Paul Barnes, VP Operations

WORKSHOPMAKING THE CASE FOR

CONTACT CENTRE

INVESTMENT

Eptica. Transforming customer engagement for a multichannel world

Introduction

Paul Barnes, VP Operations, Eptica

Overview for the Workshop

Objectives

• Identify the key steps in building a business case

• Provide some tools, tips and techniques

• Improve your chances of success (both approval &

delivery)

Structure

• Know your audience

• Benefits case

Cost saving

Revenue increase

Qualitative benefits

• Exercise

• Cost modelling

• Project considerations

• Stakeholder Inclusion

Know Your Audience

Know Your Audience

Know Your Audience

Great Customer Experience leads to better business

performance

It seems intuitive but we have to articulate why and

prove it

Know Your Audience

What matters most to the Board is Value i.e. share price

Five-Year Stock Performance Of Customer Experience Index (CXi) Leaders Versus Laggards Versus S&P 500 (2007 to 2011)

Know Your Audience

And you have to speak their language...

• EBITDA (Earning Before Interest Tax Depreciation &

Amortisation)

• NPV (Net Present Value)

• Cost of capital

• CapEx vs. OpEx

• Etc...

Business Case

Some general considerations

• Build up the assumptions from a zero base

then validate with reference to other companies & analysts

• Under commit on the numbers

• Build a flexible model with assumptions

• Look at sensitivity analysis

Business Case: Cost Reduction

Reduction in volume

• Self-service

• Proactive contact

• Process change

• Better first contact resolution

• Reduced duplicates / chase ups

Increase in productivity

• AHT reduction

• Channel shift

• Reduced down time

• Reduced training time

Model Current Costs

• Use normal MI

• Link to total OpEx

Define assumed changes

• Primary research

• References, analysts

• Benchmark tests

Model impact and analyse

• Split benefit by type

• Show graphically

Business Case: Revenue Increase

Harder to evaluate, but higher impact. Look for a well defined, stable area in which to prove benefit

Sales conversion

• Self-service at problem points

• Proactive web chat in sales process (A/B testing)

Inbound Marketing

• Upsell at point of sale

• Next best action at point of response

Qualitative Benefits

Don’t try to quantify the unquantifiable!

• It should provide extra reassurance

• Often best told through use cases

Researching whilst in store on a mobile device

Buying online later and using self-

service help

Escalating to chat to finish the

purchase

Asking a question by email on the

way home

And sharing their views about their experience on Facebook...

Over to you...

Cost Modelling

Step 1: Talk to the Finance Department

Use their templates, understand the rules

How do they evaluate cost?

Cost Modelling: Checklist

• Training – people & facilities

• Administration of new systems

• Feedback surveys – Voice of customer / employee

Staff Costs

• IT infrastructure

• DR planning

• Reporting & planning

• Integration with existing systems

Internal Costs

• Back up, test, resiliency

• Professional Services contingency

• Optimisation & post go live tweaks

• Scale up costs

Vendor costs

Cost Modelling: Gotchas

Risks to the cost model

IT Security mandate a new technical

approach

Network issue resolution with SaaS

systems

Website & ecommerce costs / delays for

changes

Marketing costs for look and feel or

brand voice

SaaS costs unpredictable

Project Considerations

Be a Phaser...

Project Considerations

Be a Phaser...

• It is important to paint the long term strategic vision

• And equally important to show tactical steps towards it

• Risk is contained and strategic options remain open

• Ask for investment for the first phase only at this stage

• Phase based on business case – deliver early on a high

return and low risk

• Build confidence for the bigger phases later

• Gives you a chance to evaluate & reconsider phases

Stakeholder Inclusion

Vital for two key reasons

Validation

• Test your thinking and

your business case

• Practice and sharpen

your presentation

• Highlight gaps in the

benefits and costs

Alignment

• Identify wider benefits for

other business functions

• Identify potential conflicts

with other initiatives

• Coordinate strategy

• Shared risk/reward with

the vendor

Summary

• Link to Board issues – share

price especially

• Work bottom up and top

down on benefits case

• A flexible model is your best

tool

• Sell the vision but be a

phaser

• Invest in stakeholder

alliances

• What could possibly go

wrong?

www.eptica.com

facebook.com/EpticaUK

twitter.com/EpticaUK

eptica.wordpress.com

The No1 customer engagement platform for multichannel customer service

Thank you. If you have any questions,

please contact:

Eptica. Transforming customer engagement for a multichannel world

paul.barnes@eptica.com