was completed, we sent a note signed by about 20 of our Concierge team members. His Dad told his son in Hawaii how great everything went! The son promises when he moves back to the States, he is buying one of our vehicles!”
Percepta Concierge Agent
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Recall Support
In the face of product recalls, brands need swift implementation and efficient management of customer support to minimize reputational damage. It’s an incredibly stressful time for any business but, as trusted advisors, we value our ability to implement and manage recall support teams with speed and proficiency, providing customers with the help they need when they need it the most.
Percepta’s highly trained teams have designed and delivered product recall programs across the globe, from North America and Canada to Australia. It’s this broad but relevant experience that allows us to understand the complexities involved in deploying each program and the variations in recall legislation in each country where we work.
Consistent across all our recall solutions, is our unique ability to deploy skilled and attentive teams of customer and vehicle experts to deliver quick and valuable support when customers are unsure about the recall guidelines or the impact this will have on both them and their product. We recruit, train and deploy these teams quickly, allowing us to be nimble and scalable, delivering support seamlessly to reduce stress for both the customer and our Client.
Delivering specialist vehicle recall programs across the USA
In North America, we have managed a number of recall programs for our Volume Automotive Client of varying scales and complexity.
Following our Client’s recall campaign, we utilized teams in both the USA and the Philippines to offer telephone support to those wishing to schedule the required vehicle service. The aim of each call was to successfully schedule the service appointment, but throughout this conversation with the customer, our teams were on hand to deliver support, information and guidance with any questions that might arise about the recall process. For us, and our Client, highlighting the need for swift action is paramount, ensuring the long-term safety of their customers.
In addition to supporting inbound customer concerns, we have the ability to manage short term recall campaigns, designed to reach out to customers who have received a mailer, but have not yet scheduled a dealer appointment. For the same automotive Client, we managed a 10-week campaign, contacting those customers directly impacted by the recall who had not already made a dealer appointment, and assisting them in doing so. Furthermore, our team was on hand after the appointment took place to follow up with the customer within two weeks to ensure the recall had been completed.
More than 95,000 calls were made to customer during one recall campaign
While delivering these calls to customers, Quality Assurance measures were used to ensure the team was delivering the message to customers in the right way.
Across the entire recall period, the team scored an average 94% when “Educating the customer fully and escalating when needed” – a vital part of the recall support we offered our Client!
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Executive Office & Legal Support
When customer concerns require escalation and legal support, brands need assurance that these will be handled effectively, professionally and discretely. To supplement our Contact Center programs, our Executive Office and Legal Support solutions are dedicated to owning and managing escalated customer cases to satisfactory resolution.
Delivering an Executive Office in the UK
Percepta designed a comprehensive Executive Office (EO) solution for our UK Automotive Client, which aims to deliver stress free support at all levels.
Our highly skilled EO Team manage customer concerns which have been escalated to our Client’s senior management team. Their primary role is legal; to ensure that the concern is managed with minimum disruption to both customer and Client. If concerns are escalated to court, then we ensure our EO legal experts are on hand to work through the legal process on behalf of the Client. Percepta’s team is highly trained to handle concerns over Trading Standards, County Court claims, insurance inquiries, personal injury, Data Protection requests, safety concerns and more.
Over the course of our relationship with the UK Client, we have successfully represented all legal approaches through the Courts, due to our unique mix of multi-skilled customer advisors and legal experts.
A key driver of this success is the in-depth training received by each EO team member. Employees are trained for eight weeks prior to any customer contact, and legal advisors are buddied with their mentor for a year before representing any Clients, so by the time they are handling customer concerns they have the right skills and expertise to provide the very best in service and support.
Our current EO team ranges in experience from six to twenty three years, and is made up of senior executive customer advisors and legal advisors who speak and handle cases in multiple languages.
Positive feedback not only from our Client but also from satisfied customers drives us to continue developing this dedicated team.
“Great companies are full of great people…….. and you don’t often get a team this great. Every day they work miracles delighting customers, keeping our customers at the heart of our business”
Automotive Client, UK
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In Vehicle Technology Support
As part of our focus on resolving customer concerns, we offer a specialist solution designed to resolve any concerns our Clients’ customers may have with In-Vehicle Technology (IVT). This could be anything from helping to pair a mobile device to the vehicle or configuring settings to allow the driver to take full advantage of our Client’s IVT system.
Managing In Vehicle Technology Concerns in the USA
To deliver effective concern resolution to our automotive Client’s customers in the USA, we developed a dedicated team to deliver IVT support across a number of channels including telephone, Live Chat and Social Media. We adopted a combination of onsite and Agent at Home support to ensure our experts were on hand for extended hours across the day and evening.
What sets this team apart from others is their technical expertise and understanding of our Client’s technology. They are seen as true subject matter experts, not only by the customers they engage with, but by the brand as a whole. The support team prides themselves on being problem solvers and works together with our Client’s engineering teams to identify challenges with the technology.
As with all elements of concern resolution, we focus on ensuring each customer is satisfied with the outcome of their concern. To drive this satisfaction, and to ensure the technical expertise is of a high standard, our Quality Assurance system measures knowledge and helpfulness of the agent.
When measured on knowledge and helpfulness, our team scores on average 91%
These are key measures for the Client and ensure we are delivering a truly expert service to
their customers.
Engaging with customers online
In today’s fast-paced consumer world, Percepta offer a range of digital programs designed to make engaging with customers online easy, quick and frictionless. We focus on guiding brands towards the right online solution, and ensuring they have the means and capability to connect with customers across multiple digital channels.
We don’t push brands into making a decision they aren’t ready or capable of fulfilling, instead offer our own expertise in developing digital solutions that fit the needs of their customers, regardless of the scale. What’s more, we give our clients a social voice; a mechanism to engage and reach out to their customers in the channel they choose, in a voice they’ll understand.
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Digital Strategy Design
Over the course of our experience, we have seen digital channels grow from being a “perhaps we include?” option to a “we must have!” necessity within a customer focused strategy. For us, these channels not only offer customers the chance to express themselves online, but provide our Clients with an opportunity to engage in a way that they have never done before.
To help guide our Clients through the maze of online communication channels, our Digital Design solution explores the best options when our Clients look to engage, help and just say hello online. We offer support and guidance on how digital channels can be integrated into an existing customer service solution, or work in partnership to create a digital strategy that delivers a truly frictionless online experience.
Developing a Digital Strategy in China
Following the successful launch of a Customer Relationship Center (CRC) for our Premium Automotive Client in China, we were targeted with helping them expand their footprint in a new marketplace. Their desire was to engage with their growing customer base online, whilst delivering a truly personalised and premium customer experience.
To do this, we needed to look beyond the traditional and focus on developing a strategy that would align with the digital-savvy Chinese customer. Our approach had three key stages: initial research, developing an understanding of how a new customer strategy would complement existing operations, and planning ahead for the future.
Research
Several key areas of research would allow us to progress with the strategy. Initially, we needed to determine which stages across our Client’s customer journey could be enhanced with digital engagement. Then we needed to better understand the profile of their customers and determine which digital tools they would be likely to use, from those available to us in the Marketplace.
Our research led us to select WeChat as the digital channel of choice for our Client.
Behind Facebook and Twitter, WeChat is the 3rd fastest growing Social Network across the Globe, with over 700m users in China alone*
* “Social Media Update 2016”, PEW Research Center
After identifying WeChat as the channel of choice, we used this initial research to develop a “WeChat Customer Lifecycle”, which highlighted how the channel could be used across the key areas of the customer journey to meet the Client’s objectives.
Understanding Existing Operations
For us, the true value of digital channels can only be achieved if they complement all other forms of customer communication. Therefore, before recommending that our Client implement WeChat, we had to first ensure that the channel could be managed effectively within their existing CRC. This meant understanding the impact on the current team, identifying any gaps in existing processes or training and ensuring we could measure success in the best way possible.
Planning for the Future
In the longer term, a digital strategy which not only aligns with existing customer operations, but also links together disparate elements of a business, can be of immense value. Therefore, to complete the Strategy for the Client, we looked to develop a way of linking together our Client’s key internal and external stakeholders using the platform. For example, a “WeChat Digital Eco-System” could potentially connect customers directly with Dealers, which would allow them to deliver a quicker and more personalised service when scheduling test drives or following up on maintenance.
For our Premium Automotive Client, utilizing WeChat to engage with their growing customer base, aligned with their current CRC, would help them towards achieving long term success in a new marketplace. Our expertise in delivering frictionless experiences, coupled with our knowledge of the Chinese marketplace, allowed us to be true Trusted Advisers for our Clients.
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Social Media
Percepta is dedicated to digital. We recognize the importance – and the measureable value – of engaging with customers, both existing and potential, on their favorite online channels. And for those using Social Media platforms, this contact also has to be quick. Our Social Media Search and Rescue (SR) solution is designed to deliver all three – we give our Clients a social voice with which to engage with their customers.
Adopted in multiple markets across the globe for our volume automotive Client, our SR teams reach out to proactively connect with customers across a wide range of social networks (Facebook, Twitter, WeChat etc.) to offer help, assistance or advice.
Social Media Search and Rescue in the UK
Launched in 2012, our SR team delivers dedicated, proactive customer support across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on behalf of our automotive Client in the UK. Our digital experts reach out and bring customers into the brand; those looking for help with a concern, or just a little advice. We aim to do this quickly, and understand that time moves a lot faster on social media!
On average, the team respond to a contact on Facebook or Twitter in under 24 minutes – three times as fast as the Global Benchmarking Average*
*Dimension Data Contact Center Benchmarking Report 2016
The key to Search and Rescue is ensuring each social conversation remains a social conversation; we don’t move customers to an alternative channel unless it suits them or helps with a speedier resolution. This year to date, the UK team has sent out more than 30,000 messages to customers across Facebook and Twitter, working directly with our Client’s stakeholders to ensure we offer the best possible help.
Each conversation is recorded as a customer case and is case managed by our dedicated team to resolution. Once this is complete, our digital experts will then respond online to each customer, with the aim of ensuring each experience is a happy one!
As more and more customers choose social media as their channel of choice for brand contact, the more vital Search and Rescue becomes in a brand’s communication toolbox.
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Live Chat
Providing online customers with a “help button” when they are browsing a brand’s website could be the difference between losing a prospect and starting a long term relationship with a valued customer. Percepta’s Live Chat programs, which we deliver today across multiple markets, are designed to both proactively and reactively engage with customers quickly and effectively.
Delivering a Proactive Live Chat Solution
When tasked with strengthening the relationship between our Automotive Client and their customers in Australia, we launched a proactive Live Chat solution that would essentially mirror the physical dealership experience. This “online showroom” would allow the digital team, in conjunction with delivering Social Media Search and Rescue, to pinpoint a customer’s position on the site and reach out to offer advice or assistance.
- The information gathered is truly valuable. At any given point in time, the tool highlights:
- The number of people visiting the website and the pages they visit – including model pages and specifically highlights which models they have been focusing on.
- The duration of their visit and the number of times they have been on the site – both equally important in highlighting customers who may be struggling to find what they are looking for, or are visiting the same model pages again and again.
If the customer has clicked through to the website via a link or QR code within a campaign.
Armed with this information the team can, for example, reach out to customers who have been browsing a particular page for more than 10 minutes – perhaps they’re interested in one particular model but can’t find the information they are looking for – and start a conversation. And for a customer on their fourth or fifth visit to the site, this conversation might mean the difference between purchasing a car and moving to a competitor.
Our team also measures the success of the opening phrases they use, which can not only increase the number of customers accepting a chat invitation, but when fed back in to the business, can ensure initial training techniques are more effective.
On average the team holds around 900 chats per month, each one focused on enhancing customer satisfaction
This proactive solution ensures we not only drive the engagement and presence of our Client’s brand online, but can actively help customers at a very crucial stage of their journey with the brand.
Adding value through business and back office support
Percepta’s business support and outsourcing solutions are designed to enhance the efficiency of our clients’ core processes and back office functions. We focus this support on key stakeholders across the lifecycle of our clients’ products, from dealerships and retailers, to logistics teams.
We understand that for each stakeholder, the needs and expectations vary, and as a result, we tailor our offering to deliver process efficiency, reduced costs or increased dealer or customer satisfaction. Consistent across all Percepta’s solutions are our highly experienced and dedicated experts, on hand to deliver excellence to our clients’.
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Warranty Support
Percepta offer a set of core Warranty Support Solutions, developed in partnership with our Clients and designed to streamline claims processing, enhance both dealer and customer satisfaction and reduce overall warranty spend. We recognize the current challenges within the warranty arena by analyzing our Clients’ existing processes, spend, diagnostics and claims handling and offer bespoke solutions to enhance the efficiency of their core warranty business. Our experience with automotive Clients has spanned over 10 years.
Our Warranty Support solutions are split into three key service groups, any combination of which can be implemented as part of a solution for our prospective business partners.
These include Warranty Process Improvement Controls, designed to target warranty spend, reduce cost and improve the quality of diagnostics, published repair instructions and the implementation of front and back end warranty controls. To do this effectively, we utilize Warranty Quarterbacks and a team of specialists in Warranty Control, Targeted Claims Authoring and Warranty System Control.
Our Warranty Support Functions ensure the quality of manual and automated processes such as claims assessing, system controls and dealer facing communications are of a consistently high standard in order to maintain the Client’s business objectives. These include specialists in Quality Checking, as well as analytics, administration and communication.
