Premium Technical
Support as a
Strategic Imperative
Monetizing the customer experience yields
tangible return on investment.
By: Dinesh Pai
Senior Vice President Global Premium Tech Support
Sitel Global Markets Organization
www.sitel.com/solutions
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Whitepaper Content:
 How a new wave of Technical Support solutions are changing the contact center
industry.
 What is Premium Technical Support?
 How clients are benefiting from premium technical support services to:
o
Enhance the customer experience
o
Create new revenue streams from out of scope contacts
o
Improve margins on low-profit products
Who should read this Whitepaper:
 Business leaders looking to reduce cost and create profit centers
 Marketing leaders designing new product revenue streams
 Operational VPs looking for efficiency improvements in technical support
operations
 Any leader challenged with out of scope support contacts
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Introduction
The Environment Creating the New Need
There is a battle for big business to own the home. Meaning, there is an aggressive
movement by virtually all large players in communications, home services, consumer
electronics, appliances and PC manufacturing to grow revenue by expanding the number of
products and services provided.
IMAGE: Sitel “New Digital Home” Infographic. www.sitel.com/solutions
These products and services are increasingly interconnected and complex to install,
maintain and troubleshoot when something goes wrong. This complex environment creates
challenges, yet, if managed correctly, also creates associated opportunities.
Misdirected customers, more commonly referred to as “Out-of-Scope” customers, have a
real need that can be met or redirected. The traditional response has been to point the
finger at someone else and redirect the customer to an alternate provider’s support line.
Obviously, resulting in additional frustration to the already-troubled customer.
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In today’s world, these “Out of Scope” customers have been put back ‘In Scope’ with a
multichannel platform that enables any caller’s issue to be addressed and resolved for a
fee, and additional ancillary services or products to be sold.
In addition to monetizing the out of scope contact at the point of need, premium technical
support (PTS) is fortifying the customer relationship. A successfully resolved issue is always
rated more positively than an unsolved issue. Even when a fee is applied, the customer views
the PTS experience as favorable because their issues have been resolved and their lives made
less complex by giving them a single point of contact to resolve all the issues inside the modern
networked home.
In summary, a well-positioned and effective PTS can be a market differentiator in the
ongoing race to grow revenue with satisfied customers with benefits like:

Enhanced customer experience resulting in increased customer loyalty and
retention

New revenue realized from premium service and ancillary sale of products,
peripherals and consumables

