Solutions | Retail
Targeted Marketing for Insurance Companies
- Hits: 232
A large auto insurance company has expanded into homeowner and renters insurance and wants their agents to promote the new products to their current customers. The agents want to be able to target specific customers based on where they live, as well as the level of current policies they have.
Solving this challenge will benefit the agents in the following ways:
- By sending pertinent promotional or advertising information to a focused group of customers, the agent should experience more positive results for their promotional efforts.
- By using a phone campaign instead of paper, the agent runs greener, and each campaign costs less.
- The insurance company customers will feel like the agent is familiar with their current policies because only pertinent campaigns are being sent to them, leading to improved customer loyalty.
- By using a phone campaign based on up-to-date customer data, the agent can run campaigns quicker with less delay waiting for printing and mailing, leading to more timely customer service and interaction.
Solution
The focus of this solution is to create an automated Dial Out function tied to the agent’s customer database which is tied to specific customer information for different policy promotions.
- An agent creates a query that selects a focus group of customers to send an audio message to their contact phone numbers; the message being sent is pertinent to the focus group’s current customer status.
- Insurance company management records the promotion in various languages allowing them to query and communicate with customers based on their preferred language.
- The agent schedules the calls to occur at the most effective time(s) of the day for improved results.
- Customers or potential customers acknowledge the calls through the keypad on their phones and indicate they are interested in the products and/or services being promoted and would like more information.
- Customers or potential customers acknowledge the calls through the keypad on their phones and indicate they would like to be connected to a live agent to speak more about the products and/or services promoted during the call.
- The results of the campaigns are available through standard reporting features, giving the agent the data they need to more accurately plan a more profitable product and services line-up catering to the surrounding demographics.
On-Demand Staffing Management
- Hits: 188
A local hotel normally runs near 70% occupancy during the winter. Recently, it found itself understaffed and unprepared to handle an onslaught of air travelers caused by the nearby airport having to shut down for the night due to an ice storm. The hotel needed a way to alert employees to augment the staff at the registration desk, housekeeping, bell hop station, the kitchen for the following morning, as well as the shuttle service. Many of the guests had never stayed at the hotel, and it was a one-time chance to impress them for future stays.
Solving this challenge will benefit the hotel in the following ways:
- The travelers know they are unexpected; if they see sufficient staff to provide quick service, there’s a greater chance they will stay at that hotel in the future.
- Following the airport closure, travelers will undoubtedly recant the night’s events; news of the hotels ability to efficiently handle the onslaught will be mentioned to other travelers, resulting in free advertising and PR for the hotel.
- Knowing the hotel can handle the increase in guests, it can call the airlines at the airport and notify them they have rooms available and the staff to serve them. The airlines will look to them in the future when having to help travelers find a hotel for the night.
- With all the unexpected guests served and boarded for the night, the hotel capitalizes on additional revenue opportunities instead of potentially turning it over to local competition.
Solution
The focus of this solution is to leverage the hotel’s VoIP infrastructure to improve staff communication and provide adequate staffing as quickly as possible
- The hotel manager on staff, hits a button on the desk IP phone allowing them to instantly connect with employee managers to coordinate the response to the increase in guests.
- An employee manager hits a speed dial button on their IP phone, home phone, or cell phone and records a message to send to a pre-defined list of registration desk employees, bell station employees, and keeping employees
- The manager can record a second message in Spanish if needed and send it to the phone numbers of staff whose primary language is Spanish.
- The hotel manager can view a report showing which employees acknowledged and are coming in, allowing them to decide whether or not to call more employees.
- The same system can be used to contact the guests that did not have reservations, but were able to be served by the hotel, as a way to measure satisfaction.
Multi-Location Staffing Management
- Hits: 282
A local franchise with 16 stores is looking for a better way to leverage its staff company-wide. Instead of every store maintaining its own group of employees, the franchise has found it can reduce costs by having one employee pool from which all sites can pull. However, in order to facilitate the management of the one pool of employees, the franchise must develop a way to quickly reach out to the employees as site requirements change due to seasonal demands or simply other employees failing to come into work.
Solving this challenge will benefit the franchise in the following ways:
- If the franchise can manage one common employee pool, all stores can conform to a corporate standard, eliminating the differences in store training or cultures
- By managing one pool of employees, the number of employees required to staff all stores is less compared to each store with its own employee pool, helping to reduce compensation expenses for the franchise
- Cross-pollinating employees helps to increase employee satisfaction as varying locations help to maintain variety in their day-to-day activities
- Franchise managers have information as to how many employees a store needs on average, allowing them to better assess the need for additional franchises in nearby areas
Solution
TThe focus of this solution is to integrate with franchise’s employee database and create an automated system of notifications and Dial Out programs designed to efficiently manage staff shortages
- A back-end routine queries the franchise’s staff scheduling system to compare against the franchise’s time card activities
- As employees scheduled to work fail to clock in, store managers are paged, or texted on their cell phones and receive notifications
- If a store manager is forced to fill a vacant position, they accesses the Staff Management Application from the touch of an icon on an IP phone in their store
- Queries are presented to the phone allowing the store manager to specify what level employee is needed and for what dates and times
- Once submitted, a backend routine queries employee records to assess employee level, proximity of employees to the store, the number of hours currently worked/scheduled for the week, seniority, etc.