Lastly, our Claims Assessment Specialists deliver fair and consistent claims adjudication in line with Dealer facing published repair and claiming practices, whilst managing Client spend reduction objectives.
Managing a Warranty Center of Excellence for a Volume Automotive Brand
In 2005, Percepta began working in partnership with a large volume automotive brand with the aim of enhancing their warranty claims control process and reducing spend.
Our Client’s Challenge
Our Client had been managing its claims processing in the same way for several years, focusing primarily on throughput and had, over time, not seen any major cost avoidance from its annual warranty budget. They needed a new approach and gave Percepta the contract to develop a more efficient claims process, reduce spend and add value to the customer and dealer experience.
We pride ourselves on our people and utilize staff with many years of warranty experience, both within the OEM and the dealer network. In addition, our insourcing approach, locating on our Clients premises, allows us to interact seamlessly with the OEM and external business partners. Our approach was to change the mind-set within the existing warranty team and the dealer network, combined with a total revamp of the claims handling process.
Changing the Mindset of the Team
A study of our Client’s current processes highlighted that 80-85% of claims were paid through an automated system, with the remaining 15-20% being audited by an assessing Center. Therefore, it was crucial to the success of this assessing Center to change the mind-set of the team to that of quality, rather than focus on the volume of claims processed.
To kick start this process, new key performance indicators were negotiated with the Client. This would allow for not only a thorough analysis of the manually adjudicated claims, but also an eradication of systemic inaccuracies. We instigated various coaching and motivational training techniques to assist the team in understanding and performing to their new objectives, including the sharing of their positive impact on the overall cost avoidance opportunities.
Making this change was critical for Percepta to deliver a return on investment for our Client.
Understanding Efficiency
For the remaining 80-85% of claims still processed automatically through the warranty payment system, the natural next step was to carry out ‘deep dive’ analysis to identify if these would benefit from being manually adjudicated to allow further cost savings.
The insight gathered during this process allowed us to identify key opportunities to improve the service being provided. Without losing sight of the quality of service, the team expanded and set about taking a consultative approach to certain claim types based on reported submissions, this in turn created a more structured approach and improved ROI.
Development of Targeted Claims Authoring (TCA)
Through our analysis of paid claims it became evident that there was a requirement for some of the existing system paid claims to be selected for manual review to maximize the save potential.
This led to the development of the Targeted Claims Authoring (TCA) team, who in addition to analyzing paid dealer claims, would also develop more detailed work instructions on certain claim types, in order to avoid inconsistencies in adjudication. As a result, the assessing Center could recruit less technically minded people due to the work instructions being made available, therefore reducing resourcing cost.
System processed claims identified by the TCA Specialists as having a save opportunity were also subjected to the TCA process, and detailed assessing work instructions were developed for easier manual adjudication. System changes were made to select only those claims adding value. In some cases, these changes resulted in claims being returned for dealer correction along with useful advice on how to avoid error replication. This resulted in a reduction in future manual claims selection.
At the height of the success of these new approaches, we were realizing annualized savings of circa $30 million.
Warranty System Controls – Introduction of Subject Matter Experts
As we started to make recommendations to change the Client’s system parameters, we realized a need for the development of a team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to review and perform the recommended changes within the Client’s systems.
Some of our more experienced team members were drafted in to assist the existing Client incumbent in adopting the new process as well as maintaining the existing functionality.
Over time, this Warranty System Controls team became the ‘go-to’ team with regards to understanding the limits of the proprietary systems and working out ways to implement controls within these constraints. This team is considered by our Client to be pivotal to their business.
Ensuring Long Term Success
To ensure these changes continued to impact the business, we introduced a quality check process to audit the output from the TCA team; a percentage of manually processed claims as well as claims paid automatically by the system.
Working closely with the TCA team, Quality Checkers passed recommendations of specific repair or claim types that required clear work instructions for the Claims Assessors to maximize cost savings. This ensured a level of consistency across claims assessing and allowed the performance of the assessors to be easily monitored and benchmarked.
Today, a by-product of the Quality Checking process is that we are able to assist our Clients to achieve their internal financial audit requirements.
Bring in the Quarterbacks
As we continued to enhance efficiency with claims processing, it became clear that developing a closer working relationship with our Client’s engineering departments would be vital in achieving the overall aim of the project. Warranty Quarterbacks (QB) would play this role, liaising with engineering teams across Europe and deploying cost control solutions that would further reduce spend and increase ‘right first time’ repairs and customer satisfaction.
The positive impact of QBs could be seen across the business, and to ensure their success continued, we created a team of Warranty Control Specialists, who would work within a specific engineering functional group. Where a product concern has been identified, they created the most efficient warranty control or adapted existing controls to address the issue.
In addition, the specialists also implemented changes to improve alternative repair rates, prior approval, targeted claims authoring and assist Diagnostic Authors to improve fault mapping resulting in a higher percentage of indictable components and the development of pre-defined repairs
(menu pricing).
Supporting the Team
In order to ensure the continued success of these warranty solutions, we developed a team to deliver support across the business.
An analytics team developed dashboards and standardized reports on the performance of the changes we had implemented, which would allow the Client to track the impact we had on warranty spend. To add further value, the analysts also measured dealer performance against various criteria set out in dealer contracts such as cost per repair and specific dealer repair costs spikes.
An administration team was also on hand to provide support for SharePoint sites, archiving existing content and ensuring compliance with existing and newly developed controls.
Finally, we assumed responsibility for all warranty publications, to ensure swift and accurate communications across Europe. Our Communications Specialist is responsible for authoring Warranty documentation and ensuring it is translated into all relevant languages and communicated to all dealers. This included the Warranty Manual, Warranty Claims Coding Manual, Warranty News and Warranty Bulletins etc.
The Warranty Assessment Centre has saved our Client in excess of $230m
We are now considered to be an intrinsic part of our Clients’ business and have moved from a directed service provider to consultative decision maker and trusted advisor.
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Dealer and Fleet Support
For Percepta, business support is all about working closely with our clients on the issues and opportunities that really matter to them. Our Dealer and Fleet Support solutions were born out of that core philosophy and designed specifically for our automotive clients, offer tailored support across the lifecycle of a vehicle. From initial purchase and throughout ownership of the car, these niche programs come in all shapes and sizes, based upon our clients’ challenge or need.
Across our clients’ dealer network we help manage order fulfilment, work with key stakeholders and logistics partners as well as provide both online and face to face assistance through IT and field support. And for our clients’ fleet customers, we are on hand to manage the progress of fleet deals as well as respond to any customer enquiries or concerns.
“[The team] maintained a sense of empathy with the customer, and demonstrated and maintained a strong desire to “do the right thing” to retain their loyalty and future business”
Fleet Client, UK
Each support program is delivered from within our clients’ business. This partnership ensures we understand their business inside out, ensuring we continue to put their needs ahead of ours. It also gives us the desire to continuously improve our offerings, and identify potential future challenges before they begin to impact on our clients’. In doing so, we can always stay one step ahead, adapting our current solutions to counteract tomorrow’s challenges.
Across all of our Dealer and Fleet Support programs, our people are automotive experts, and understand firsthand the important role they play in ensuring customers’ vehicles are on the road. Customer and dealer satisfaction is at the heart of everything they do.
“…used strong subject matter expertise to deliver to right solutions and often more importantly, resist quality compromise”
UK Automotive Client, Business Assistance Center
Dealer Sales and Service Support in the USA
Percepta developed the Select Dealer Region (SDR) initiative specifically for our automotive client in the USA, with the aim of driving sales of vehicles and vehicle parts within a small group of dealers. This support mechanism was designed specifically for small dealers, many of whom required assistance in meeting sales and servicing targets set by our client.
To deliver this service, we handpicked and trained a dedicated team of advocates, who by their own admission, live and breathe our clients’ brand. They act as consultants for the dealers, offering guidance and support on enhancing sales, as well as market research to help the groups better understand the complexity of their marketplace. This niche service is seen by the client as vital in helping the performance of their dealer network and strengthening dealer satisfaction.
But there’s no room for complacency and the SDR team is always looking to the future, and how the latest technologies and sales techniques can further enhance their performance.
In 2015, the SDR team helped their dealer groups achieve more than 300,000 units in sales (17% of the entire dealer network in the USA), and more than $700,000 in parts (21% of the entire dealer network in the USA).
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Technical Hotline
Percepta’s Technical Hotline (THL) solution delivers an expert service directly to our client’s dealers, providing diagnostic information when dealers are faced with difficult vehicle repairs. Our teams act as a link between our client’s engineering department, and their front line dealership network, combining Technical Support and Warranty Prior Approval to deliver an effective hotline service.
Underpinning the solution is a clear set of guiding principles. Firstly, in line with all Percepta services, customer (and dealer) satisfaction are at the heart of everything we do. With this in mind, our THL solution focuses on helping dealers to “Fix it Right First Time” – empowering them to limit repeat vehicle repairs and cut down on frustrated customers.
To deliver a truly joined up service to dealers, our THL solution is aligned with our network of Customer Relationship Centers (CRCs), and our case management philosophy. A “hub and spoke” approach, with the CRC at the very center, ensures that all requests for technical support are picked up quickly by either the THL or the CRC and are managed effectively to resolution. Finally, our THL teams across the globe collaborate and work together to share best practice, allowing our regional teams to demonstrate both local and global expertise.
A Technical Hotline Solution for Asia Pacific
Developed in partnership with our automotive clients in Asia Pacific, we launched our THL solution to provide support to dealers in both Australia and Thailand.
Our online Hotline Assistance Request (HAR) tool allows each dealer to contact the team for help, which they access through their standard dealer portal. Upon receiving a dealer request, the team researches the repair in full, then sends the necessary information or guidance back to the dealer as quickly as possible via the online tool. To do so, they utilize the expertise of our client’s engineering teams, as well as our own dedicated Subject Matter Expert (SME).
Requests on the system are picked up as and when a team member becomes available, so that the dealer can return to another repair while he or she waits for a response.
The team manages more than 4000 dealer requests per month.
The success of the THL team hinges largely on their expertise and knowledge of vehicle repair, with the majority of our team demonstrating more than 10 years dealership experience. Our dedicated SME brings an extra level of expertise to the team, ensuring that we manage to resolve even the toughest of vehicle repair requests.
To ensure the dealer network has the means to “Fix it Right First time”, we closely measure their satisfaction with the advice and expertise they receive from the Hotline team. Each dealer has the chance (via email) to record their satisfaction with the HAR system itself, the quality information they received, the speed at which they received it, and the impact this information had on the overall repair success. For us, this feedback is vital in not only understanding the success of the Hotline, but determining, in partnership with the client, areas of improvement within the dealer network.
In 2015, the average monthly Dealer Satisfaction score was 90%.
Over the course of our partnership with the client, our THL solution has received consistently positive feedback from Dealers, and is recognized by the client as having a considerable impact on dealer repairs across the network.
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Dealer Education
At Percepta, our three pronged strategy for delivering our Dealer Education learning solutions is simple:
- Be innovative
- Utilise innovative tools and techniques in delivery
- Be interactive
- To create a high level of engagement
- Suit the individual
- Design learning around the needs of the recipient
All three are designed to improve competency and help us meet the needs and expectations of our clients. We understand and appreciate that everyone has different preferences for learning, whether that’s reading, gamification, tutor led or e-learning. So when delivering our Dealer Education solution for our automotive client, we use a variety of methods to support all types of learning.
Delivering an Automotive Training Academy
In 2010 Percepta took over the management and delivery of our automotive client’s Dealer Academy, a facility which delivers both sales and service training across our client’s dealer network in the UK.
The facility contains 16 classrooms equipped with cutting edge technology, a state-of-the-art showroom and a 200 seat auditorium. Four workshops equipped with the latest tools and equipment ensures our technical staff receive the latest information on the latest products from the brand and various component manufacturers.
Our training covers product excellence, sales and leadership skills, technical maintenance and repair skills, non-technical skills and aftermarket care. We also have a range of tailored apprenticeship programmes. Our blended training solution includes a combination of trainer led, digital media and seminar-type events including vehicle launches with more than 2000 delegates, seminars for the 100 top managers across the region and assessments for competence at all levels of staff in the dealer network.
Over the course of the year this amounts to:
26,000 face-to-face training days per year
Our partnership with the client is invaluable to the training we deliver, and together we have transformed learning pathways, looking closely at how each dealer technician and sales staff member can move through the curriculum to bring the greatest value to them and their dealership. We focus on their motivation to progress through the ranks and at every stage seek their input and feedback to continuously improve and develop. Their loyalty to the brand is as important as the loyalty shown by our client’s customers.
As with all Percepta solutions, our people are our true competitive advantage. They are highly empowered and know our client’s products as well as the dealer network. They work together with a number of other key stakeholders across the Academy, understanding the needs of others around them and sharing best practice when needed to strengthen the training they deliver. In fact, at every opportunity the team benchmarks their performance to ensure alignment with the automotive industry.
Much like the training they deliver, the Academy team is forever evolving and focuses on identifying key retail and digital learning trends that may impact the Academy in years to come.
“the team have put together the best live events we have had in 20 years … the relationship with Percepta is growing from strength to strength!”
Academy Client, UK
Enhancing business growth through revenue generation and lead management
Maximizing Return on Investment and adding value to our clients’ business is fundamental to what we do, and how we operate. Percepta offer a range of tailored programs focusing on business growth and revenue generation, each designed to engage with potential customers, and deliver a sustainable business model for our clients.
