AltiGen
Bank Phone Systems
Designed for Financial Institutions
AltiGen Communications, Inc. has
received over 40 industry awards since creating the
first converged phone system in 1996. Thousands of companies
have benefited from its advanced capability with more
than 150 financial institutions implementing the solution
in the last three years.
AltiGen is helping banks tie locations
together, improve customer retention and improve personalized
service. Because the system was designed to allow a
bank to control the system, all day-to-day management
can be handled by the IT staff.
Increase Customer Retention
According to industry statistics, banks on average lose
20% of their customers every year. However, a study
by the Harvard Business Review found that by increasing
retention by just 5%, a financial institution can increase
profit by as much as 100%. AltiGen Bank Phone Systems
are designed to let banks take control of communications
and provide a real-time view of phone interaction with
customers. Banks are using this capability to identify
problems before they become serious.
The system's call activity "report card"
provides hard data on how customer calls are being serviced.
Every call into the bank can be matched to the employee,
even if the call is transferred several times or even
routed to another location. Management can easily measure
group and individual employee performance. In addition,
the system has an optional recording feature that can
automatically record select calls or all customer calls
to ensure the highest quality customer interaction.
When a bank is able to identify and correct problems,
customer retention can be managed and improved.
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Increase
Customer Base
One challenge many banks face is increasing transaction
volumes without increasing staff. American National
Bank (ANB) in Texas built its reputation in the community
through great service, treating customers as individuals
and resolving problems quickly. When American National
Bank chose AltiGen phone systems, they wanted to further
enhance customer perception since positive word of mouth
and customer referrals have been key to its growth.
The bank implemented a number of small
contact centers to support the bookkeeping and customer
service departments. ANB also installed the AltiView
customer service software on each employee's computer
that shows who is calling, reduces missed calls and
lets employees scroll through voice mails by caller
information. According to American National Bank Executive
VP and CFO Mike Murphy, "We are significantly reducing
transaction times, increasing transaction volumes and
increasing revenues associated with customer calls."
This has translated into happy customers who tell others.
"We attribute increases in our customer base to improvements
in the level of service we are offering our customers,"
he said.
Increase Personalized Service and Satisfaction
When customers call a bank using the AltiGen phone system,
they can be greeted by a real person. Receptionists
use AltiGen console software that displays a live view
of employee extensions across all locations and lets
them operate as if everyone were in the same location.
Employees see the customer's caller ID information even
when a call has been transferred. This allows the bank
to greet customers by name.
If there is ever a service question, the
bank is able to immediately view all call records to
see exactly how many times a customer called, who they
spoke with and the length of the calls. When the management
is able to make service decisions and improvements based
upon real information, customers experience a higher
level of satisfaction when they call the bank.
Unify
Bank Locations
Banks are able to integrate communications across locations
by connecting the phone systems to the data network.
Calls can be seamlessly transferred across locations
using Voice over IP (VoIP), with all branch phone systems
managed from the main location. Banks are able to implement
a company wide extension plan that works regardless
of the location of the employee. By unifying the locations,
banks improve the ease and ability of its employees
to work together. The AltiGen system also offers extensive
self-administration tools that let the bank make configuration
changes quickly at any branch themselves. For advanced
changes, banks have their AltiGen Authorized Dealer
remotely connect to make same day changes. With older
phone systems, changes were often expensive and disrupted
business. The AltiGen system is designed to allow a
bank's IT staff to manage all day-to-day services.
Better
Utilize Employees Across Locations
Although bank employees may work in
different cities, AltiGen phone systems allow everyone
to communicate with each other and customers as if they
were in the same location. While the system's technology
is incredibly advanced, the technology is hidden from
employees and customers. For the employees, it means
that they could be part of a single service group that
includes people from different cities. For the customer,
it means never worrying about where a particular employee
or service is located. They can either dial the employee
directly, or dial the main bank number and be quickly
transferred to any location.
By unifying the locations, employees can
assist other locations as needed during peak activity.
Employees with special skills can be shared across branches.
A branch loan officer calls in sick? No problem. The
call can be automatically connected to a loan officer
at another location. With AltiGen's new ExtensionAnywhere™
feature, bank employees can even be connected while
working remotely. A home phone, cellular phone, or any
phone can be activated and operated exactly like the
employees office extension. With this new capability,
physical barriers to improved customer service are being
removed.
Reduce
Costs
By implementing AlitGen phone systems,
banks are contributing to their bottom line. "Since
American National Bank installed AltiGen, we are saving
over $1,000 per month in long distance. That's over
$12,000 per year directly to our bottom line," said
Executive VP and CFO Mike Murphy. In addition to the
long distance savings, the bank has benefited by managing
most daily administration itself. "These type of soft
cost savings all contribute to the flexibility and value
of the AltiGen solution. The bank has also benefited
by allowing an employee to help customers even if they
are in another city. This allows the greatest return
for each employee resource."
Improve Bank Image and Customer Loyalty
For a bank customer, the ideal experience
is reaching the right person who can help them as quickly
and easily as possible. The AltiGen system allows employees
to be grouped by skill to receive calls, and can recognize
and route calls based on who is available to receive
them. Better yet, when a bank employee is able to identify
a customer calling, the customer feels their business
is valued.
According to the Gallup Agency, the number
one reason customers change banks is because of poor
service. If they don't feel valued they leave. The AltiGen
system provides banks with the necessary tools to help
employees help customers.
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