Customer Communication Management

B2B Communication made easier through XML standards

Co-creation — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:44:18 +0000

Customer Communication is not limited to business to individuals, it extents to other business entities who are part of the business and commercial network. In order to effectively communicate between business entities ( B2B) , there is a need for standardization of information structure. XML based information standards have made this easier. Here is a list of industry specific XML standards which enables B2B communication:

1. ACORD - Insurance industry XML

2 .ASTM CCR - Standard for Patient information

3. CDISC – Clinical Data interchange standard consortium

4. HL7 - (Health Level Seven) Electronic Health Information Standard

5. XBRL – Financial and Business communication standard

6. MISMO- The Mortgage Industry Standards

7. UBL - OASIS Universal Business Language : a common XML library of business documents (purchase orders, invoices, etc.)

8. UNeDocs - aims to become the world electronic trade document standard under UN auspices

9. ADF - The Auto-Lead Data Format (ADF) is an XML-based standard used in the automotive industry for formatting data involved with automotive sale leads

10. ebXML – Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language

11. FpML – Financial products Markup Language is the business information exchange standard for electronic dealing and processing of financial derivatives instruments.

12. LIXI - electronic data exchange within the Australian lending industry

In addition to these, here is a list of other standards in Wikipedia.

Smart interview wizard is key to authoring interactive communication output faster

Co-creation — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:50:50 +0000

A key part of the interactive communication output solution is the ability to set-up a pre-defined wizard to help in interviewing the client who is over phone or sitting across the table. This is a typical scenario in a call center environment or a branch office of a bank. The interview can be of variety of topics . So the wizard should be able to support different interview scenarios.

The wizard should have pre-defined questions, the response to which would decide the content that would go in to the communication output. The wizard should also provide option to capture specific information from the customer. It should also display the content that is getting created as the interview is going on and the details are getting added to the document. It should also allow the user to edit some of the pre-defined content ( based on the users security profile). At the same time, it should allow to include additional content based on the interview.

This wizard is part of the template which has other fixed content and place holder for variable content/data. The wizard helps to capture customer information which is not in the current database, or if she is a new customer.

This wizard could be stopped at any point of the interview process and restarted when required. The wizard should be able to initiate a work flow for internal review and approval of the information captured or decisions made. Also, this wizard should have the flexibility to continue on certain sections of the interview while another completed section is undergoing a review/approval process. This will help in reducing the total duration of interview of the customer. This will avoid , making the customer wait while a review and approval process is undergoing.

Some of the wizard capabilities are enabled by the forms technologies like Adobe eForm. The solution’s ability to integrate with the BPM and ECM infrastructure of the organization would help in achieving an integrated approach to customer communication.

Features to look for managing templates in an Interactive Communications Output Solution

Co-creation — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 05:17:18 +0000

An interactive communication output e.g. a correspondence , where a document or email is authored based on specific interaction with a client, it is necessary to have a predefined template which forms the basis for the correspondence. The template is pre-designed with company logo, a set of default text, place holder for variable information specific to the client as well as ability to add/delete additional information based on the client interaction. Template management capabilities for the authoring module is the core of any interactive communication document solution. We have tried to summarize a list of the key template management functionalities which one should be looking for while selecting a solution for interactive communication requirement.

1. Template should be managed in a content management repository which allows functionality like version control, security as well as single point of access on a network based environment.

2. The template authoring environment should have drag and drop functionality such that it is faster to develop and make changes when needed.

3. The template used for authoring a correspondence should have the capability to incorporate business rules which will enable specific content / data based on the various input data . It is expected that the it should be easy for a business analyst using these tools to develop business rules based on some sort of wizard capability.

4. In order to better manage the template development process, it is necessary that the template development and maintenance should not be tied to specific desktop having the required thick client software. Since we are in living in the world of web, ability to manage template over the web should be of considerable advantage . This helps not only the designer but also the IT department which is responsible for managing the desktops.

5. Template used in interactive authoring, should be useful for multiple delivery outputs. Not only it should provide output for print, it should be able to handle output to a cell phone as a text message. This requires the template to have the ability to identify the content which is common to all delivery channel as well as one that is specific to a single media. This functionality is called white labeling.