Our combination of both inbound and outbound lead management and marketing programs ensure customers at the beginning of their journey with a brand are provided the right amount of support and guidance they need. Following purchase, our dedicated outbound teams are on hand to deliver a true Welcome to the Brand.
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Lead Management
A fundamental element of our Revenue Generation solutions is delivering specialist Lead Management support with the aim of enhancing our Clients’ product sales. Our unique and effective Lead Management process is one we adopt across the globe today with our Automotive Clients, and follows three key stages.
Firstly, we engage with customers early in the decision making process, then help to facilitate a vehicle test drive, and lastly we follow up with the customer to ensure the test drive went to plan, and determine if they bought the vehicle. This closed-loop methodology allows us to not only nurture prospective customers through the sales process, but also better understand the outcome of lead management for our Clients’.
Lead Management in Thailand
To enhance the vehicle sales of our volume automotive Client in Asia Pacific, we developed a Revenue Generation project specifically for Thailand. Using our three stage Lead Management process, new customers would be nurtured from early prospect stage through the complete sales cycle, moving the Client away from a campaign focused strategy which delivered very little return.
Our objective was simple; to determine if additional customer service support for prospects would create a better customer experience and drive an increase in vehicle sales.
We hand-picked and trained a small but dedicated team to reach out to prospective customers or leads obtained via the website, or through marketing campaigns and motor shows. Upon reaching a customer, the Lead Management team liaised with local dealerships to schedule a test drive and subsequently followed up to determine if the test drive was completed successfully and if the customer purchased the vehicle.
On a weekly basis, the team reported back to the Client on the number of successful test drives booked and the number of resulting sales. We also reported on the number of failed test drives and the number of customers choosing not to purchase a vehicle. This data in particular would prove valuable in highlighting potential weaknesses or roadblocks in our Client’s sales process.
The team increased sales leads by over 6%, and achieved 127% of the sales target set by the Client
Over the course of the program, the team not only enhanced vehicle sales, but through liaising with the dealer network and following up with customers, they were able to strengthen the dealer-to-brand relationship and drive both customer and dealer satisfaction in Thailand.
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Marketing Support
At Percepta, we understand that for any marketing campaign to be successful there needs to be a support team in the background to make sure customers are given the information they need and are offered help throughout the sales process.
Across the globe, our expertise covers all aspects of this marketing support; from reaching out to customers following a brand campaign, to setting up dedicated teams to answer customer enquiries. Regardless of the size of the campaign or the number of targeted customers, we have the skill and understanding to deliver, hit and exceed the Client’s target.
Supporting our Clients’ Marketing Campaigns in the USA
For our automotive Client in the USA, we were tasked with boosting the number of test drives and sales of two of their newest models, following the launch of a campaign mailer. They targeted us with making 157,000 dials to customers, and scheduling 2000 test drives within a period of three months.
For this project, we brought in a team of customer experts, equipped with both sales and customer service experience, dedicated to calling customers, sharing the benefits and exciting features of the new vehicles and booking test drives. Over the campaign period, the team reached over 100% of target customer calls, and scheduled more than 300% of our Client’s test drive target!
The team helped book over 6500 test drives during the campaign
In addition to outbound campaign support, our inbound and digital experience was utilized by the same automotive Client in the UK. For the duration of the UEFA Champions League Final in May 2015, the brand opened their order books on their iconic nameplate, for which our dedicated digital team took Live Chat enquiries and orders. Our Client allocated 130 vehicles to the UK market, all of which were designated and sold to customers during the 90 minutes. In addition, the team also arranged deposits and pre-orders for a further 200 customers and put 1000 more on the waiting list for the full vehicle launch later that year. In between allocating the vehicles, the Digital Team was on hand to answer any questions customers had on the launch and the vehicle itself.
Due to the success of the campaign, we were also given the responsibility of managing all pre-orders, reaching out to these VIP customers with updates on the progress of their newly purchased vehicle.
For both campaigns, our support was seen by the Client as invaluable to a successful outcome. Our ability to set up dedicated teams quickly to respond to our Clients’ brief sets us apart from the competition and ensures that we continue to deliver excellence at this vital stage of the customer journey.
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Outbound
Our Outbound solutions, developed in partnership with our Clients, are designed to engage with customers throughout their journey with the brand. Regardless of the outbound campaign, we are dedicated to achieving our Client’s goals – reaching out to prospective customers, enhancing the power of a marketing campaign, or welcoming new customers to the brand!
Welcome to the Brand
Enhancing the experience of our Clients’ customers can sometimes be as easy as making a
welcome call.
For our automotive Client in Thailand, we developed the Welcome Call team, within the Customer Relationship Center (CRC), to reach out to new customers (based in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines or Vietnam) within the first 30 days of their purchase and offer them a true welcome to the brand. For us, the objective is to establish or further enhance the relationship between brand and customer during the very early stages of ownership.
The Welcome Call itself can last anything between 60 seconds to 60 minutes. As well as offering a warm welcome, the team answers any post purchase questions that the customer may have forgotten to ask the dealer, or help resolve any initial concerns or problems they have encountered. If a concern is picked up, the Welcome Team hands this over to the main CRC team, who manage the concern to resolution. This proactive approach to identifying early concerns not only reduces the inbound calls to the CRC, but can also play a part in enhancing the customer’s perception
of the brand.
The team successfully welcomes around 40,000 customers to our Client’s brand each year
Determining a best fit technology solution
For Percepta, technology is a key enabler in delivering operational excellence for our clients, and across the globe we have worked to develop, manage and integrate technology into our wide range of programs. We seek to determine a best fit; from bringing out the best in existing technologies, to designing and delivering a tailored solution to resolve client challenges. We compliment this expertise by bringing together state-of-the-art systems and tools to deliver a truly frictionless and expert customer experience.
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Technology Capabilities
Across our business, technology is a key enabler in delivering a frictionless customer experience.
We are experts in delivering blended technology solutions in partnership with our clients, and bringing together state-of-the-art tools from our global technology partners to push the boundaries of our business. Our teams of highly skilled and empowered staff work together to bring out the best in each system we use, ensuring that day-in, day-out we continue to deliver excellence for our clients across the globe.
Delivering a blended technology solution
Our blended technology solutions bring together the best of both worlds; pairing our clients’ existing systems with Percepta’s wide range of operational tools and expertise. Across our operations today, we utilize a varying number of both local and global CRM, Knowledge Management and legacy systems, as well as tools from Third Parties, such as Microsoft, Avaya and Cisco. And over the course of our relationship with each client, we have sought to enhance our knowledge and skills with each technology platform we use.
We combine this with expertise in deploying and managing our own Workforce Planning, SharePoint, Data Warehouse and Analytics tools, creating a solution designed to fit the needs and scale of our clients operation.
Technology Partners
To enhance this blended technology approach, we offer our clients a wide range of additional state-of-the-art tools and systems from our global technology partners, each designed to strengthen the operations we deliver today.
In a marketplace now dominated by fast moving digital communication, we can deliver a cloud-based multi-channel conversation management tool, which allows customers to learn more about products through video and SMS, or access help and advice quickly and remotely. This scalable platform can be rolled out across a number of geographies, and connects to experts in multiple languages, all managed centrally by Percepta. Also available is a sophisticated Lead Management tool, designed to help our clients engage quickly and effectively with prospective customers early on in their journey with the brand. Delivered in collaboration between Percepta and our technology partners, these are just two examples of the ground-breaking tools we can offer today.
Across each technology solution we use, we bring together true experts in customer experience and technology to ensure we continue delivering frictionless customer experiences.
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Technology Design and Integration
Percepta prides itself on continuous improvement, ensuring we strive to develop the solutions we deliver for each Client. Key to this methodology is identifying where technology can enhance the service we deliver, from utilizing our Clients’ existing systems to developing new tools. In each case, we see technology as a key enabler, developed and used in conjunction with motivated and empowered employees and a well-designed customer-focused strategy.
Developing a custom-built reporting tool
A challenge faced by our Premium British Automotive Client was the lack of understanding of the number of car hire “events” or instances where customers’ vehicles were off the road and a replacement vehicle has been provided. They struggled to report on these events and in turn, had little visibility over the cost of each off-road incident. Our solution was to develop a simple tool, to be implemented into the existing Customer Relationship Center (CRC), which would allow our Client to map, monitor and effectively manage these customer cases.
The Car Hire and Parts (CHAPS) system was designed by the Percepta development team in the UK to specifically meet the needs of our Client. This meant ensuring that the CRC could report on a day-to-day basis on the number of car hire “events”, highlight the number of days each vehicle had been off-road and track the associated spend. It also meant ensuring our Client’s Senior Management team could see, at a high level, the overall impact that these events were having on the business.
Upon the launch of the tool, the CRC teams used the data from CHAPS reports to work together with Dealers on limiting the number of off-road days for each event, ultimately enhancing the satisfaction of customers and reducing car hire spend.
Our Client saved over £700,000 in the first year after introducing the CHAPS tool to their Customer Relationship Center
Download the full PDF Case Study >>>
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Data Warehouse
Today’s contact center environment is very complex, with multiple applications and systems supporting global operations, so the need to maintain a single, accurate view of the business is more critical than ever.
Behind the masses of data we gather on a daily basis on behalf of our clients, lies our sophisticated Data Warehouse (DWH), which uses the latest database technologies to bring in and manipulate consistent, validated data from multiple sources. These include CRM systems (MS Dynamics, SAP and Siebel), Phone ACD Switches (Avaya CMS and Cisco IPCC), Customer Satisfaction Surveys (IVR After Call and Email CSAT Surveys), Quality Assurance Evaluations, Social Media Portals and Workforce Management (eWFM). The Warehouse sits independently from each system it supports, reducing degradation of each individual source.
Across our global operations, the DWH provides us with consistent, accurate, and actionable data for our clients, which can be sliced, diced and distributed quickly and effectively.
For us, the true value our clients gain from this system is the sheer number of metrics we have the ability to analyze and report on. These include Operational Service Levels (for example, Average Handle Time), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and QA Evaluation scores, all captured down to agent level. Access is granted to agents, Team Leaders and Management, which means the data can be used to assess performance on an individual basis, and can be fed back in to training for long term development.
The Value of Reporting
At Percepta, we understand that the data and reporting needs of a client will change over time so we have built our Data Warehouse to evolve with the client, adding new data and source systems to expand their reporting capabilities.
The use of multi-dimensional data means that reports are no longer static, flat, canned variants but are rich, dynamic and interactive. Users can effectively ‘spin the cube’ in a variety of ways (slice, dice, drill through) and reveal otherwise hidden data patterns.
Users are also able to analyze data across time frames, locations, dealers, customers, agents, products, contact reasons, concern codes, and any combination of these.
“The Data Warehouse has enhanced visibility of the right metrics for my team so they can drive performance more effectively”
Percepta Operations Team, Australia
We firmly believe that anything the agent captures on the screen should be reportable and we strive to achieve this through our DWH technology. We also make sure that having all of this power at your fingertips is as simple and undaunting as it can be.
But our Warehouse is not just for performance reporting. We have had experience in using the system for data quality services, identifying issues with data held in source systems (duplicate records, inaccurate/invalid data) and also helping clients out with data migration projects.
Our Competitive Advantage
Within the Data Warehouse, our Percepta-designed Analytics Application is a real value-add to our clients’ business. It links CRM cases recorded by the agents, to call metrics, CSAT surveys, and QA results to help solve complicated operational issues. For example, after searching by CSAT Survey results and selecting the team and agents, a team leader can view the QA voice and screen recording by simply clicking on the recording link in the analytics tool.
In addition to reviewing the QA recording, all the other data associated with the recording is available including a link to review the case, the detailed call metrics, as well as the agent that handled the call and the team leader they report to.
The ability to drill down to this level of detail has a huge impact on our ability to coach and refine our performance in each operation. The tool greatly improves each team leader’s productivity in reviewing agent interactions and the ability to provide immediate feedback to agents. This immediate feedback can then be used for on the spot training, and long term development of each individual in the center.
Designing a Customer Focused Strategy
Putting your customers at the heart of your business may sound easy, but delivering a truly customer-focused strategy can be difficult; utilizing the right combination of channels, empowering your people with the attitude and passion to deliver, and ensuring you measure the right things to continuously improve. From initial solution design and development, through to implementation and day-to-day delivery, Percepta are customer experts. Our philosophy is simple, and has helped our clients achieve operational excellence across the globe.
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Strategy Creation
For Percepta, the key to creating a customer-focused strategy is ensuring that across all touchpoints, our focus is always the same – the customer. It may sound simple, but it can be easy to forget the impact that a frictionless customer experience can have on a brand. Our consultancy services are designed to ensure the customer is always at the heart of our Clients’ business and we work in partnership to design and deliver a strategy that fits the needs of the customer and the needs of their business.
Creating an Offshoring Strategy to Enhance Performance
As part of a customer-focused strategy, offshoring, or right shoring, can add immense value to the delivery of an operation. This could be anything from the centralizing of a number of previously siloed operations to enhance delivery or setting up a low-cost center for operations.
Over the course of our experience, we have implemented a number of offshoring strategies, each one designed to focus on enhancing a specific element of our Clients’ business. For example, we have successfully utilized the Philippines for Front Line Customer Contact in the USA, and created a centralized Customer Relationship Center (CRC) in Thailand, serving Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand.
More recently, we have adopted a Front Office, Back Office (FOBO) Offshoring strategy for our Client in the UK, in the wake of increasing volumes in their Percepta-managed CRC.
