How SMS for installations can rebuild landline connections
Background
Our service-based client delivers high-volume field telco installations on behalf of major corporate and government clients across Australia. The services they support include:
- Field resourcing
- Work order tracking
- Customer scheduling
- Survey and design services
- Stock management
- Field installation services
- Construction services
- Customer aftercare
The challenge
The NBN rollout meant unprecedented demand for their installation services and their telecommunication technicians to install connections to houses across Australia. That meant being able to book appointments between their technician and homeowners and occupiers for installations.
That’s a lot of appointments to schedule – and with hundreds of outbound customer calls going unanswered and frequent miscommunication and understanding about installations, something needed to be done.
A new network that’s the primary internet connection is no easy task, and it required getting permission to enter people’s homes – a logistical challenge!
Our customer had three major obstacles to overcome.
Reduce the cost of the call centre for installations
Due to the rapid rollout, our customer defaulted to making appointments by outbound phone calls. That means:
- Attempting 450 calls per day, which typically takes an average of 5-8 phone calls to make contact with the customer
- It made field resourcing exceptionally difficult
- And, often homeowners and occupiers forgot appointment times and details
Reduce truck rolls
The team also wanted to reduce costs on wasted site visits, referred to as missed ‘truck rolls’. These wasted rolls could be caused when technicians couldn’t access a person’s house because:
- The homeowner or occupier wasn’t at home
- No appointment confirmations made
- There was a misunderstanding on what was about to happen
Improve customer experience with SMS installation booking and reminders
Our service provider client knew that customers’ expectations weren’t being met, and why.
- Only one channel of communication was in use
- Customer confusion before and during installation appointments
- Feedback wasn’t collected from customers for improvements
Relying on a landline or mobile phone connection wasn’t enough; SMS for installation appointments could help.
Here’s how we changed the customer experience with SMS
Tall Bob helped with new communications paths once they knew how they wanted to improve the customer experience.
First, redesign customer touchpoints to more reliable and more customer-friendly channels using SMS, forms, and two-way communications that work on the customer’s schedule. That meant:
- Replacing initial installation phone call communication with an SMS booking request sent seven days before the installation
- Use outbound calling as a backup for those who hadn’t responded
- Sending an appointment confirmation SMS one day before confirming the installation
- Finally, follow up on the unconfirmed appointments through the call centre
It’s simply SMS for installation appointments!
How Tall Bob helped with installation reminders with SMS and mobile engagement
Together with Tall Bob SMS, the installers snapped into action and delivered more. Here’s how.
Use channels that convert better:
When SMS installation bookings were introduced, it improved first-time customer contact and reduced outbound calls by over 47%.
The telecommunications installer reduced the rollout of technicians sent out when no one was home by 40% by using SMS to capture appointment confirmation, with a saving over $1 million.
And it meant they could prioritise their workforce by using outbound calls to handle SMS appointment flow exceptions.
Introduce mobile landing pages for customer response
Mobile landing pages are a brilliant way to extend the mobile journey and capture key information from customers, quickly and easily. They’re great for appointments and feedback!
- The telecommunications company send customers appointment preference time slot forms, which improve the customer experience by reducing unexpected contact centre calls
- Customer satisfaction surveys sent out and completed when it suits the customer after appointments
Using one-time URLs:
- Our custom forms and personalised links provide customers with the assistance they require
- Unusable on social media
- Personal data and information are protected by enhanced security and processes