Online portals for customer service
Millions of customers use online self-service
For the former E-Plus Group, pro!vision - a subsidiary of diva-e - developed online portals for customer service. The mobile network operator had a large number of own brands on offer and more than 30 partners who used the E-Plus network. Internet presences existed for each of these brands. To increase customer satisfaction among its nearly 24 million mobile customers, E-Plus handled customer service for several of its brands via online portals. At the heart of these websites were the Electronic Customer Care Systems (ECCs). The content and functions of the ECCs were mainly maintained on the basis of Adobe CQ.
Customers could log on to an online portal with their phone number and a password to view or change personal, contract and connection data, online bills and rate options.
The development of a comprehensive information portal for E-Plus call center employees, the so-called "Electronic Handbook" (EHB), also contributed to improving service performance.
Objective
Optimize customer service
The goal was to automate and accelerate customer service in order to increase customer satisfaction and retain customers in the long term. For this purpose, a CMS platform was to be developed that integrates transactional applications and editorial content. One challenge was the mapping of the complex rate structure for prepaid and postpaid brands and single-card and multi-card customers, and the requirement to be able to react quickly to rate changes. New brand presences had to be easily integrated into the overall system, and partner brands had to be integrated without great effort. Customers should be shown discounts or offers tailored to their needs. To ensure good performance with high user numbers, very good scalability of the CMS platform was crucial.
Implementation
White Label approach and service-oriented architecture
For the prepaid brands in particular, diva-e had developed a so-called white label ECC for E-Plus based on Adobe CQ. This allowed new brands to be added by configuration. All that had to be done was to create a new CSS (stylesheet) and the corresponding graphics for the brand. The editor could determine which functionalities were offered for the brand, e.g. availability of online billing, bookability of rate options, etc.
E-Plus had numerous complex back-end systems. Large volumes of data were created because a great deal of information had to be retained due to the legal situation. Each connection had to be stored and was usually relevant for billing. To meet these challenges, E-Plus had introduced a service-oriented architecture (SOA). All relevant backend services were accessible via web services. The CQ front ends for the various brand Internet presences were pure Web service consumers.
Result
Cost reduction and a plus in costumer satisfaction
Adobe CQ's easy-to-use interface made it possible to consistently deliver up-to-date content to customers with relatively few editors. Workflows for approval and review processes were simplified and accelerated. Campaigns - for example, for new rate offers - were easy to implement: Rates could be displayed by simple configuration and switching on templates. Adding new ECCs for additional brands was also possible within a few days and without additional costs.
The online self-service paid off: Instead of calling the hotline or visiting a stationary store, users completed tasks such as contract renewals or entering address changes themselves. Cost savings and customer satisfaction were increased.
Overview of the results:
Higher customer satisfaction through positive customer experiences in the brand portals
Cost savings through self-service
Uniform CMS platform for the Internet and intranet of the entire E-Plus Group
Integration of different backend systems
Integration of editorial content and applications
Fast response to tariff changes
Time and cost savings through white label approach for adding new brands
Integration of partner brands
Streamlined and accelerated editor workflow
High scalability and easy expandability of the CMS platform thanks to full virtualization
"Electronic Handbook" (EHB) as knowledge base for call center employees
Partner in the project