6. Interactive communication authoring template should support the functionality where the template components e.g. the company logo or certain regulatory statements need not be hard-coded. They can be referred from their original source e.g. a Digital Asset Management application and is updated in the template when it is changed in the parent application. This helps in maintaining the integrity of the information across the communication outputs.

These are some of the functionalities which is currently available in many of the DOM Solutions posted earlier. These functionalities should be leveraged while implementing a interactive output solution to get the best out of the investments.

Template management:

Template is managed in a content management repository
Drag and drop interface
Wizard based capability for building rules
Remote access through web
White labeling
Dynamic update of template fragments

Define Your Customer Communication Technology Requirement

Co-creation — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:12:39 +0000

Organizations communicate with its customer (as well as it supplier) in different stages of the business transaction. The process and content of communication varies depending the type of interaction the organization is carrying out. Based on this, the communication content preparation application can be categorized in three different types (courtesy Forrester ). They are 1) structured, 2) interactive and 3) on demand. Some of the examples communication content composed by for each of these type of application are:

Structured:

- Banking Statement

- Marketing Material

- Credit Card Policy

-Utility Bills

On Demand:

- Customer Correspondence

- Online Quotation

Interactive:

- Welcome Kits

- Insurance Policies

This categorization of content composition application helps organization to select the right technology for their customer communication needs.

3 steps in DOM : Design, Compose and Publish

Co-creation — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:51:03 +0000

Document Output Management Solutions (DOM) follow three distinct steps to convert a communication concept to published output. They are:

1. Design

2. Compose

3. Publish

Design: In the design step, a communication designer can use various document design tools like Adobe InDesign to develop the template for the communication material. The template consists of fixed information as well as reference to variable information depending personalization requirement of the communication output. E.g. the brand logo of the company could be the fixed information where as the customer name is a variable information. The template would also capture details of the fonts, colors , rich media ( including video) , text , data that would be part of the communication. The template would define the location of each of the information elements. These information elements are bound through a set of business rules programs which will help in crafting the personalized communication. The output of this step is a template which packages all the elements of the intended communication.

Compose: This step where the power of DOM composition engine comes to play. The composition engine uses the variable data for personalization and the template embedded with business rules along with the associated information elements ( like images, text etc) to produced individual output for each variable data ( e.g. each customer). The output is ready for publishing to any delivery channel.

Publish: This is the last step of the communication generation process where the personalized output is submitted to the preferred delivery channel for the customer. The channel could be print/post , web page, email, SMS , PDF etc. The publishing can be scheduled based on the organization as well as customer requirement.

These high level steps should be part of the communication output process of any organization. There could be additional steps depending on the organization’s internal or regulatory requirement but the these three steps provide the guideline to define the resource, technology as well as policy/procedures for the customer communication management.

Stage 4: Responding to customer through Automated Correspondence

Co-creation — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:38:01 +0000

The “Manage” stage of customer communication management involves maintaining customer relationship.In today’s highly competitive marketplace, customers demand better service, more attention and immediate response. Real-time interactive correspondence is the key to meeting and exceeding these expectations. Document Output Management (DOM) Solution provides just what your business needs.

Customer Services Representatives can generate customized letters and marketing collaterals from a request for information or problem report, then automatically route it for review. Web enabled DOM Solution helps Customer Representative to respond to customer requests for information in real-time, with the agility to support a broader range of applications.

It’s all about maintaining an agile workforce, and providing a personalized experience for your customers.

Key benefits include:

Deliver multichannel correspondence based on each customer’s preference—print, e-mail, web, fax, and/or SMS/MMS correspondence for mobile devices.
Leveraging Microsoft Word enables designers to quickly create templates and business users to easily generate correspondence.
Provide Web-based generation, previewing, and editing of correspondence in realtime, supporting controlled and ad hoc editing, and approval workflow.
Shorten approval processes and improve accuracy by automatically routing documents to legal, compliance, and other channels for review and approval.

Stage 3: Relationship Statements

Co-creation — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:25:53 +0000

Attracting and retaining customers is always a challenge for any organization. Because most organizations use statements to communicate with customers on a regular basis, they represent the most powerful communication “touch point” to ensure loyal customer relationships. Document Output Management Solution enables creation of complex, data-intensive, high value documents for multiple output media. With DOM Solution, you can produce high value statements that are well-designed, and communicate clearly all account activity, making it easier for your customers to understand and easier for you to attract and retain these valued clients.