The Front Office, Back Office Model
To reduce the strain on their current contact center agents in the UK, we developed a Front Office team in Pretoria, South Africa, to take initial calls from customers in the UK. After recording each call as a case, the Front Office transfer each case to the Back Office based in the UK who, utilizing Percepta’s Case Management Philosophy, manage each case until resolution.
The model puts more focus on concern resolution and ensures that, despite an increase in customer calls, the teams are not reducing the time they spend managing customer cases.
Working in Partnership
For the strategy to work effectively, the two teams need to work together on a single vision; to ensure the customer’s experience remains as frictionless as possible.
Constant effective communication between the two teams is essential, ensuring that every call taken and subsequent case created by the Front Office is successfully handed over to the UK team and no one slips through the net.
Ensuring that both teams took time to learn about the two very different cultures was also a vital part of delivering success. This kept each employee motivated and empowered to deliver their part of the strategy with excellence.
“Since becoming a Case Manager I have felt a lot more confident in my work and feel trusted to make my own decisions for my customers. The Case Manager Role gives me a lot more control over my work which I feel gives a better experience to our customers!”
Back Office Case Manager, Percepta
The new set up also required a change in training styles, with teams in South Africa learning directly from our experts in the UK and vice versa, via a range of online tools and webinars. Throughout the entire process it was vital that each team member had a clear understanding of the role they play in the FOBO strategy, which would help drive good consistent behaviors across both centers in the longer term.
Measuring Success
For us, measuring the success of the project meant understanding the impact both on the customer and the business.
Customer satisfaction has remained consistently high both during and after the Front Office, Back Office transition
The length of time taken to successfully manage a customer case reduced, as well as the number of “repeat” calls (when a customer has to phone twice over the same concern). Both these results highlighted that a dedicated case management function ensures cases are managed more effectively (and therefore a lot quicker) with time to follow up with customers at every step of the way.
The FOBO strategy also impacted on other teams across the CRC – we identified a reduction in calls from our Client’s dealers seeking help with customer concerns, a direct impact of a more effective case management process.
Overall, the strategy, which successfully utilizes South Africa as an offshore location, allows us to continually drive efficiency and deliver excellence to our Client, amidst the increase in customer contact.
“The detailed planning, recruitment, training and follow- up support has ensured a seamless service to UK customers. A great job – well done to the entire team!”
Automotive Client, UK
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Solution Design
A fundamental part of developing and implementing a successful customer focused solution is ensuring we have the right people to deliver excellence. Over the course of our experience, working with a variety of Clients, we have honed our ability to not only recruit, but train, coach and develop teams of customer experts, armed with the right attitude and skills to deliver a truly frictionless experience.
Our range of training techniques are used globally to provide our employees with the ability and confidence they need, which we enhance with knowledge from local experts to ensure each training solution is delivered with cultural relevance and understanding.
Discovery Learning; Percepta’s Global Training Solution
Our training solution, designed specifically for each of our Customer Relationship Centers, is Discovery Learning which at its core equips our people with not only the skills and expertise to manage customer concerns, but also the confidence to make decisions. This highly customized learning experience is designed to train new recruits as they enter the Center and to help our teams deliver continuous coaching and development of staff throughout their time with Percepta. Discovery Learning is broken down into three stages; customer research, simulated learning and feedback to close the loop.
Customer Research
From the outset, our employees are dealing with real customer situations. The research phase is important for the trainees to familiarize themselves with the customer concerns they will be managing in the Center before they deal with real customers. Listening to real calls, they work together to identify customer needs and rate their own confidence at being able to meet those needs. Through this process they also learn to identify the drivers of customer calls and again work in teams to determine the best course of action to resolve them. This level of understanding allows them to progress to the next stage – simulated learning.
Simulated Learning
This stage takes our trainee employees to the next level and allows them to apply the skills they have learned so far in a realistic contact center environment.
Classes are divided into two groups, with one group playing the role of the customer and the other group playing the role of the agent. Throughout this live call simulation, those playing the role of the customer evaluate the learners and provide objective feedback. This feedback is key to the learning process and allows our training team to evolve the complexity of the roleplay scenarios based on the performance of each trainee. This will prove invaluable when the trainees finally move to the operations floor and begin managing real customers.
This approach allows us to immediately identify agent proficiencies and challenges, whilst enabling early coaching opportunities as early as day one. In addition, agents will dramatically improve their speed to proficiency, strengthen their confidence and build upon their personal foundation for continuous improvement.
Feedback
The agents will both receive and deliver feedback throughout the Discovery Learning process, but each trainee is given a dedicated session with our training team to discuss their progress, with a particular focus on asking “What do I need to work on to be more successful?”
At the heart of our Discovery Learning solution is the power to equip our employees with the right knowledge and skills to resolve customer concerns. But on top of this, our focus on ensuring our teams have the confidence to make the right decision for our Client’s customers means they are truly empowered to deliver excellence.
“Percepta colleagues work and deliver in an excellent manner!”
Volume Automotive Client, Germany
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Implementation and Delivery
Effective project set up is an essential part of establishing a robust, successful and scalable operation and for Percepta is fundamental to the service we deliver for our Clients today. Our 16 years’ experience of Contact Centre transition and set up spans across the globe and our dedicated and highly experienced project management team have worked across multiple locations from North America to South Africa and China.
Despite a vast mix of locations and cultures, Percepta’s project management philosophy has been used consistently across each set up, from initial scoping and project plan creation through to implementation and launch. We know it works.
Our highly trained and skilled team faces a fresh set of challenges for each project, but works tirelessly with our Clients to ensure both a smooth implementation process and a seamless transition to “business as usual” operations.
Percepta have helped to launch projects for our Clients across five continents
Setting up an ASEAN Center of Excellence
In 2012, our Project Management Team launched the ASEAN Customer Relationship Center (CRC), developed to support customers in Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia on behalf of our volume automotive Client.
There were a number of key challenges for us to overcome when centralizing the CRC, including recruiting in four different languages and ensuring all local country employment laws and legislations were adhered to. Our objective, despite the challenges, was to complete a smooth controlled transition of each market’s business in to the new centre.
Initial Scoping and Development of a Transition Plan
In preparation for the project, a detailed scoping exercise was undertaken by our Percepta Project Management Team to evaluate the existing operational structures, processes and IT systems and highlight any operational challenges that lay ahead. Based on the findings, a refined proposal and robust transition plan was prepared to ensure the implementation maintained continuity of service and met key Client objectives.
Project Kick Off
We initiated the project with a formal ‘Kick Off’ meeting, bringing together the Percepta team, project sponsors and key stakeholders from the Client. As with every Percepta project, we were careful to record all team responsibilities, dependencies and milestones for future review.
For the ASEAN project, it was agreed that steering group reviews and key functional work stream meetings would be set up to update the team on the progress of the plan and focus on deliverables from the functional areas, including HR, IT and Operations.
Transition and Launch
In order to ensure launch success, it was agreed that each of the four markets would transition individually in a controlled manner to the new center. This would include recruitment of the new team, IT deployment, and training design and delivery. For each market, we had to ensure that we took language and culture differences into consideration. Recruitment, for example, was carried out in both English and then in the local language to ensure that there were no misunderstandings.
Following the launch of the first market, a period of post implementation monitoring was completed to ensure the market was stable. This was repeated in line with the overall plan until the full transition was complete, and all four markets were together in the center. Following a review of each market to ensure set up was a success, the project was officially completed and our Project Management team were ready to hand the Center of Excellence over to the Operations team.
Final Post Implementation and Project Evaluation
During this transition to ‘business as usual’, all operational KPIs and SLAs were monitored to ensure a steady operation. We concluded the project with an ‘invaluable lessons learned’ session to identify any key areas of improvement.
Overall, the implementation and launch of the ASEAN CRC was considered a complete success – and as it stands today, is one of the highest performing across our Client’s business!
Our ASEAN CRC continues to be one of the highest performing Customer Relationship Centers for our Global Automotive Client
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Voice of Customer
Throughout our business, across every solution we deliver, we put a premium on measuring the satisfaction of our clients’ customers. But beyond this measure, we seek to use true “Voice of Customer” data to continuously improve the services we deliver today. This means understanding the behaviors and motivations of our clients’ customers, and using this information to create a greater experience for them.
To do this, we follow a very simple process:
- Collect customer information and feedback on their experience with the brand through effective surveying
- Adopt a scientific approach to analyzing the customer data
- Use the findings to develop a “Roadmap” for continuous improvement – a practical toolset that enables our clients to redesign, or focus on the key elements of their business which have the biggest impact on their customers
The data gathered throughout this process allows our clients to learn about their business from their customers, and the resulting Roadmap allows us to work in partnership with them to deliver a truly frictionless experience.
[Case study]: A scientific approach to understanding customer loyalty
A key part of developing a continuous improvement “Roadmap” is using customer data and feedback in the right way; presenting actionable insight, rather than meaningless information.
Today brands are putting a premium on loyalty, but many have yet to fully understand what elements of their business can positively impact this. Identifying the key drivers of loyalty through data means using a scientific approach to analysis, which we feel can lead to a much greater understanding of our clients’ wider business.
Here comes the science!
We use inferential statistics to identify a link between loyalty (a key question in the customer survey) and any number of other variables across our clients business.
This methodology, for example, could identify if a customers’ propensity to repurchase (i.e their loyalty with the brand) is significantly correlated with the quality of service they experience through the Customer Relationship Center (CRC). The outcome of this particular equation would highlight the need to strengthen the core CRC service delivered, or continue with business as usual.
Similarly, identifying a link between loyalty and a customer’s satisfaction with an automotive dealership (another key question in the survey) could highlight the need for additional dealer training or a change to customer processes. In both scenarios, armed with this information, we can help our clients can make positive business changes that will impact on the loyalty of their customers.
But science behind loyalty doesn’t always have to mean numbers and equations!
Customer verbatim is rich in information, and when analyzed correctly, can highlight key influencers and drivers of both purchase and repurchase decisions. And when fed back in to the business, it can help brands become more proactive rather than reactive with their customer strategies. For example, in the automotive industry, feeding customer verbatim to engineering and marketing teams as well as Dealers can prevent future concerns from reaching the Customer Relationship Center! This continuous feedback loop is invaluable in allowing both Percepta and our clients make positive business changes to meet the needs of the customer.
It should be the goal of every business to make life easy for our customers, to render the complex simple and deliver a frictionless experience. For us, the use of inferential statistics and verbatim analysis to fully understand the drivers of loyalty brings our clients one step closer to delivering this, and allows us to become true trusted advisors.
- + Contact Center & Customer Experience
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Delivering a frictionless customer experience across every touchpoint
Percepta’s global contact center programs focus on delivering a frictionless customer experience across every touchpoint, from engaging with customers during the pre-sales decision making stage, to managing and resolving concerns. We operate purely on our client’s premises and this “insourcing” model allows us to work in true partnership to design and deliver each solution, regardless of scale or complexity.
Our expert teams work across multiple channels, in multiple languages and through our strength in recruitment and training, are dedicated to delivering excellence day in day out.
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Multi-Channel Concern Resolution
Delivering a frictionless customer experience is at the heart of everything we do at Percepta. Across each solution that we deliver, we endeavor to focus on driving customer satisfaction and exceeding Client expectations.
We have a philosophy – Brilliant Basics, Magic Touches – which ensures we get the fundamental basics of delivering a customer operation right, while going the extra mile to wow and dazzle our Clients’ customers. Our Centers of Excellence – Customer Relationship Centers (CRCs) – are dedicated to managing customer inquiries and concerns across multiple channels, in multiple languages, until a resolution has been achieved.
Brilliant Basic, Magic Touches – our CRC Case Management Philosophy
Today we deliver multiple CRCs across the globe for our automotive Clients, varying in size from small dedicated teams to large 600+ seat centers (over the course of a month, our Centers can handle in excess of 50,000 calls).
In each Center, our focus is on people; ensuring the satisfaction of our Clients’ customers and empowering our own people to deliver excellence, day in, day out.
Regardless of the channel that customers use to reach us, from telephone and email, to Social Channels and Live Chat, our approach to managing concerns is always the same. Our teams of dedicated customer experts own each case, from the moment the customer contacts us, through to resolution of the concern. And cases are not closed until a resolution has been achieved!
Our teams are empowered to make this their goal, which at times may mean asking the customer to switch their channel of choice (for example, from a Twitter conversation to a telephone call) in order to achieve a quicker resolution. But this must only be done to benefit the customer!
This empowerment means that our people feel they can truly make a difference to the experience of each customer. Throughout the concern resolution process, we keep the customer up to date on progress of their case, ensuring they don’t have to call the Center multiple times. For us, this makes case handling more akin to “project management” of each customer, as opposed to simply “taking a call”. The best possible outcome is a happy customer; one who receives a frictionless experience from the brand.
“…my customer called the Center with a speedometer issue in their car. We got the customer booked back in to her local dealer and ensured they carried out further testing to find the fault and resolve the customer’s concern. The customer then emailed us back to thank us for our help!”
UK Case Manager, Percepta
To truly understand the impact of each Center, we feel that a combination of “Voice of Process” and “Voice of Customer” metrics should be used.
Voice of Process (VoP) metrics are globally recognized contact center measures, from Average Handle Time (AHT) to Aged Case Analysis, which we use to highlight the overall operational performance of each CRC. For example, Aged Case Analysis, which highlights cases unresolved or “open” over a certain period of time, can help us to identify possible roadblocks in our ability to resolve concerns. Yet while VoP metrics help us to measure and track day to day operations, the inclusion of Voice of Customer (VoC) metrics provides a much fuller picture of our Client’s business.