- The routine prioritizes the available employees and automatically dials out to them asking for acknowledgement; once acknowledgement is received, the Dial Out process is stopped
- The routine continues to monitor if the called employee clocks in and if not notifies the manager
Increasing Customer Traffic
- Hits: 215
A local grocery chain is looking for new ways to bring consumers into their stores. They have a preferred customer program that is primarily used to provide discounts on gasoline purchased at the store pumps, but want to use these ‘cards’ in new ways.
Solving this challenge will benefit the business in the following ways:
- Reach frequent shoppers during typical shopping hours to monopolize mindshare and bring them into the store as opposed to the competitors
- Real time, immediate advertising as specials are sent to the targeted customers’ cell phones
- Increase effect of marketing budget by decreasing printing cost and promoting a greener operation
- Consumers will respond positively to a new and unique way of promoting products they frequently purchase
- Consumers purchase promotional items with additional revenue coming through associated items
- Increase in customer loyalty
Solution
The focus of this solution is to create an internal communication system between employees and security to quickly respond to and manage emergency situations.
- Access today’s corporate promotions data base, allowing edits to promotions without worrying about add re-prints, last minute edits, etc.
- Select items that interest a focused group of shoppers such as seniors, young parents, young adults, teenagers, etc.
- Select seasonal items that interest a wide spectrum of consumers to add to the list of promotions
- Through a routine based on IPfusion, integrate with internal database containing special promotions to find the targeted audience
- The same routine queries the preferred customer database containing consumer profiles, purchasing history, and preferred contact information
- Based on scheduler within IPfusion send text message to customers’ mobile devices with the appropriate promotional material at the appropriate time to herd in consumers during highest traffic times
- Based on scheduler within IPfusion, initiate Dial Out to customers’ mobile devices with the appropriate promotional material at the appropriate time to herd in consumers during highest traffic times
Enriching the Hospitality Experience
- Hits: 186
With the depressed economy, fewer people are traveling for pleasure which drives competition among existing properties to new levels. Hotels are striving to differentiate themselves amongst their competitors in an attempt to grab a higher share of available travelers. Targeting the guest experience, hotels are looking for ways to improve accessing information on property services and nearby attractions. By providing an intuitive, rich experience to the room phone, the hotel can improve its messaging and delivery of hotel services to each guest.
Solving this challenge will benefit the company in the following ways:
- Guests will have a richer experience and be more likely to return in the future, helping the hotel to retain its guest loyalty.
- The hotel will have the ability to dynamically control what in-hotel services or affiliated local attractions it advertises to its guests, driving revenue from high margin options.
- The hotel will be able to stay with its green initiative by not having to print the typical hotel binder found in each room and reprint when there are changes.
- By offering services through a dynamic, always-on display, the hotel can more effectively gain the attention of its guests and receive a higher percentage of the traveler's spending dollars.
Solution
The focus of this solution is a flexible, accessible Dial Out application where companies can easily get participants for market research and studies.
- An IP phone in each guest room displays offerings from the in-hotel restaurant, spa, business center, golf club, nearby attractions, or other revenue generating ventures.
- The guest touches the screen of the IP phone and a group of icons appear, providing access to hotel services such as the front desk, room service, bell stand, restaurant, spa, golf club, local attractions, etc.
- The guest touches an icon on the screen and pertinent options are offered via the screen of the IP phone
- Selecting Front Desk displays check-in/out times, monetary exchange rates, wake-up calls, etc.
- Selecting Room Service displays options for cleaning, towels, iron, hair dryer, bed turn-down, etc.
- Selecting Bell Stand displays option for a bellman, valet parking service, taxi service, etc.
- Selecting In-Hotel Restaurant displays operating hours, menu options, reservations, etc.
- Selecting Spa displays operating hours, services provided, reservations, etc.
- Selecting Golf Club displays operating hours and rates, tee time reservations, course layout, etc.
- Selecting Local Attractions displays brief information on venues, ticket prices, locations, etc.
- Soft keys are provided throughout the screens that provide the option to return to the previous screen, dial to connect to the highlighted in-hotel service, or local venue, etc.
More Articles...
By Industry
By Function
IPcelerate Programs
Customer and partner programs - discounts, inside tips, preview new releases, training content, focus groups and more.
- Join: Strategic Partner Program
- Join: Customer Impact Program
Solutions
Support
Media
Products
Resources
Customers
Partners
Company Information
Applications for corporate communication devices.