Preface:
Recently, our marketing department sat down with Rachel Hernandez, noHold's
very own Knowledge Platform Specialist, to ask her some questions about
reporting metrics for trusted brands in multiple arenas of the electronics
industry. Reporting and analyzing metrics is an important component to the
success of a Virtual Agent; it's a chance to really hone in on what consumers
are asking. Read more to find out what Rachel has to say.
Sarah: Today I’m here with Rachel Hernandez, Knowledge
Platform Specialist at noHold. Rachel, tell me about your role at noHold and
some of the clients you interface with on a daily basis.
Rachel: My client base ranges from Internet Security to
Networking to PC Manufacturers. A few examples would be a leader in networking
solutions and one of the top 3 PC and device manufacturers. As a Knowledge
Portal Specialist,
I build web based intelligent Virtual Agents that are
designed to help answer troubleshooting issues and pre-sales questions.
Sarah: Your expertise is in understanding the goals (on a
strategic level) of some of the most trusted brands and making them happen on a
tactical level. What would you say is the biggest challenge?
Rachel: Wow, great question. A few things come to mind…
One challenge I see is analyzing the voice of the end user and creating the
right kind of content. Sometimes you really have to drill down to find out what
the consumer really needs and wants based on short phrases or sometimes lengthy
explanations. Another challenge is helping my clients realize that
their consumers are sometimes looking for more of a personalized customer
service experience, like that of a call center agent, and we can fully provide that. For
example, a consumer may be looking to buy an antivirus product, but are not sure
which product is right for them. Based on specific, personalized questions, the Virtual
Agent can ‘listen’ to responses and recommend the best product.
A third challenge is helping my clients to grasp the “best
practices” as seen throughout our diverse clientele. We are interaction experts and have a wide range of experience on what may or may not work;
however, every customer is different and has different needs, so it does make
for quite a challenge.
Sarah: Consumer Electronics, PC and Device manufacturers are
tasked with constant innovation. How can a Virtual Agent keep up with the
frequent release of new products while continuing to support older models?
Rachel: There are a few key ways to accomplish this. One, it’s important for the Virtual Agent to provide the most recent updates
for any product or feature as they are released. Let’s face it; consumers always
want the latest and greatest version of anything, right? We keep these new and hot
products at the forefront of our VA with what we call a “HotList”. This is a
great way to engage consumers with the Virtual Agent. Also, it’s vital to offer information for
those older models that some consumers still have. You don’t want your
consumer feeling left out, and possibly lose their loyalty by leaving them
hanging. Providing consumers with “end of life” information is a great way to answer
their questions, as well as, nudge them into an upgrade.
Sarah: Part of your role is to look at the Virtual Agent
reporting for your customers, and provide recommendations. What would you say
is the most important metric to a leader in the PC/ Consumer Electronics
industry?
Rachel: I believe there are two really important metrics for
my PC clients to look at. The first metric would be completion. Completion is a
word we use to describe a completed conversation with the Virtual Agent. It’s
really important to see that consumers are actually getting to an answer. This
type of interaction would be counted as a completed session. The second metric
would be effectiveness. Effectiveness is essentially when a user votes “yes,
this solution was helpful” after being provided with an answer. The Virtual
Agent can quickly tell if content is working or not based
on the effectiveness vote. The effectiveness also helps to determine if content
needs updating or needs to be developed further.
Sarah: Similarly, what metric is the most meaningful to
security software providers?
Rachel: Things move pretty fast in the Security Software
world, with new viruses, spyware, and
malicious attacks daily. So, I would have to say the most important metric for
them is also effectiveness. Abandonment is another important metric, as it
monitors when a conversation with the Virtual Agent is abandoned. Some users
will close the session before being provided with an answer; this is one of the
top metrics we report on. Analyzing and understanding when a conversation is abandoned
quickly helps us to see what’s a hot topic – An example might be hacking scams,
infections, and so forth.
Sarah: The ability to integrate a Virtual Agent (or any self-service
application) into an existing ecosystem is imperative. If you think about your
clients, what has been the most popular integration? What about the most
popular metric that measures the success of that integration?
Rachel: Luckily my clients are very open to trying new
things and making enhancements to the customer experience. The mobile
integration has been pretty exciting because now consumers can get the VA on
any device they have. I think that’s really a key component to showcasing my
clients’ commitment to their consumers’ needs – If we see that the majority of
end users are coming from a mobile browser, there’s proof that the end customer
wants that type of support. With any new integration, whether it is with a new
or existing client, the most popular metric to measure the success is the
effectiveness. Again, the effectiveness metric will pretty much always tells us
what needs to be improved and what is working.
Sarah: I've listened in on a few client conversations, and
one of the questions I hear often is about sharing best practices. How does
noHold share best practices and tips and tricks with its clients? For example:
If you implement a feature/practice that is beneficial to one client, how do
you share the idea with other clients?
Rachel: I am finding more and more that clients want suggestions
on best practices, which is a great. I also
do my best to suggest certain features that I see working in other environments.
One of the great things about Virtual Agents is that we can quickly plan, implement, test, and then analyze the results. However, the same practices don’t always work for
every client.
Sarah: Virtual Agents can help increase revenue for customer
service and support organizations. Can you tell me about a scenario where one
of your customers has been able to accomplish this? What metric do you use to
report back to the customer?
Rachel: All of my PC and Security Software clients have been
really successful with up-selling. A few examples would be solutions that
address areas such as “I want to replace my battery” or “I want to renew my
antivirus subscription.” In these cases, not only are we able to generate sales,
but we can place the product of interest in their shopping cart. We use a
tool called a ‘route’ to track how visitors use these features. It helps the
client see just how many people are coming to the VA specifically to upgrade or
sometimes purchase for the first time.
Sarah: Rachel, thanks so much for your time today. I want to
finish off by asking you one final question: Working with trusted brands is a
demanding, yet rewarding role. What is the most rewarding part of your relationship
with your clients?
Rachel: Trust. Once I gain my clients trust, I know that we
can succeed at making the Virtual Agent meet their goals and meet the needs of
their consumer. Plus it makes for a long-lasting, great partnership.
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