Across each of our Centers, our VoC metrics focus on Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and ensuring each concern and customer case is resolved. This information helps us to understand the impact we have on the customers we serve and deliver a truly frictionless customer experience.
Across the Globe, we have consistently exceeded Clients’ targets for Customer Satisfaction
We believe our Case Management Philosophy and the value we place on key customer metrics is unique. Because of our Brilliant Basics, Magic Touches philosophies, our Clients’ see us as an invaluable part of their business.
16 year partnership with our Global Automotive Client
Learn MoreConcierge and Inquiries Management
Our passion for serving our Clients’ customers extends across the entire journey each customer has with the brand. Percepta’s Concierge and Inquiries Management services were designed specifically to help those at the very beginning of this journey, when prospective customers are seeking advice or a helping hand before making that all important purchase.
Developing a Customer Concierge Solution
For our Premium automotive Client in the USA, we developed a Concierge solution, on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week to offer support to customers browsing the brand website. Our multi-skilled team speaks directly to customers (if they choose to call the Concierge number) or offers advice and guidance through a Live Chat option. And their one and only task? To help in any way they can.
To deliver a premium service, as expected by our Premium Brand Client, the Concierge agents focus on the quality of each call or chat, and not on the duration of each.
The team host only 1 chat each at any one time.
When a prospective customer is interested in a new vehicle, the Concierge agent will schedule a test drive at the customer’s local dealer and subsequently follows up to see if the test drive went to plan. Similarly, when advice is needed to resolve a concern, our Concierge agents become a single point of contact to ensure a resolution is achieved. Throughout all contact with customers, the team is sure to adopt a gentle, encouraging approach, with no “hard sell”. In fact, when customers of a competing brand engage with our team, we have the confidence and knowledge to compare both brands with the customer.
Our Concierge agents are true brand advocates, passionate about our Client’s products and equally eager to spread that passion to prospective customers. This stems from our ability to recruit from outside the automotive industry, with a particular focus on bringing in employees with premium brand, retail or hospitality experience.
For our Clients, the ongoing success of the Concierge team is twofold. On average each month, the team contributes to around $2m of sales.
Around 600 Concierge sales inquiries a month amount to over $2m of sales
However, their value extends far beyond the financial gain. The work carried out by the Concierge team in going above and beyond allows them to develop and sustain truly long term relationships with customers.
“We had a gentleman call from Hawaii whose Dad is a current customer living here in the States. His Dad is getting on in age and was having some concerns with his vehicle. So we reached out to the Dad and the Dealer and offered assistance in getting things resolved. After that was completed, we sent a note signed by about 20 of our Concierge team members. His Dad told his son in Hawaii how great everything went! The son promises when he moves back to the States, he is buying one of our vehicles!”
Percepta Concierge Agent
Learn MoreRecall Support
In the face of product recalls, brands need swift implementation and efficient management of customer support to minimize reputational damage. It’s an incredibly stressful time for any business but, as trusted advisors, we value our ability to implement and manage recall support teams with speed and proficiency, providing customers with the help they need when they need it the most.
Percepta’s highly trained teams have designed and delivered product recall programs across the globe, from North America and Canada to Australia. It’s this broad but relevant experience that allows us to understand the complexities involved in deploying each program and the variations in recall legislation in each country where we work.
Consistent across all our recall solutions, is our unique ability to deploy skilled and attentive teams of customer and vehicle experts to deliver quick and valuable support when customers are unsure about the recall guidelines or the impact this will have on both them and their product. We recruit, train and deploy these teams quickly, allowing us to be nimble and scalable, delivering support seamlessly to reduce stress for both the customer and our Client.
Delivering specialist vehicle recall programs across the USA
In North America, we have managed a number of recall programs for our Volume Automotive Client of varying scales and complexity.
Following our Client’s recall campaign, we utilized teams in both the USA and the Philippines to offer telephone support to those wishing to schedule the required vehicle service. The aim of each call was to successfully schedule the service appointment, but throughout this conversation with the customer, our teams were on hand to deliver support, information and guidance with any questions that might arise about the recall process. For us, and our Client, highlighting the need for swift action is paramount, ensuring the long-term safety of their customers.
In addition to supporting inbound customer concerns, we have the ability to manage short term recall campaigns, designed to reach out to customers who have received a mailer, but have not yet scheduled a dealer appointment. For the same automotive Client, we managed a 10-week campaign, contacting those customers directly impacted by the recall who had not already made a dealer appointment, and assisting them in doing so. Furthermore, our team was on hand after the appointment took place to follow up with the customer within two weeks to ensure the recall had been completed.
More than 95,000 calls were made to customer during one recall campaign
While delivering these calls to customers, Quality Assurance measures were used to ensure the team was delivering the message to customers in the right way.
Across the entire recall period, the team scored an average 94% when “Educating the customer fully and escalating when needed” – a vital part of the recall support we offered our Client!
Learn MoreExecutive Office & Legal Support
When customer concerns require escalation and legal support, brands need assurance that these will be handled effectively, professionally and discretely. To supplement our Contact Center programs, our Executive Office and Legal Support solutions are dedicated to owning and managing escalated customer cases to satisfactory resolution.
Delivering an Executive Office in the UK
Percepta designed a comprehensive Executive Office (EO) solution for our UK Automotive Client, which aims to deliver stress free support at all levels.
Our highly skilled EO Team manage customer concerns which have been escalated to our Client’s senior management team. Their primary role is legal; to ensure that the concern is managed with minimum disruption to both customer and Client. If concerns are escalated to court, then we ensure our EO legal experts are on hand to work through the legal process on behalf of the Client. Percepta’s team is highly trained to handle concerns over Trading Standards, County Court claims, insurance inquiries, personal injury, Data Protection requests, safety concerns and more.
Over the course of our relationship with the UK Client, we have successfully represented all legal approaches through the Courts, due to our unique mix of multi-skilled customer advisors and legal experts.
A key driver of this success is the in-depth training received by each EO team member. Employees are trained for eight weeks prior to any customer contact, and legal advisors are buddied with their mentor for a year before representing any Clients, so by the time they are handling customer concerns they have the right skills and expertise to provide the very best in service and support.
Our current EO team ranges in experience from six to twenty three years, and is made up of senior executive customer advisors and legal advisors who speak and handle cases in multiple languages.
Positive feedback not only from our Client but also from satisfied customers drives us to continue developing this dedicated team.
“Great companies are full of great people…….. and you don’t often get a team this great. Every day they work miracles delighting customers, keeping our customers at the heart of our business”
Automotive Client, UK
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In Vehicle Technology Support
As part of our focus on resolving customer concerns, we offer a specialist solution designed to resolve any concerns our Clients’ customers may have with In-Vehicle Technology (IVT). This could be anything from helping to pair a mobile device to the vehicle or configuring settings to allow the driver to take full advantage of our Client’s IVT system.
Managing In Vehicle Technology Concerns in the USA
To deliver effective concern resolution to our automotive Client’s customers in the USA, we developed a dedicated team to deliver IVT support across a number of channels including telephone, Live Chat and Social Media. We adopted a combination of onsite and Agent at Home support to ensure our experts were on hand for extended hours across the day and evening.
What sets this team apart from others is their technical expertise and understanding of our Client’s technology. They are seen as true subject matter experts, not only by the customers they engage with, but by the brand as a whole. The support team prides themselves on being problem solvers and works together with our Client’s engineering teams to identify challenges with the technology.
As with all elements of concern resolution, we focus on ensuring each customer is satisfied with the outcome of their concern. To drive this satisfaction, and to ensure the technical expertise is of a high standard, our Quality Assurance system measures knowledge and helpfulness of the agent.
When measured on knowledge and helpfulness, our team scores on average 91%
These are key measures for the Client and ensure we are delivering a truly expert service to
their customers. - + Digital
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Engaging with customers online
In today’s fast-paced consumer world, Percepta offer a range of digital programs designed to make engaging with customers online easy, quick and frictionless. We focus on guiding brands towards the right online solution, and ensuring they have the means and capability to connect with customers across multiple digital channels.
We don’t push brands into making a decision they aren’t ready or capable of fulfilling, instead offer our own expertise in developing digital solutions that fit the needs of their customers, regardless of the scale. What’s more, we give our clients a social voice; a mechanism to engage and reach out to their customers in the channel they choose, in a voice they’ll understand.
Learn MoreDigital Strategy Design
Over the course of our experience, we have seen digital channels grow from being a “perhaps we include?” option to a “we must have!” necessity within a customer focused strategy. For us, these channels not only offer customers the chance to express themselves online, but provide our Clients with an opportunity to engage in a way that they have never done before.
To help guide our Clients through the maze of online communication channels, our Digital Design solution explores the best options when our Clients look to engage, help and just say hello online. We offer support and guidance on how digital channels can be integrated into an existing customer service solution, or work in partnership to create a digital strategy that delivers a truly frictionless online experience.
Developing a Digital Strategy in China
Following the successful launch of a Customer Relationship Center (CRC) for our Premium Automotive Client in China, we were targeted with helping them expand their footprint in a new marketplace. Their desire was to engage with their growing customer base online, whilst delivering a truly personalised and premium customer experience.
To do this, we needed to look beyond the traditional and focus on developing a strategy that would align with the digital-savvy Chinese customer. Our approach had three key stages: initial research, developing an understanding of how a new customer strategy would complement existing operations, and planning ahead for the future.
Research
Several key areas of research would allow us to progress with the strategy. Initially, we needed to determine which stages across our Client’s customer journey could be enhanced with digital engagement. Then we needed to better understand the profile of their customers and determine which digital tools they would be likely to use, from those available to us in the Marketplace.
Our research led us to select WeChat as the digital channel of choice for our Client.
Behind Facebook and Twitter, WeChat is the 3rd fastest growing Social Network across the Globe, with over 700m users in China alone*
* “Social Media Update 2016”, PEW Research Center
After identifying WeChat as the channel of choice, we used this initial research to develop a “WeChat Customer Lifecycle”, which highlighted how the channel could be used across the key areas of the customer journey to meet the Client’s objectives.
Understanding Existing Operations
For us, the true value of digital channels can only be achieved if they complement all other forms of customer communication. Therefore, before recommending that our Client implement WeChat, we had to first ensure that the channel could be managed effectively within their existing CRC. This meant understanding the impact on the current team, identifying any gaps in existing processes or training and ensuring we could measure success in the best way possible.
Planning for the Future
In the longer term, a digital strategy which not only aligns with existing customer operations, but also links together disparate elements of a business, can be of immense value. Therefore, to complete the Strategy for the Client, we looked to develop a way of linking together our Client’s key internal and external stakeholders using the platform. For example, a “WeChat Digital Eco-System” could potentially connect customers directly with Dealers, which would allow them to deliver a quicker and more personalised service when scheduling test drives or following up on maintenance.
For our Premium Automotive Client, utilizing WeChat to engage with their growing customer base, aligned with their current CRC, would help them towards achieving long term success in a new marketplace. Our expertise in delivering frictionless experiences, coupled with our knowledge of the Chinese marketplace, allowed us to be true Trusted Advisers for our Clients.
Learn MoreSocial Media
Percepta is dedicated to digital. We recognize the importance – and the measureable value – of engaging with customers, both existing and potential, on their favorite online channels. And for those using Social Media platforms, this contact also has to be quick. Our Social Media Search and Rescue (SR) solution is designed to deliver all three – we give our Clients a social voice with which to engage with their customers.
Adopted in multiple markets across the globe for our volume automotive Client, our SR teams reach out to proactively connect with customers across a wide range of social networks (Facebook, Twitter, WeChat etc.) to offer help, assistance or advice.
Social Media Search and Rescue in the UK
Launched in 2012, our SR team delivers dedicated, proactive customer support across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on behalf of our automotive Client in the UK. Our digital experts reach out and bring customers into the brand; those looking for help with a concern, or just a little advice. We aim to do this quickly, and understand that time moves a lot faster on social media!
On average, the team respond to a contact on Facebook or Twitter in under 24 minutes – three times as fast as the Global Benchmarking Average*
*Dimension Data Contact Center Benchmarking Report 2016
The key to Search and Rescue is ensuring each social conversation remains a social conversation; we don’t move customers to an alternative channel unless it suits them or helps with a speedier resolution. This year to date, the UK team has sent out more than 30,000 messages to customers across Facebook and Twitter, working directly with our Client’s stakeholders to ensure we offer the best possible help.
Each conversation is recorded as a customer case and is case managed by our dedicated team to resolution. Once this is complete, our digital experts will then respond online to each customer, with the aim of ensuring each experience is a happy one!
As more and more customers choose social media as their channel of choice for brand contact, the more vital Search and Rescue becomes in a brand’s communication toolbox.
Learn MoreLive Chat
Providing online customers with a “help button” when they are browsing a brand’s website could be the difference between losing a prospect and starting a long term relationship with a valued customer. Percepta’s Live Chat programs, which we deliver today across multiple markets, are designed to both proactively and reactively engage with customers quickly and effectively.
Delivering a Proactive Live Chat Solution
When tasked with strengthening the relationship between our Automotive Client and their customers in Australia, we launched a proactive Live Chat solution that would essentially mirror the physical dealership experience. This “online showroom” would allow the digital team, in conjunction with delivering Social Media Search and Rescue, to pinpoint a customer’s position on the site and reach out to offer advice or assistance.