Improved margins on low-profit products
Standing Out in the Crowd
Product features change and improve so rapidly that the real opportunity a brand has to
build loyalty is the relationship they are able to forge with customers. How well they get
to know individual customers and how they manifest this understanding defines the level of
customer intimacy and, ultimately, loyalty they will be able to achieve. Customer support
is the moment of truth to demonstrate this knowledge and commitment to caring. By
resolving customers’ issues, customers can be turned into loyal customers and loyal
customers can be turned into raving fans and promoters.
Quality technical support is just as important as the quality of the product itself for
technology consumers and small businesses. With the increasing dependence on
technology, swift guidance to address issues and technical incidents is critical in enhancing
customer experience and maintaining loyalty. In today’s marketplace, the frustration
caused by lengthy hold times and unresolved problems can quickly result in a poor
reputation, customer erosion and, consequently, lost revenue. Yet a positive experience
can produce repeat buyers with multiple networked devices and services.
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The quality of customer interaction is becoming one
… the frustration caused by
lengthy hold times and
unresolved problems can
quickly result in a poor
reputation, customer erosion
and, consequently, lost
revenue.
of the top reasons for recommending a company1.
Technical Support has evolved from a reactive activity
viewed largely as a cost center-based tactical
necessity, to a proactive management function that
can set a company apart from the competition.
According to a recent report published by Sitel, more
than 86% of customers say they will simply stop using a brand after one bad experience,
and 82% of customers will communicate their bad service experience with others.2
The Revenue Imperative
Experts agree that 2013-2015 will be a critical timeframe for contact centers from a
revenue generation perspective. Companies like Sitel are seeing many businesses
transforming core support processes to optimize them for creating revenue. Nearly half of
all customer service interactions result in the positioning of another value added offering.
Each positive contact resolution is being linked to additional services, warranties, refills,
peripherals and enhancements. Of the business-to-consumer (B2C) organizations surveyed,
69% consider contact centers to be critical to revenue generation3.
According to a recent survey of IT managers conducted by IDG Research, 47% view
technical support and service desk operations as a strategic enabler to achieving broader
business goals. Further, an overwhelming majority of respondents say that, among other
things, when it comes to the true benefits of servicing the customer – it is all connected:
improved service = increased loyalty = raised lifetime value = improved acquisition.
Furthermore, 57% actively track and correlate the success of their service and support
operations to the achievement of broader business goals.
“… 47 percent view technical
support and service desk
operations as a strategic
enabler to achieving broader
business goals.”
One tangible example was the recent experience of a
Sitel client that decided to implement what the
company calls “Premium Technical Support”.
This diversified electronics manufacturer, which
provides a wide range of products and services
worldwide, was struggling to control the costs of operations while increasing customer
satisfaction. Instead of the traditional “cost cutting” approach, the company decided to
1 Source: Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report 2009-2011
2 Source: Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report 2009-2011
3
Source: Loudhouse Research Survey: Call Centers Are Expected to Create Revenue,- December 22, 2010
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invest in a new platform to improve service proficiency and monetize out-of-scope
contacts.
The result? The Premium Technical Support platform reports monthly revenue of $250K.
The company was able to create a solid revenue stream in less than three months after
launch with upsell conversion rates above 15% and improved customer satisfaction of 45%
in the period.
Consumers have amazing options at their fingertips: information, services and the ability
to shop from anywhere via any number of personal technology devices. According to
Forrester Research, more than 40% of Western Europeans purchase goods online, with
Germany, Switzerland and France all reporting more than 50% of consumers doing so. In
the US, 67% of consumers currently shop online, using four or five web outlets4.
IMAGE: Sitel PTS Results. More information on page 7
Executives across the enterprise are recognizing that every customer touch point must
first retain a customer and then turn positive experiences into improvements to the
bottom line. In recent research4, it was noted that companies need to become far more
innovative, rebooting their strategy to emphasize quality and customer experience, not
pricing. In a fast-moving and ultra-competitive marketplace, the customer service agents
who are truly listening and engaging are the part of the business creating meaningful value
at moments of truth that matter.
4
“Customers take control”, December 2011, PWC
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As we’ve seen before, an innovative technical support approach can deliver scalable
services that enhance the customer experience while increasing business profitability as a
whole.
Companies like Sitel, one of the pioneers in this arena, report that a Premium Technical
Support solution can help avoid customer frustration due to unexpected, prolonged
downtime with post-warranty coverage that continually supports their customers, provides
critical business information and generates revenue. The company points four imperative
elements on the revenue generation aspect:




Convert a cost center to a profit center
Turn non-revenue generating calls into revenue streams
Save on spend in the customer care operation
Provide an opportunity to pay for results, not effort
These imperatives may sound familiar, as experts from different regions and industries are
pointing that a primary challenge for companies in the following years is determining how
to provide services at competitive prices while at the same time ensuring decent profit
margins. This was the case of a leading global electronics manufacture, Sitel’s PTS client
since 2012. The initial objectives and challenges of this company were:
In less than three months after the new PTS solution implementation, this Sitel client has
achieved the following performance results:

Exceeded USD $4K revenue per agent target
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



