Four out of Five Users Prefer Using a Virtual Agent to Traditional Support Options

Last month, we mentioned that noHold is conducting A/B testing to measure user preference when it comes to support site options. [Click here to read the full blog describing the testing.] After analyzing the data collected thus far, we found that four out of five users prefer using a Virtual Agent (VA) as a first line of support, compared to a brand's current (non-interactive) support options (e.g. FAQ's, phone numbers, email, etc).

Photo Credit: mcbeestrategic.com

Sometimes clients come to us for a Call Center Virtual Agent only (employee-facing). There are great advantages to implementing a VA in the Call Center. It can reduce Average Handle Time (AHT) by up to 15%, and improve training and consistency within the Call Center, but knowing the majority of users chose the Virtual Agent as their preferred first line of defense for support, validates to our clients the need to make Virtual Agents available to their customers as well. Here's an example; a leader in the security software industry is broadening the reach of their Virtual Agent from being used by Call Center agents only to implementing a customer-facing VA. This way, customers have the option to find the answers to their own questions, reducing the volume of calls to the Call Center and thus decreasing costs. 

Let us know what your experience with a Virtual Agent was like? Did you prefer the interactive approach the Virtual Agent offered? How did it compare to 'old-school' (traditional) support options?

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What Is Your "Pounds of Chocolate" Metric?

Managing a company can get hectic. Multiple numbers and statistics get thrown at you all the time, measuring different aspects of your business, trying to determine if the return on your investment is being met. But how do you know which metrics to pay attention to when measuring success. Sources close to Warren Buffett, the man considered to be one of the most successful investors of the 20^th century, say since he is such a busy man, he does not have time to analyze a bunch of data to make sure his businesses are doing well. At one of the most popular candy (primarily chocolate) manufactures in the world, there is one key performance indicator (KPI) that he monitors closely, how many pounds of chocolate did we sell today? 

Figuring out what KPI you should hone in on depends on what part of the customer experience your company focuses on. In Warren Buffett’s case, he is primarily concerned with sales.  In another example from a leader in the security software industry, they put a large emphasis on Net Promoter Scores (NPS).  Another company specializing in the PC industry looks at the number of in warranty customers who do not escalate to call center agents. In other words, they look at the percentage of call deflections to determine if they are providing customers with excellent customer support. Yet another company focuses on voted effectiveness, which is a metric reported by a Virtual Agent that measures whether users voted the solution provided was effective, not effective, or partially effective. Looking at this metric, this company can get a better understanding of what users find useful and what can be enhanced.

As you can see, companies focus on different KPI’s to measure success. What’s your “pounds of chocolate” metric? How does your company measure the success of your business?

noHold Customers Ranked Higher in Customer Satisfaction!

Clients leveraging customer-facing Virtual Agent technologies for self-service (such as Webroot and AVG) lead the security software industry in customer satisfaction (CSAT), with Net Promoter Scores (NPS) of 59% and 33%. The graph shown below is courtesy of Webroot, a leader in the security software industry and was featured on the homepage of their website; http://www.webroot.com/us/en/  

Congratulations to Webroot and AVG for outperforming the competition in customer satisfaction. Kudos!