- The information gathered is truly valuable. At any given point in time, the tool highlights:
- The number of people visiting the website and the pages they visit – including model pages and specifically highlights which models they have been focusing on.
- The duration of their visit and the number of times they have been on the site – both equally important in highlighting customers who may be struggling to find what they are looking for, or are visiting the same model pages again and again.
If the customer has clicked through to the website via a link or QR code within a campaign.
Armed with this information the team can, for example, reach out to customers who have been browsing a particular page for more than 10 minutes – perhaps they’re interested in one particular model but can’t find the information they are looking for – and start a conversation. And for a customer on their fourth or fifth visit to the site, this conversation might mean the difference between purchasing a car and moving to a competitor.
Our team also measures the success of the opening phrases they use, which can not only increase the number of customers accepting a chat invitation, but when fed back in to the business, can ensure initial training techniques are more effective.
On average the team holds around 900 chats per month, each one focused on enhancing customer satisfaction
This proactive solution ensures we not only drive the engagement and presence of our Client’s brand online, but can actively help customers at a very crucial stage of their journey with the brand.
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Adding value through business and back office support
Percepta’s business support and outsourcing solutions are designed to enhance the efficiency of our clients’ core processes and back office functions. We focus this support on key stakeholders across the lifecycle of our clients’ products, from dealerships and retailers, to logistics teams.
We understand that for each stakeholder, the needs and expectations vary, and as a result, we tailor our offering to deliver process efficiency, reduced costs or increased dealer or customer satisfaction. Consistent across all Percepta’s solutions are our highly experienced and dedicated experts, on hand to deliver excellence to our clients’.
Learn MoreWarranty Support
Percepta offer a set of core Warranty Support Solutions, developed in partnership with our Clients and designed to streamline claims processing, enhance both dealer and customer satisfaction and reduce overall warranty spend. We recognize the current challenges within the warranty arena by analyzing our Clients’ existing processes, spend, diagnostics and claims handling and offer bespoke solutions to enhance the efficiency of their core warranty business. Our experience with automotive Clients has spanned over 10 years.
Our Warranty Support solutions are split into three key service groups, any combination of which can be implemented as part of a solution for our prospective business partners.
These include Warranty Process Improvement Controls, designed to target warranty spend, reduce cost and improve the quality of diagnostics, published repair instructions and the implementation of front and back end warranty controls. To do this effectively, we utilize Warranty Quarterbacks and a team of specialists in Warranty Control, Targeted Claims Authoring and Warranty System Control.
Our Warranty Support Functions ensure the quality of manual and automated processes such as claims assessing, system controls and dealer facing communications are of a consistently high standard in order to maintain the Client’s business objectives. These include specialists in Quality Checking, as well as analytics, administration and communication.
Lastly, our Claims Assessment Specialists deliver fair and consistent claims adjudication in line with Dealer facing published repair and claiming practices, whilst managing Client spend reduction objectives.
Managing a Warranty Center of Excellence for a Volume Automotive Brand
In 2005, Percepta began working in partnership with a large volume automotive brand with the aim of enhancing their warranty claims control process and reducing spend.
Our Client’s Challenge
Our Client had been managing its claims processing in the same way for several years, focusing primarily on throughput and had, over time, not seen any major cost avoidance from its annual warranty budget. They needed a new approach and gave Percepta the contract to develop a more efficient claims process, reduce spend and add value to the customer and dealer experience.
We pride ourselves on our people and utilize staff with many years of warranty experience, both within the OEM and the dealer network. In addition, our insourcing approach, locating on our Clients premises, allows us to interact seamlessly with the OEM and external business partners. Our approach was to change the mind-set within the existing warranty team and the dealer network, combined with a total revamp of the claims handling process.
Changing the Mindset of the Team
A study of our Client’s current processes highlighted that 80-85% of claims were paid through an automated system, with the remaining 15-20% being audited by an assessing Center. Therefore, it was crucial to the success of this assessing Center to change the mind-set of the team to that of quality, rather than focus on the volume of claims processed.
To kick start this process, new key performance indicators were negotiated with the Client. This would allow for not only a thorough analysis of the manually adjudicated claims, but also an eradication of systemic inaccuracies. We instigated various coaching and motivational training techniques to assist the team in understanding and performing to their new objectives, including the sharing of their positive impact on the overall cost avoidance opportunities.
Making this change was critical for Percepta to deliver a return on investment for our Client.
Understanding Efficiency
For the remaining 80-85% of claims still processed automatically through the warranty payment system, the natural next step was to carry out ‘deep dive’ analysis to identify if these would benefit from being manually adjudicated to allow further cost savings.
The insight gathered during this process allowed us to identify key opportunities to improve the service being provided. Without losing sight of the quality of service, the team expanded and set about taking a consultative approach to certain claim types based on reported submissions, this in turn created a more structured approach and improved ROI.
Development of Targeted Claims Authoring (TCA)
Through our analysis of paid claims it became evident that there was a requirement for some of the existing system paid claims to be selected for manual review to maximize the save potential.
This led to the development of the Targeted Claims Authoring (TCA) team, who in addition to analyzing paid dealer claims, would also develop more detailed work instructions on certain claim types, in order to avoid inconsistencies in adjudication. As a result, the assessing Center could recruit less technically minded people due to the work instructions being made available, therefore reducing resourcing cost.
System processed claims identified by the TCA Specialists as having a save opportunity were also subjected to the TCA process, and detailed assessing work instructions were developed for easier manual adjudication. System changes were made to select only those claims adding value. In some cases, these changes resulted in claims being returned for dealer correction along with useful advice on how to avoid error replication. This resulted in a reduction in future manual claims selection.
At the height of the success of these new approaches, we were realizing annualized savings of circa $30 million.
Warranty System Controls – Introduction of Subject Matter Experts
As we started to make recommendations to change the Client’s system parameters, we realized a need for the development of a team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to review and perform the recommended changes within the Client’s systems.
Some of our more experienced team members were drafted in to assist the existing Client incumbent in adopting the new process as well as maintaining the existing functionality.
Over time, this Warranty System Controls team became the ‘go-to’ team with regards to understanding the limits of the proprietary systems and working out ways to implement controls within these constraints. This team is considered by our Client to be pivotal to their business.
Ensuring Long Term Success
To ensure these changes continued to impact the business, we introduced a quality check process to audit the output from the TCA team; a percentage of manually processed claims as well as claims paid automatically by the system.
Working closely with the TCA team, Quality Checkers passed recommendations of specific repair or claim types that required clear work instructions for the Claims Assessors to maximize cost savings. This ensured a level of consistency across claims assessing and allowed the performance of the assessors to be easily monitored and benchmarked.
Today, a by-product of the Quality Checking process is that we are able to assist our Clients to achieve their internal financial audit requirements.
Bring in the Quarterbacks
As we continued to enhance efficiency with claims processing, it became clear that developing a closer working relationship with our Client’s engineering departments would be vital in achieving the overall aim of the project. Warranty Quarterbacks (QB) would play this role, liaising with engineering teams across Europe and deploying cost control solutions that would further reduce spend and increase ‘right first time’ repairs and customer satisfaction.
The positive impact of QBs could be seen across the business, and to ensure their success continued, we created a team of Warranty Control Specialists, who would work within a specific engineering functional group. Where a product concern has been identified, they created the most efficient warranty control or adapted existing controls to address the issue.
In addition, the specialists also implemented changes to improve alternative repair rates, prior approval, targeted claims authoring and assist Diagnostic Authors to improve fault mapping resulting in a higher percentage of indictable components and the development of pre-defined repairs
(menu pricing).Supporting the Team
In order to ensure the continued success of these warranty solutions, we developed a team to deliver support across the business.
An analytics team developed dashboards and standardized reports on the performance of the changes we had implemented, which would allow the Client to track the impact we had on warranty spend. To add further value, the analysts also measured dealer performance against various criteria set out in dealer contracts such as cost per repair and specific dealer repair costs spikes.
An administration team was also on hand to provide support for SharePoint sites, archiving existing content and ensuring compliance with existing and newly developed controls.
Finally, we assumed responsibility for all warranty publications, to ensure swift and accurate communications across Europe. Our Communications Specialist is responsible for authoring Warranty documentation and ensuring it is translated into all relevant languages and communicated to all dealers. This included the Warranty Manual, Warranty Claims Coding Manual, Warranty News and Warranty Bulletins etc.
The Warranty Assessment Centre has saved our Client in excess of $230m
We are now considered to be an intrinsic part of our Clients’ business and have moved from a directed service provider to consultative decision maker and trusted advisor.
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Dealer and Fleet Support
For Percepta, business support is all about working closely with our clients on the issues and opportunities that really matter to them. Our Dealer and Fleet Support solutions were born out of that core philosophy and designed specifically for our automotive clients, offer tailored support across the lifecycle of a vehicle. From initial purchase and throughout ownership of the car, these niche programs come in all shapes and sizes, based upon our clients’ challenge or need.
Across our clients’ dealer network we help manage order fulfilment, work with key stakeholders and logistics partners as well as provide both online and face to face assistance through IT and field support. And for our clients’ fleet customers, we are on hand to manage the progress of fleet deals as well as respond to any customer enquiries or concerns.
“[The team] maintained a sense of empathy with the customer, and demonstrated and maintained a strong desire to “do the right thing” to retain their loyalty and future business”
Fleet Client, UK
Each support program is delivered from within our clients’ business. This partnership ensures we understand their business inside out, ensuring we continue to put their needs ahead of ours. It also gives us the desire to continuously improve our offerings, and identify potential future challenges before they begin to impact on our clients’. In doing so, we can always stay one step ahead, adapting our current solutions to counteract tomorrow’s challenges.
Across all of our Dealer and Fleet Support programs, our people are automotive experts, and understand firsthand the important role they play in ensuring customers’ vehicles are on the road. Customer and dealer satisfaction is at the heart of everything they do.
“…used strong subject matter expertise to deliver to right solutions and often more importantly, resist quality compromise”
UK Automotive Client, Business Assistance Center
Dealer Sales and Service Support in the USA
Percepta developed the Select Dealer Region (SDR) initiative specifically for our automotive client in the USA, with the aim of driving sales of vehicles and vehicle parts within a small group of dealers. This support mechanism was designed specifically for small dealers, many of whom required assistance in meeting sales and servicing targets set by our client.
To deliver this service, we handpicked and trained a dedicated team of advocates, who by their own admission, live and breathe our clients’ brand. They act as consultants for the dealers, offering guidance and support on enhancing sales, as well as market research to help the groups better understand the complexity of their marketplace. This niche service is seen by the client as vital in helping the performance of their dealer network and strengthening dealer satisfaction.
But there’s no room for complacency and the SDR team is always looking to the future, and how the latest technologies and sales techniques can further enhance their performance.
In 2015, the SDR team helped their dealer groups achieve more than 300,000 units in sales (17% of the entire dealer network in the USA), and more than $700,000 in parts (21% of the entire dealer network in the USA).
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Technical Hotline
Percepta’s Technical Hotline (THL) solution delivers an expert service directly to our client’s dealers, providing diagnostic information when dealers are faced with difficult vehicle repairs. Our teams act as a link between our client’s engineering department, and their front line dealership network, combining Technical Support and Warranty Prior Approval to deliver an effective hotline service.
Underpinning the solution is a clear set of guiding principles. Firstly, in line with all Percepta services, customer (and dealer) satisfaction are at the heart of everything we do. With this in mind, our THL solution focuses on helping dealers to “Fix it Right First Time” – empowering them to limit repeat vehicle repairs and cut down on frustrated customers.
To deliver a truly joined up service to dealers, our THL solution is aligned with our network of Customer Relationship Centers (CRCs), and our case management philosophy. A “hub and spoke” approach, with the CRC at the very center, ensures that all requests for technical support are picked up quickly by either the THL or the CRC and are managed effectively to resolution. Finally, our THL teams across the globe collaborate and work together to share best practice, allowing our regional teams to demonstrate both local and global expertise.
A Technical Hotline Solution for Asia Pacific
Developed in partnership with our automotive clients in Asia Pacific, we launched our THL solution to provide support to dealers in both Australia and Thailand.
Our online Hotline Assistance Request (HAR) tool allows each dealer to contact the team for help, which they access through their standard dealer portal. Upon receiving a dealer request, the team researches the repair in full, then sends the necessary information or guidance back to the dealer as quickly as possible via the online tool. To do so, they utilize the expertise of our client’s engineering teams, as well as our own dedicated Subject Matter Expert (SME).
Requests on the system are picked up as and when a team member becomes available, so that the dealer can return to another repair while he or she waits for a response.
The team manages more than 4000 dealer requests per month.
The success of the THL team hinges largely on their expertise and knowledge of vehicle repair, with the majority of our team demonstrating more than 10 years dealership experience. Our dedicated SME brings an extra level of expertise to the team, ensuring that we manage to resolve even the toughest of vehicle repair requests.
To ensure the dealer network has the means to “Fix it Right First time”, we closely measure their satisfaction with the advice and expertise they receive from the Hotline team. Each dealer has the chance (via email) to record their satisfaction with the HAR system itself, the quality information they received, the speed at which they received it, and the impact this information had on the overall repair success. For us, this feedback is vital in not only understanding the success of the Hotline, but determining, in partnership with the client, areas of improvement within the dealer network.
