case studies
Hitachi Capital uses Lab to approach half as many customers and generate five times the number of leads from inbound phone calls.
background
Hitachi Capital has for many years provided consumer finance at the point of sale for brands such as DFS, Beaverbrooks, Goldsmiths, Ultralase and many more. In 2005 it established a cross sales channel including personal loans, and insurance products. After achieving strong sales in these channels Hitachi Capital wanted to integrate all customer touch points acquired through retail partners. With fellow DMG member, JaywingDMG's help the company has seen significant success in a short time through its analytical and database marketing services.
approach
Together, GasboxDMG and JaywingDMG approached Hitachi Capital with a proposition to trial a process to make better use of the voice channel in achieving Hitachi's business objectives.
The objective was to transform incoming calls from highly transactional to two-way dialogue in order to capture further customer data and generate sales leads. This involved GasboxDMG's highly skilled telephone agents deepening conversations to extract and record additional relevant details.
This was to:
identify, measure and articulate the opportunity for improving the number and quality of sales leads on inbound servicing calls identify the benefits of adopting a relationship driven approach measure the impact on customer consideration, advocacy and satisfaction over a 6 month period
To do this, JaywingDMG created a data model of relevant information and customer events particularly life events such as weddings. This was used by telephone agents via Digital Brain.
In addition, Digital Brain contains analytics to assess the customer data already known prior to the call, and dynamically changes the recommended course of action to the telephone agent based on the additional data captured during the call. Digital Brain also decides which set of questions are most relevant to ask the customer. This assessment is made using a customer level rule set based on dynamically applied product purchase propensity models for the product set in question, to support the telephone agent in making the most effective and appropriate approach possible. In addition, all the data captured from the calls is available to drive the timing and content of subsequent outbound campaigning.
results
Hitachi Capital now has a proven and robust method to maximise the number and value of leads from inbound calls. This translates to approaching half as many customers, generating five times the number of leads, and it has presented new opportunities for improving operational cost efficiencies and revenue generation.
Significant improvements have been seen in customer satisfaction, advocacy and an increase in the intention to purchase additional products in the future.
Importantly, Hitachi Capital found that intelligent use of data to drive customer communications and sales leads to customers being happy to share information and be contacted about relevant products.
Whilst the potential for making product approaches on inbound calls is generally recognised, exploiting it is somewhat harder. This project demonstrates that it requires the alliance of predictive models, implemented via a dynamic system which makes recommendations and supports the flexible capture of customer data, and the excellence of telephone agents in order to realise its full potential. Only by delivering all of these simultaneously can more effective approaches be made.
This ensures that not only can short term sales objectives be achieved, but it can be done without damaging the customer relationship with a volume based sales approach. This approach can even enhance and deepen the customer relationship in respect of value realised from the customer in the medium term.
Digital Brain is unique in its ability to deliver real time changes to messages and offers presented according to past and current customer behaviour. This extends to interactions through any online channel where creative style, copy tone, product offers and so on can all be tailored to what is happening right now. Furthermore activity is integrated with all other channels to provide real time integration of digital, direct and data.
