“I have a problem, can we take the phone number off the internet.”
– Actual business owner.
NBN co wanted to reduce its contact volumes through an improved digital contact us form
It had been raised that the webform was impacting adversely on overall call volumes causing an influx of contacts that could be serviced online or directed to their resolver group. This resulted in customers who have a genuine need to contact NBNCo having to wait while our front line staff took time to redirect.
The problem was the current contact us form was generic and used free text as well not all information can be provided causing increased unnecessary interactions.
The initial proposal was to introduce a guided flow that attempts to answer user questions prior to being able to submit an email.
The first step was to understand through Data who the customer was.
After the “who,” the next step was to understand what the business knew and the customers’ reasons for contacting NBN Co. The top reasons required a lot more data crunching.
I began by working with the contact centre team, where I analyzed a wealth of data, from keywords to Salesforce categories. I conducted interviews and held a workshop with the call centre team on the Gold Coast to understand what generated the bulk of their time and calls.
A 7,000 or so line excel with categories and subcategories was looked over with a fine-toothcomb resulting in this lovely sketch note style summary
We knew the “who” and the “why”.
NBN co had the benefit of already having a key data point for the customer which checked your address. From this data, we knew what technology they were getting as well as when.
With this information from the customer and the data from the customer agent, we knew what the top five questions they needed. So the solution was a decision tree flow with cascading options to ensure the user gets a sense of progression and success as they flow through whilst directing or deflecting the largest number of enquires to the right content.
Now to ideate
Through ideation, it was discovered that many of the customer problems had content on the website that was not surfacing, so the new Contact Us forms became helpful and deflected.
With the knowledge of what technology and when it became a bit of a black hat exercise of presenting articles as deflection and only presenting contact form when a category and subcategory had been established to present directly to a resolver group bypassing the agent altogether
The benefit of this approach meant that for those categories that were important to the business, such as damage where, a quick flow directly to a contact form.
After user testing, it was decided to include general feedback so that customers can always contact NBNco regardless of their enquiry type or the need to supply an address.
The final iteration was to take the decision tree and introduce it to the new messaging bot to allow AI to take the customer through the cascading questions integrated into the site.
Conclusion:
NBN Co’s initiative to reduce contact volumes through an enhanced digital contact form showcases a strategic approach to improving customer service efficiency and satisfaction. The project began with identifying key pain points: the inundation of generic inquiries that could be addressed online, delaying responses to critical customer needs. By transitioning to a guided flow approach, NBN Co aimed to preemptively address user queries and direct inquiries to appropriate resolver groups.
Through meticulous data analysis and collaboration with customer agents, NBN Co developed a comprehensive understanding of customer profiles and their primary reasons for contact. This informed the creation of a decision tree flow, designed to guide users towards self-help resources or direct them efficiently to the appropriate support channels.
The integration of targeted content surfaced from the website into the new contact forms exemplifies a proactive strategy to assist customers while deflecting unnecessary inquiries. This approach optimizes operational efficiency by streamlining interactions and ensuring that customers receive timely and relevant support.
User testing validated the effectiveness of the new system, prompting the inclusion of a general feedback option to further enhance accessibility and responsiveness. This addition underscores NBN Co’s commitment to facilitating customer communication irrespective of the nature of the inquiry.
In conclusion, NBN Co’s revamped digital contact us form not only addresses the challenge of reducing contact volumes but also enhances overall customer experience by providing intuitive navigation, relevant content, and streamlined pathways to resolution. By leveraging data insights and iterative testing, NBN Co has positioned itself to better meet customer needs while optimizing operational resources effectively.