In 2015, the average monthly Dealer Satisfaction score was 90%.
Over the course of our partnership with the client, our THL solution has received consistently positive feedback from Dealers, and is recognized by the client as having a considerable impact on dealer repairs across the network.
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Dealer Education
At Percepta, our three pronged strategy for delivering our Dealer Education learning solutions is simple:
- Be innovative
- Utilise innovative tools and techniques in delivery
- Be interactive
- To create a high level of engagement
- Suit the individual
- Design learning around the needs of the recipient
All three are designed to improve competency and help us meet the needs and expectations of our clients. We understand and appreciate that everyone has different preferences for learning, whether that’s reading, gamification, tutor led or e-learning. So when delivering our Dealer Education solution for our automotive client, we use a variety of methods to support all types of learning.
Delivering an Automotive Training Academy
In 2010 Percepta took over the management and delivery of our automotive client’s Dealer Academy, a facility which delivers both sales and service training across our client’s dealer network in the UK.
The facility contains 16 classrooms equipped with cutting edge technology, a state-of-the-art showroom and a 200 seat auditorium. Four workshops equipped with the latest tools and equipment ensures our technical staff receive the latest information on the latest products from the brand and various component manufacturers.
Our training covers product excellence, sales and leadership skills, technical maintenance and repair skills, non-technical skills and aftermarket care. We also have a range of tailored apprenticeship programmes. Our blended training solution includes a combination of trainer led, digital media and seminar-type events including vehicle launches with more than 2000 delegates, seminars for the 100 top managers across the region and assessments for competence at all levels of staff in the dealer network.
Over the course of the year this amounts to:
26,000 face-to-face training days per year
Our partnership with the client is invaluable to the training we deliver, and together we have transformed learning pathways, looking closely at how each dealer technician and sales staff member can move through the curriculum to bring the greatest value to them and their dealership. We focus on their motivation to progress through the ranks and at every stage seek their input and feedback to continuously improve and develop. Their loyalty to the brand is as important as the loyalty shown by our client’s customers.
As with all Percepta solutions, our people are our true competitive advantage. They are highly empowered and know our client’s products as well as the dealer network. They work together with a number of other key stakeholders across the Academy, understanding the needs of others around them and sharing best practice when needed to strengthen the training they deliver. In fact, at every opportunity the team benchmarks their performance to ensure alignment with the automotive industry.
Much like the training they deliver, the Academy team is forever evolving and focuses on identifying key retail and digital learning trends that may impact the Academy in years to come.
“the team have put together the best live events we have had in 20 years … the relationship with Percepta is growing from strength to strength!”
Academy Client, UK
- Be innovative
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Enhancing business growth through revenue generation and lead management
Maximizing Return on Investment and adding value to our clients’ business is fundamental to what we do, and how we operate. Percepta offer a range of tailored programs focusing on business growth and revenue generation, each designed to engage with potential customers, and deliver a sustainable business model for our clients.
Our combination of both inbound and outbound lead management and marketing programs ensure customers at the beginning of their journey with a brand are provided the right amount of support and guidance they need. Following purchase, our dedicated outbound teams are on hand to deliver a true Welcome to the Brand.
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Lead Management
A fundamental element of our Revenue Generation solutions is delivering specialist Lead Management support with the aim of enhancing our Clients’ product sales. Our unique and effective Lead Management process is one we adopt across the globe today with our Automotive Clients, and follows three key stages.
Firstly, we engage with customers early in the decision making process, then help to facilitate a vehicle test drive, and lastly we follow up with the customer to ensure the test drive went to plan, and determine if they bought the vehicle. This closed-loop methodology allows us to not only nurture prospective customers through the sales process, but also better understand the outcome of lead management for our Clients’.
Lead Management in Thailand
To enhance the vehicle sales of our volume automotive Client in Asia Pacific, we developed a Revenue Generation project specifically for Thailand. Using our three stage Lead Management process, new customers would be nurtured from early prospect stage through the complete sales cycle, moving the Client away from a campaign focused strategy which delivered very little return.
Our objective was simple; to determine if additional customer service support for prospects would create a better customer experience and drive an increase in vehicle sales.
We hand-picked and trained a small but dedicated team to reach out to prospective customers or leads obtained via the website, or through marketing campaigns and motor shows. Upon reaching a customer, the Lead Management team liaised with local dealerships to schedule a test drive and subsequently followed up to determine if the test drive was completed successfully and if the customer purchased the vehicle.
On a weekly basis, the team reported back to the Client on the number of successful test drives booked and the number of resulting sales. We also reported on the number of failed test drives and the number of customers choosing not to purchase a vehicle. This data in particular would prove valuable in highlighting potential weaknesses or roadblocks in our Client’s sales process.
The team increased sales leads by over 6%, and achieved 127% of the sales target set by the Client
Over the course of the program, the team not only enhanced vehicle sales, but through liaising with the dealer network and following up with customers, they were able to strengthen the dealer-to-brand relationship and drive both customer and dealer satisfaction in Thailand.
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Marketing Support
At Percepta, we understand that for any marketing campaign to be successful there needs to be a support team in the background to make sure customers are given the information they need and are offered help throughout the sales process.
Across the globe, our expertise covers all aspects of this marketing support; from reaching out to customers following a brand campaign, to setting up dedicated teams to answer customer enquiries. Regardless of the size of the campaign or the number of targeted customers, we have the skill and understanding to deliver, hit and exceed the Client’s target.
Supporting our Clients’ Marketing Campaigns in the USA
For our automotive Client in the USA, we were tasked with boosting the number of test drives and sales of two of their newest models, following the launch of a campaign mailer. They targeted us with making 157,000 dials to customers, and scheduling 2000 test drives within a period of three months.
For this project, we brought in a team of customer experts, equipped with both sales and customer service experience, dedicated to calling customers, sharing the benefits and exciting features of the new vehicles and booking test drives. Over the campaign period, the team reached over 100% of target customer calls, and scheduled more than 300% of our Client’s test drive target!
The team helped book over 6500 test drives during the campaign
In addition to outbound campaign support, our inbound and digital experience was utilized by the same automotive Client in the UK. For the duration of the UEFA Champions League Final in May 2015, the brand opened their order books on their iconic nameplate, for which our dedicated digital team took Live Chat enquiries and orders. Our Client allocated 130 vehicles to the UK market, all of which were designated and sold to customers during the 90 minutes. In addition, the team also arranged deposits and pre-orders for a further 200 customers and put 1000 more on the waiting list for the full vehicle launch later that year. In between allocating the vehicles, the Digital Team was on hand to answer any questions customers had on the launch and the vehicle itself.
Due to the success of the campaign, we were also given the responsibility of managing all pre-orders, reaching out to these VIP customers with updates on the progress of their newly purchased vehicle.
For both campaigns, our support was seen by the Client as invaluable to a successful outcome. Our ability to set up dedicated teams quickly to respond to our Clients’ brief sets us apart from the competition and ensures that we continue to deliver excellence at this vital stage of the customer journey.
Learn MoreOutbound
Our Outbound solutions, developed in partnership with our Clients, are designed to engage with customers throughout their journey with the brand. Regardless of the outbound campaign, we are dedicated to achieving our Client’s goals – reaching out to prospective customers, enhancing the power of a marketing campaign, or welcoming new customers to the brand!
Welcome to the Brand
Enhancing the experience of our Clients’ customers can sometimes be as easy as making a
welcome call.For our automotive Client in Thailand, we developed the Welcome Call team, within the Customer Relationship Center (CRC), to reach out to new customers (based in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines or Vietnam) within the first 30 days of their purchase and offer them a true welcome to the brand. For us, the objective is to establish or further enhance the relationship between brand and customer during the very early stages of ownership.
The Welcome Call itself can last anything between 60 seconds to 60 minutes. As well as offering a warm welcome, the team answers any post purchase questions that the customer may have forgotten to ask the dealer, or help resolve any initial concerns or problems they have encountered. If a concern is picked up, the Welcome Team hands this over to the main CRC team, who manage the concern to resolution. This proactive approach to identifying early concerns not only reduces the inbound calls to the CRC, but can also play a part in enhancing the customer’s perception
of the brand.The team successfully welcomes around 40,000 customers to our Client’s brand each year
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Determining a best fit technology solution
For Percepta, technology is a key enabler in delivering operational excellence for our clients, and across the globe we have worked to develop, manage and integrate technology into our wide range of programs. We seek to determine a best fit; from bringing out the best in existing technologies, to designing and delivering a tailored solution to resolve client challenges. We compliment this expertise by bringing together state-of-the-art systems and tools to deliver a truly frictionless and expert customer experience.
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Technology Capabilities
Across our business, technology is a key enabler in delivering a frictionless customer experience.
We are experts in delivering blended technology solutions in partnership with our clients, and bringing together state-of-the-art tools from our global technology partners to push the boundaries of our business. Our teams of highly skilled and empowered staff work together to bring out the best in each system we use, ensuring that day-in, day-out we continue to deliver excellence for our clients across the globe.
Delivering a blended technology solution
Our blended technology solutions bring together the best of both worlds; pairing our clients’ existing systems with Percepta’s wide range of operational tools and expertise. Across our operations today, we utilize a varying number of both local and global CRM, Knowledge Management and legacy systems, as well as tools from Third Parties, such as Microsoft, Avaya and Cisco. And over the course of our relationship with each client, we have sought to enhance our knowledge and skills with each technology platform we use.
We combine this with expertise in deploying and managing our own Workforce Planning, SharePoint, Data Warehouse and Analytics tools, creating a solution designed to fit the needs and scale of our clients operation.
Technology Partners
To enhance this blended technology approach, we offer our clients a wide range of additional state-of-the-art tools and systems from our global technology partners, each designed to strengthen the operations we deliver today.
In a marketplace now dominated by fast moving digital communication, we can deliver a cloud-based multi-channel conversation management tool, which allows customers to learn more about products through video and SMS, or access help and advice quickly and remotely. This scalable platform can be rolled out across a number of geographies, and connects to experts in multiple languages, all managed centrally by Percepta. Also available is a sophisticated Lead Management tool, designed to help our clients engage quickly and effectively with prospective customers early on in their journey with the brand. Delivered in collaboration between Percepta and our technology partners, these are just two examples of the ground-breaking tools we can offer today.
Across each technology solution we use, we bring together true experts in customer experience and technology to ensure we continue delivering frictionless customer experiences.
Learn MoreTechnology Design and Integration
Percepta prides itself on continuous improvement, ensuring we strive to develop the solutions we deliver for each Client. Key to this methodology is identifying where technology can enhance the service we deliver, from utilizing our Clients’ existing systems to developing new tools. In each case, we see technology as a key enabler, developed and used in conjunction with motivated and empowered employees and a well-designed customer-focused strategy.
Developing a custom-built reporting tool
A challenge faced by our Premium British Automotive Client was the lack of understanding of the number of car hire “events” or instances where customers’ vehicles were off the road and a replacement vehicle has been provided. They struggled to report on these events and in turn, had little visibility over the cost of each off-road incident. Our solution was to develop a simple tool, to be implemented into the existing Customer Relationship Center (CRC), which would allow our Client to map, monitor and effectively manage these customer cases.
The Car Hire and Parts (CHAPS) system was designed by the Percepta development team in the UK to specifically meet the needs of our Client. This meant ensuring that the CRC could report on a day-to-day basis on the number of car hire “events”, highlight the number of days each vehicle had been off-road and track the associated spend. It also meant ensuring our Client’s Senior Management team could see, at a high level, the overall impact that these events were having on the business.
Upon the launch of the tool, the CRC teams used the data from CHAPS reports to work together with Dealers on limiting the number of off-road days for each event, ultimately enhancing the satisfaction of customers and reducing car hire spend.
Our Client saved over £700,000 in the first year after introducing the CHAPS tool to their Customer Relationship Center
Download the full PDF Case Study >>>
Learn MoreData Warehouse
Today’s contact center environment is very complex, with multiple applications and systems supporting global operations, so the need to maintain a single, accurate view of the business is more critical than ever.
Behind the masses of data we gather on a daily basis on behalf of our clients, lies our sophisticated Data Warehouse (DWH), which uses the latest database technologies to bring in and manipulate consistent, validated data from multiple sources. These include CRM systems (MS Dynamics, SAP and Siebel), Phone ACD Switches (Avaya CMS and Cisco IPCC), Customer Satisfaction Surveys (IVR After Call and Email CSAT Surveys), Quality Assurance Evaluations, Social Media Portals and Workforce Management (eWFM). The Warehouse sits independently from each system it supports, reducing degradation of each individual source.
Across our global operations, the DWH provides us with consistent, accurate, and actionable data for our clients, which can be sliced, diced and distributed quickly and effectively.
For us, the true value our clients gain from this system is the sheer number of metrics we have the ability to analyze and report on. These include Operational Service Levels (for example, Average Handle Time), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and QA Evaluation scores, all captured down to agent level. Access is granted to agents, Team Leaders and Management, which means the data can be used to assess performance on an individual basis, and can be fed back in to training for long term development.
The Value of Reporting
At Percepta, we understand that the data and reporting needs of a client will change over time so we have built our Data Warehouse to evolve with the client, adding new data and source systems to expand their reporting capabilities.
The use of multi-dimensional data means that reports are no longer static, flat, canned variants but are rich, dynamic and interactive. Users can effectively ‘spin the cube’ in a variety of ways (slice, dice, drill through) and reveal otherwise hidden data patterns.