Regardless of the industry or internal department, DOM solution allows organizations to benefit by easily creating professional high value relationship statements. With its powerful data processing and advanced layout capabilities, DOM enables users to quickly translate their unique organizational processes into software business rule logic through an intuitive UI. Utilizing built-in rule logic, DOM solution suite accepts, interprets and processes text and data into professional high value statements.

Key benefits include:

Simultaneous creation for both web and print distribution eliminates duplication of software systems
Rapid Application Development environment reduces time to market
Personalized one-to-one cross marketing campaigns increase response rates
Content repository management and easy component reuse ensures corporate branding and consistent appearance
Built-in rule based software logic reduces production costs by automating recurring business processes
Intuitive graphical interface allows end-user control while reducing IT costs
Output processing support to efficiently manage and control output to best utilize resources and equipment

Stage 2: Automated Contract Generation through DOM

Co-creation — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:44:40 +0000

Anyone who has ever worked on generating and negotiating contracts understands the many challenges involved. Along with sorting through all the legal requirements and ensuring regulatory compliance, there are typically numerous rounds of reviews, edits, and revisions that greatly impact business efficiency. Contract workflows that include negotiations between two or more parties further exacerbate the ability to reach the final approval stage, which ultimately impacts time to revenue. Moreover, rushed, mismanaged, or inaccurate contracts can leave organizations vulnerable to significant risk.

In many organizations, the negotiation process is mostly paper-based and manual, involving multiple printed versions with handwritten changes that are faxed back and forth. This process wastes precious time and resources, not to mention being error-prone and environmentally wasteful. Moreover, it can be challenging to maintain an accurate history of a negotiation process using only paper archives, particularly all of the contract versions produced during the process.

Document Output Management (DOM) Solutions streamlines the creation, approval, and negotiation of contracts. DOM Solution applies business rules to document content and processes, improving efficiency and productivity. It enables users to move to a paperless contract negotiation environment, removing manual steps and reducing or eliminating the need for physical storage of paper documents.

Key features include:

Create, negotiate, and revise contracts with familiar tools like Microsoft Word, the most popular authoring tool used by legal professionals.
Quickly search for alternate clauses from a library of preapproved content or select from a predetermined list of content choices, thereby speeding approval.
Control versions, manage history, and track all changes made to any version of a contract.
Gain visibility into the contracts management process by generating reports to show vital management details, such as contract aging status, time elapsed at each workflow step, and end-to-end processing time by work group.
Produce both electronic and printed versions of contracts in a variety of formats for multichannel distribution.

Stage 1: DOM Solutions enables Personalized Marketing Material

Co-creation — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:00:01 +0000

The first stage of customer communication management life cycle is introducing the perspective customers with the information they need to make informed buying decisions. To be successful, Marketers have to respond to these individual needs and embrace new methods for delivering high-impact, personalized communications. The challenge is to combine all you know about your customers and products into compelling communications that inform, motivate, and move your target audience to action.

Document Output Management (DOM) Solutions enables organization to use existing digital assets so as to quickly design, compose and publish personalized communications for print or electronic channels. Because it is easy to use, one can craft rich, effective marketing collateral and campaigns, without sacrificing other marketing priorities. DOM Solutions can transform existing static documents into highly-creative, dynamic customer communications using desktop computers. DOM solutions use variable data and assembly logic to generate templates for producing personalized collateral, offers, catalogs, and other customer communications, ready for delivery.

Key Benefits of DOM Solution:

Leverage familiar design tools to streamline learning curves and reduce time to market.
Utilize existing tools like Adobe InDesign compatible assets for quick implementation without having to import them into incompatible proprietary systems.
Ensure brand consistency through reuse of digital assets across multiple templates.
Fulfill realtime requests for personalized marketing collateral and offers based on variable information captured using your company’s web portal.
Replace preprinted marketing collateral inventories with targeted, personalized marketing collateral that match a customer’s unique profile, preferences, and needs.
Localize all content for multiple geographic markets and distribution channels, eliminating multiple variations of the same collateral or offers.