Convergys Awarded Patent for Customer-Focused Linkage Analysis Method
Convergys has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for an analytics technique that helps improve the customer experience within an interactive voice response (IVR) system by statistically linking IVR and caller satisfaction data.
The USPTO awarded the formal patent to Convergys for its application of advanced linkage analytics that compares portions of data generated through an IVR application to a customer satisfaction score obtained from a survey. These comparisons statistically reveal which areas within the IVR correlate to low customer satisfaction scores so adjustments can be made to improve the overall customer experience.
"Traditional IVR analysis approaches may record a caller's technical interaction with an IVR, but fail to take into account those hidden requirements that encompass the caller's overall experience with the system. As a result, the IVR system may appear to be working perfectly, with no errors, when in reality the caller’s needs were not met," said Mike Cholak, a Convergys vice president in charge of the company’s research and applied analytics on the customer experience, in a statement. "By incorporating customer satisfaction scores into the IVR performance review, we are able to uncover those hidden obstacles that increase customer effort and hinder customer satisfaction."
Cholak adds that Convergys is working on applying this use of linkage analytics to other customer service channels and currently has a patent pending with the USPTO tying customer satisfaction scores to Web site navigation data to improve the online customer experience.