Users are also able to analyze data across time frames, locations, dealers, customers, agents, products, contact reasons, concern codes, and any combination of these.
“The Data Warehouse has enhanced visibility of the right metrics for my team so they can drive performance more effectively”
Percepta Operations Team, Australia
We firmly believe that anything the agent captures on the screen should be reportable and we strive to achieve this through our DWH technology. We also make sure that having all of this power at your fingertips is as simple and undaunting as it can be.
But our Warehouse is not just for performance reporting. We have had experience in using the system for data quality services, identifying issues with data held in source systems (duplicate records, inaccurate/invalid data) and also helping clients out with data migration projects.
Our Competitive Advantage
Within the Data Warehouse, our Percepta-designed Analytics Application is a real value-add to our clients’ business. It links CRM cases recorded by the agents, to call metrics, CSAT surveys, and QA results to help solve complicated operational issues. For example, after searching by CSAT Survey results and selecting the team and agents, a team leader can view the QA voice and screen recording by simply clicking on the recording link in the analytics tool.
In addition to reviewing the QA recording, all the other data associated with the recording is available including a link to review the case, the detailed call metrics, as well as the agent that handled the call and the team leader they report to.
The ability to drill down to this level of detail has a huge impact on our ability to coach and refine our performance in each operation. The tool greatly improves each team leader’s productivity in reviewing agent interactions and the ability to provide immediate feedback to agents. This immediate feedback can then be used for on the spot training, and long term development of each individual in the center.
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Designing a Customer Focused Strategy
Putting your customers at the heart of your business may sound easy, but delivering a truly customer-focused strategy can be difficult; utilizing the right combination of channels, empowering your people with the attitude and passion to deliver, and ensuring you measure the right things to continuously improve. From initial solution design and development, through to implementation and day-to-day delivery, Percepta are customer experts. Our philosophy is simple, and has helped our clients achieve operational excellence across the globe.
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Strategy Creation
For Percepta, the key to creating a customer-focused strategy is ensuring that across all touchpoints, our focus is always the same – the customer. It may sound simple, but it can be easy to forget the impact that a frictionless customer experience can have on a brand. Our consultancy services are designed to ensure the customer is always at the heart of our Clients’ business and we work in partnership to design and deliver a strategy that fits the needs of the customer and the needs of their business.
Creating an Offshoring Strategy to Enhance Performance
As part of a customer-focused strategy, offshoring, or right shoring, can add immense value to the delivery of an operation. This could be anything from the centralizing of a number of previously siloed operations to enhance delivery or setting up a low-cost center for operations.
Over the course of our experience, we have implemented a number of offshoring strategies, each one designed to focus on enhancing a specific element of our Clients’ business. For example, we have successfully utilized the Philippines for Front Line Customer Contact in the USA, and created a centralized Customer Relationship Center (CRC) in Thailand, serving Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand.
More recently, we have adopted a Front Office, Back Office (FOBO) Offshoring strategy for our Client in the UK, in the wake of increasing volumes in their Percepta-managed CRC.
The Front Office, Back Office Model
To reduce the strain on their current contact center agents in the UK, we developed a Front Office team in Pretoria, South Africa, to take initial calls from customers in the UK. After recording each call as a case, the Front Office transfer each case to the Back Office based in the UK who, utilizing Percepta’s Case Management Philosophy, manage each case until resolution.
The model puts more focus on concern resolution and ensures that, despite an increase in customer calls, the teams are not reducing the time they spend managing customer cases.
Working in Partnership
For the strategy to work effectively, the two teams need to work together on a single vision; to ensure the customer’s experience remains as frictionless as possible.
Constant effective communication between the two teams is essential, ensuring that every call taken and subsequent case created by the Front Office is successfully handed over to the UK team and no one slips through the net.
Ensuring that both teams took time to learn about the two very different cultures was also a vital part of delivering success. This kept each employee motivated and empowered to deliver their part of the strategy with excellence.
“Since becoming a Case Manager I have felt a lot more confident in my work and feel trusted to make my own decisions for my customers. The Case Manager Role gives me a lot more control over my work which I feel gives a better experience to our customers!”
Back Office Case Manager, Percepta
The new set up also required a change in training styles, with teams in South Africa learning directly from our experts in the UK and vice versa, via a range of online tools and webinars. Throughout the entire process it was vital that each team member had a clear understanding of the role they play in the FOBO strategy, which would help drive good consistent behaviors across both centers in the longer term.
Measuring Success
For us, measuring the success of the project meant understanding the impact both on the customer and the business.
Customer satisfaction has remained consistently high both during and after the Front Office, Back Office transition
The length of time taken to successfully manage a customer case reduced, as well as the number of “repeat” calls (when a customer has to phone twice over the same concern). Both these results highlighted that a dedicated case management function ensures cases are managed more effectively (and therefore a lot quicker) with time to follow up with customers at every step of the way.
The FOBO strategy also impacted on other teams across the CRC – we identified a reduction in calls from our Client’s dealers seeking help with customer concerns, a direct impact of a more effective case management process.
Overall, the strategy, which successfully utilizes South Africa as an offshore location, allows us to continually drive efficiency and deliver excellence to our Client, amidst the increase in customer contact.
“The detailed planning, recruitment, training and follow- up support has ensured a seamless service to UK customers. A great job – well done to the entire team!”
Automotive Client, UK
Learn MoreSolution Design
A fundamental part of developing and implementing a successful customer focused solution is ensuring we have the right people to deliver excellence. Over the course of our experience, working with a variety of Clients, we have honed our ability to not only recruit, but train, coach and develop teams of customer experts, armed with the right attitude and skills to deliver a truly frictionless experience.
Our range of training techniques are used globally to provide our employees with the ability and confidence they need, which we enhance with knowledge from local experts to ensure each training solution is delivered with cultural relevance and understanding.
Discovery Learning; Percepta’s Global Training Solution
Our training solution, designed specifically for each of our Customer Relationship Centers, is Discovery Learning which at its core equips our people with not only the skills and expertise to manage customer concerns, but also the confidence to make decisions. This highly customized learning experience is designed to train new recruits as they enter the Center and to help our teams deliver continuous coaching and development of staff throughout their time with Percepta. Discovery Learning is broken down into three stages; customer research, simulated learning and feedback to close the loop.
Customer Research
From the outset, our employees are dealing with real customer situations. The research phase is important for the trainees to familiarize themselves with the customer concerns they will be managing in the Center before they deal with real customers. Listening to real calls, they work together to identify customer needs and rate their own confidence at being able to meet those needs. Through this process they also learn to identify the drivers of customer calls and again work in teams to determine the best course of action to resolve them. This level of understanding allows them to progress to the next stage – simulated learning.
Simulated Learning
This stage takes our trainee employees to the next level and allows them to apply the skills they have learned so far in a realistic contact center environment.
Classes are divided into two groups, with one group playing the role of the customer and the other group playing the role of the agent. Throughout this live call simulation, those playing the role of the customer evaluate the learners and provide objective feedback. This feedback is key to the learning process and allows our training team to evolve the complexity of the roleplay scenarios based on the performance of each trainee. This will prove invaluable when the trainees finally move to the operations floor and begin managing real customers.
This approach allows us to immediately identify agent proficiencies and challenges, whilst enabling early coaching opportunities as early as day one. In addition, agents will dramatically improve their speed to proficiency, strengthen their confidence and build upon their personal foundation for continuous improvement.
Feedback
The agents will both receive and deliver feedback throughout the Discovery Learning process, but each trainee is given a dedicated session with our training team to discuss their progress, with a particular focus on asking “What do I need to work on to be more successful?”
At the heart of our Discovery Learning solution is the power to equip our employees with the right knowledge and skills to resolve customer concerns. But on top of this, our focus on ensuring our teams have the confidence to make the right decision for our Client’s customers means they are truly empowered to deliver excellence.
“Percepta colleagues work and deliver in an excellent manner!”
Volume Automotive Client, Germany
Learn MoreImplementation and Delivery
Effective project set up is an essential part of establishing a robust, successful and scalable operation and for Percepta is fundamental to the service we deliver for our Clients today. Our 16 years’ experience of Contact Centre transition and set up spans across the globe and our dedicated and highly experienced project management team have worked across multiple locations from North America to South Africa and China.
Despite a vast mix of locations and cultures, Percepta’s project management philosophy has been used consistently across each set up, from initial scoping and project plan creation through to implementation and launch. We know it works.
Our highly trained and skilled team faces a fresh set of challenges for each project, but works tirelessly with our Clients to ensure both a smooth implementation process and a seamless transition to “business as usual” operations.
Percepta have helped to launch projects for our Clients across five continents
Setting up an ASEAN Center of Excellence
In 2012, our Project Management Team launched the ASEAN Customer Relationship Center (CRC), developed to support customers in Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia on behalf of our volume automotive Client.
There were a number of key challenges for us to overcome when centralizing the CRC, including recruiting in four different languages and ensuring all local country employment laws and legislations were adhered to. Our objective, despite the challenges, was to complete a smooth controlled transition of each market’s business in to the new centre.
Initial Scoping and Development of a Transition Plan
In preparation for the project, a detailed scoping exercise was undertaken by our Percepta Project Management Team to evaluate the existing operational structures, processes and IT systems and highlight any operational challenges that lay ahead. Based on the findings, a refined proposal and robust transition plan was prepared to ensure the implementation maintained continuity of service and met key Client objectives.
Project Kick Off
We initiated the project with a formal ‘Kick Off’ meeting, bringing together the Percepta team, project sponsors and key stakeholders from the Client. As with every Percepta project, we were careful to record all team responsibilities, dependencies and milestones for future review.
For the ASEAN project, it was agreed that steering group reviews and key functional work stream meetings would be set up to update the team on the progress of the plan and focus on deliverables from the functional areas, including HR, IT and Operations.
Transition and Launch
In order to ensure launch success, it was agreed that each of the four markets would transition individually in a controlled manner to the new center. This would include recruitment of the new team, IT deployment, and training design and delivery. For each market, we had to ensure that we took language and culture differences into consideration. Recruitment, for example, was carried out in both English and then in the local language to ensure that there were no misunderstandings.
Following the launch of the first market, a period of post implementation monitoring was completed to ensure the market was stable. This was repeated in line with the overall plan until the full transition was complete, and all four markets were together in the center. Following a review of each market to ensure set up was a success, the project was officially completed and our Project Management team were ready to hand the Center of Excellence over to the Operations team.
Final Post Implementation and Project Evaluation
During this transition to ‘business as usual’, all operational KPIs and SLAs were monitored to ensure a steady operation. We concluded the project with an ‘invaluable lessons learned’ session to identify any key areas of improvement.
Overall, the implementation and launch of the ASEAN CRC was considered a complete success – and as it stands today, is one of the highest performing across our Client’s business!
Our ASEAN CRC continues to be one of the highest performing Customer Relationship Centers for our Global Automotive Client
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Voice of Customer
Throughout our business, across every solution we deliver, we put a premium on measuring the satisfaction of our clients’ customers. But beyond this measure, we seek to use true “Voice of Customer” data to continuously improve the services we deliver today. This means understanding the behaviors and motivations of our clients’ customers, and using this information to create a greater experience for them.
To do this, we follow a very simple process:
- Collect customer information and feedback on their experience with the brand through effective surveying
- Adopt a scientific approach to analyzing the customer data
- Use the findings to develop a “Roadmap” for continuous improvement – a practical toolset that enables our clients to redesign, or focus on the key elements of their business which have the biggest impact on their customers
The data gathered throughout this process allows our clients to learn about their business from their customers, and the resulting Roadmap allows us to work in partnership with them to deliver a truly frictionless experience.
[Case study]: A scientific approach to understanding customer loyalty
A key part of developing a continuous improvement “Roadmap” is using customer data and feedback in the right way; presenting actionable insight, rather than meaningless information.
Today brands are putting a premium on loyalty, but many have yet to fully understand what elements of their business can positively impact this. Identifying the key drivers of loyalty through data means using a scientific approach to analysis, which we feel can lead to a much greater understanding of our clients’ wider business.
Here comes the science!
We use inferential statistics to identify a link between loyalty (a key question in the customer survey) and any number of other variables across our clients business.
This methodology, for example, could identify if a customers’ propensity to repurchase (i.e their loyalty with the brand) is significantly correlated with the quality of service they experience through the Customer Relationship Center (CRC). The outcome of this particular equation would highlight the need to strengthen the core CRC service delivered, or continue with business as usual.
Similarly, identifying a link between loyalty and a customer’s satisfaction with an automotive dealership (another key question in the survey) could highlight the need for additional dealer training or a change to customer processes. In both scenarios, armed with this information, we can help our clients can make positive business changes that will impact on the loyalty of their customers.
But science behind loyalty doesn’t always have to mean numbers and equations!
Customer verbatim is rich in information, and when analyzed correctly, can highlight key influencers and drivers of both purchase and repurchase decisions. And when fed back in to the business, it can help brands become more proactive rather than reactive with their customer strategies. For example, in the automotive industry, feeding customer verbatim to engineering and marketing teams as well as Dealers can prevent future concerns from reaching the Customer Relationship Center! This continuous feedback loop is invaluable in allowing both Percepta and our clients make positive business changes to meet the needs of the customer.
It should be the goal of every business to make life easy for our customers, to render the complex simple and deliver a frictionless experience. For us, the use of inferential statistics and verbatim analysis to fully understand the drivers of loyalty brings our clients one step closer to delivering this, and allows us to become true trusted advisors.