Streamlining Success: Southern Water's Innovative CRM Transformation

Case Study: How I transformed Customer Issue Resolution at Southern Water

Client: Southern Water

Industry: Water Utility

Project: CRM System Replacement and Integrated Decision-Making

Challenge

Southern Water faced the need to replace their CRM system, which was critical for capturing customer and issue information at the first point of contact. The existing system's inefficiencies hampered their ability to resolve issues promptly and satisfactorily. Key challenges included:

• Issue Triage: Effectively identifying and categorizing customer issues.

• Data Integration: Seamless transfer and analysis of data between multiple systems.

• Customer Satisfaction: Resolving issues quickly and to the customer’s satisfaction.

Solution

Southern Water embarked on a transformative project to replace their CRM system with a new, integrated solution. The core elements of the solution included:

• Conversational Design: Implementation of 90 decision trees to streamline customer interactions.

• Knowledge Creation and Configuration: Leveraging organizational expertise for precise issue triage.

• Technical Deployment: Integration with the Synthetix platform via API for real-time data processing.
  

Process Workflow:

1. Data Capture: Customer contact data is captured in the new CRM system #ServiceNow.

2. Decision Trees: Data is passed to #Synthetix, where decision trees guide agents through the triage process.

3. Response Analysis: Agents capture responses and assign priorities.

4. Data Integration: All responses are sent back to the CRM, providing crews with detailed information.

System Components:

• New CRM System: ServiceNow.

• Decision/Knowledge Platform: Synthetix.

• Outsourced Contact Center: Responsible for utilizing and refining the new technology.

Outcomes

The new system resulted in significant improvements:

• Efficiency: Enhanced ability to dispatch the right teams quickly.

• Accuracy: Reduced unnecessary job attendances outside the service area or due to customer responsibility.

• Enhanced Analysis: Visual prompts and comprehensive data sharing improved issue analysis.

• Transparency: Attending crews accessed detailed customer responses, including access conditions, vulnerability status, and issue severity.

Key Learnings

1. Intuitive Technology: Early development and testing of decision trees accelerates readiness.

2. User Involvement: Collecting and acting on feedback enhances service quality.

3. Operational Model: A clear target operating model secures stakeholder buy-in and avoids delays.

4. Conversational Design: Consistency in interaction design prevents confusion.

5. Feature Utilization: Fully leveraging tool features, especially images, improves communication.

6. API Integrations: Proper setup ensures powerful, seamless operations.

7. Frequent Monitoring: Regularly updating the knowledge base addresses gaps and improves responses.

Conclusion

Southern Water's CRM transformation highlights the power of integrated decision-making and intuitive technology in enhancing customer service. By focusing on efficient issue triage, seamless data integration, and leveraging organizational expertise, Southern Water achieved significant improvements in operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

I delivered the integrated decision making capability by #synthetix and the technology, people and process changes involved in record time with a high level of accuracy.

Interested in finding out more and how I can help with a similar project? get in touch at des@desodell.co.uk always happy to have a conversation and explore how to move your contact center challenges into the sunset.