Conversion rate 25% + (Call/Upsell)
Creation of a solid revenue stream in less than a quarter
82% overall NPS (96% for PTS customers)
Net Profit added to client’s bottom line
The Evolution of Remote PC Support
Despite the torrid growth of everything mobile, the technical support and service desk
industry is apparently not well prepared to deal with this new customer. Only 24% of
respondents to the IDG survey have a remote support solution enabling them to connect to
a customer’s mobile device. Conversely, more than 60% say that such a solution would
positively impact their customer service and satisfaction metrics.
“That disconnect clearly points that customers are not getting the support they
expect.” says Dinesh Pai, Senior Vice President, Sitel Global PTS.
According to Sitel
Premium Technical Support experts, to provide a far more satisfactory customer
experience, contact options should include phone, email, chat, social media or access to
self-service tools, developing a holistic and innovative
… a holistic and innovative
plan to realign how
customers contact technical
support and take full
advantage of self-service
features.
plan to realign how customers contact technical
support and take full advantage of self-service
features. Also, tailored technical support solutions let
technicians
remotely
support
a
user’s
Android,
BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Mobile or traditional device,
quickly resolving issues.
Taking it a step further, some leading manufacturers are bundling remote control software
on their devices, enabling support staffs to remotely configure, diagnose and troubleshoot
problems wherever the customer has a data connection.
This technology also lets technicians collaborate on a remote session to solve more
complex problems. Collectively, these tools help solve problems in a way that leaves the
customer with a very positive brand experience.
Conclusion – PTS is a Strategic Imperative
Detailed activity monitoring, multi-channeled & remote interactions, careful rules of
engagement, active analytic tools, and comprehensive reporting are some of the next
generation technical support features that guarantee significant improvements in customer
satisfaction, cost efficiencies and also, conversion rates creating new revenue streams.
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More than half of the organizations in a recent IDG survey cited high customer satisfaction
as the most critical goal for their service operations. The next technical support
generation, or “Premium Technical Support” as it has been called, is an important
component of how we deliver meaningful support in the customers chosen channel of
interaction - customers are communicating with vendors in different ways depending on
who they are, where they are and what device they are using.
The multichannel aspect of the new technical support service may make some
organizations feel a loss of control, especially in social media, but the new technical
… More than half of the
organizations in a recent IDG
survey cited high customer
satisfaction as the most
critical goal for their service
operations
support solutions are empowering the ability for a
public social interaction to be escalated to a secure
private communication with the same agent, without
navigating an IVR or exiting the text channel of
interaction.
Leading the industry change, top tier companies like Sitel are transforming its clients’
technical support services by applying three key elements:

Leveraging automation to improve the efficiency of the technical support process:
Customers can take full advantage of remote and self-service features for basic
technical support to optimize speed to resolution. Sitel’s automated desktop tools
can triage issues and resolve technical issues faster than a Specialist working
without the Sitel Premium Technical Support platform.

Focusing on new revenue generation: Sitel Premium Technical Support solutions
was built based on a revenue-sharing approach across the consumer and SMB space,
saving on spend in the technical support operation and creating a new revenue
stream for its clients. Examples of Sitel PTS offer supporting customers' needs are:
o
Subscription Plans: Live Tech Support plans (Monthly, Annual): Customers can
call anytime they need help.
o
One-time
Request:
Service
for
any
single
incident
(Setup
Services,
Troubleshooting & Repair Services)
o

Anytime Technical Support: 24x7, 365 days a year
Staffing high-quality, talented and experienced people: With more than 25,000
professionals (almost half of Sitel’s global workforce) and unmatched industry
experience providing technical support services to major brands and OEM
companies, Sitel Premium Technical Support Specialists have the ability and
knowledge to help customers with technology challenges around the world.
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Common deployment of Premium Technical Support includes:

Monetizing warranty, post-warranty or out-of-warranty support

Improving the efficiency of troubleshooting
o
Operating software and application problems
o
Internet service and networking problems
o
Computer hardware and peripheral problems

Improving the consistency of corporate help desk support

Reducing field technician dispatch and support line
To learn more about how Sitel Premium Technical Support can help grow your business,
contact a Sitel representative or visit www.sitel.com/solutions for the latest research and
analysis of industry issues.
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About Sitel
Sitel is a world leader in outsourced customer care
services, including some of the most advanced contact
centers in the world. With almost 30 years of industry
experience, Sitel has twice been ranked as the top
overall
call
center
outsourcing
provider
in
Datamonitor’s annual Black Book of Outsourcing
survey. Sitel has also been ranked in the “Leaders
Quadrant” in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant: Customer
Management Contact Center BPO, Worldwide, since
2010.
Sitel’s
58,000
employees
provide
clients
with
predictable and measurable return on their customer
investment by building customer loyalty, increasing
sales and improving efficiency. Sitel’s solutions span
+120 domestic, nearshore, and offshore centers,
speaking 40 languages in 23 countries.
United States
Two American Center
3102 West End Avenue
Suite 1000
Nashville, TN, 37203, USA
+1 866 95 SITEL
United Kingdom
Building 600
Leavesden Park
Hercules Way, Watford
WD25 7GS
+44 (0) 1923 689 600
For more information, please, visit www.sitel.com
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