Results
Average resolution time
Reduction in cost to serve customers
First contact resolution
Faster return on investment than planned, reached in 8 months
The bank reached ROI 45% faster than planned. First-contact resolution rose to 62%, while cost to serve fell by 35%.
What the bank gained
Customers reach answers faster in the channel they choose. Agents see only the work that matters to them, with AI guidance in every call. Branch staff and credit officers join the same workflows through emailed links. Management sees one set of numbers instead of six disagreeing reports.
Before CEMax
Six systems, six views of the same customer.
Before CEMax, the bank ran six separate systems. Queue management let customers schedule branch visits. A contact center managed customer tickets. A telephony system with IVR handled calls. A solution for digital requests was integrated with the contact center only in part. A survey system sent customer surveys after various journeys. A BI system produced reports for management.
Each system held a different view of the customer. Agents switched between screens, customers repeated themselves, and management reports did not agree with one another. Improving one channel did not improve the others, because nothing connected them.
The Approach
One platform, built around Voice AI.
A consultancy that had recorded and analyzed the bank’s call center performance was advising it on AI and Voice AI capabilities. It suggested implementing the CEMax CEM suite, beginning with Voice AI as the first phase.
While Voice AI was implemented, the CEMax team used CEMax’s knowledge management as the source of information for the AI. They also used CEMax’s integration layer to connect the bank’s legacy systems.
The architecture below shows how a single CEM suite sits at the center of every channel, staff group and data source. Each new channel or workflow plugs into the same core rather than creating another silo.
The Rollout
Six phases, one workflow engine.
The rollout built on itself. Each phase reused the knowledge, integrations and workflows of the one before, so later phases were faster and cheaper to deliver.
Results
Faster resolution, lower cost, more first-contact answers.
Resolution time fell by 68%, and the cost to serve customers fell by 35%. Customers spent less time on the phone and waited less in queues. Call time fell by 45% and waiting time by 41%, which freed agent capacity for the more complex cases that remained.
Customer satisfaction and revenue both beat their targets. Net promoter score reached 72 against a target of 56. Revenue from new services grew by 55%, against a target of 20%. The customer churn rate stayed below 1%.
Against a target of 56
Net promoter score
Against a target of 20%
New services revenue
Against a target of 5%
Customer churn
Digital and Customer
Customers move to digital, and stay satisfied.
The share of customer interactions in digital channels rose from 15% to 64%. Digital forms and chat channels now carry a large part of the work that used to need a call. First contact resolution reached 62%, so customers need fewer follow-up contacts to get an answer.
Satisfaction rose across every channel that CEMax Voice of the Customer monitors. Social media and calls led the gains, while digital forms, chat and bots added new reach. Customer insights from surveys and analytics grew by 25 index points.
Digital channel share
15% →
First contact resolution
Customer insights
Index points
Financial impact
Automation and efficiency paid back quickly.
The return on investment was reached in 8 months, 45% faster than planned. Self-service automation and contact center workflow automation each delivered strong yearly savings. Contact center efficiency reached 220% of its target. Compensation payments to customers also fell.
Customer experience contributed to profit at 111% of its target, and total yearly profit rose by 20%. The contact center workforce reduction and software license savings are shown in the full KPI scorecard, and some employees moved into new roles within the bank.
Key KPIs
The most important measures from the project, with the target or context each result is judged against.
Scorecard: results against targets.
THE OUTCOME
BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARD
One platform that grows channels without growing cost.
The bank now runs one customer experience platform. Voice AI handles routine calls, the agents are supported in every interaction, and the branches and back office share the same workflows. The results show faster resolution, lower cost to serve, higher satisfaction and a return on investment reached ahead of plan.
Customers get faster answers in the channel they choose, agents work from one action list, branches and back offices join the same workflows, and leadership sees one set of numbers.
Six tools became one customer platform.
