Byline: Scott Zimmerman, President, TeleVox
Arguably, we have Henry Ford to thank for Just-In-Time-Communications. His vision of improved business performance through Just-In-Time Manufacturing proved so successful that it was adopted and refined by companies such as Toyota and evolved into a business science of JIT (Just-In-Time Business). Just-in-time manufacturing is as relevant today as it was in 1910 and continues to drive huge improvements in product quality, efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as being a driving force behind profits and ROI. The notion of ‘Just-In-Time’ has percolated through most every aspect of business today, and Just-In-Time Communications is no exception.
In its early stages, orchestrating Just-In-Time Communications targeted at a large or diverse customers base simply involved the decision of which mode of communication from phone, email, fax and good old snail mail to use. It typically involved a single, mass, one-message-fits-all approach, where the communication format used was usually determined by the perceived importance of the message – and, of course, cost of communication. What it rarely took into account, or had the ability to address, was the location of a customer, their individual preferred style of communications, or the means to understand their changing needs or expectations; and it was cost prohibitive. Moreover, there was no means to engage in bi-directional dialogue – i.e. a conversation. However, applications pioneered in the healthcare space in the 90s in the form of automated message notifications made, and continue to make, an important impact on health institutions and practices. The means to send multiple, personalized ‘just in time’ voice-mail reminders, on a massive scale to patients to remind them to attend appointments on time or to schedule preventive health visits make a significant impact in improving on-time appointment attendance, decreasing appointment no-shows, increasing preventive care, and reducing lost revenue associated with empty seats and the cost of rescheduling appointments.
More recently, wide-ranging advances in technology and communications including SMS, smart phones, voice recognition, XML integration and social networking, and their mass market adoption, has been the catalyst to the development of an advanced form of Just-In-Time Communications applications, which, in the B2B and B2C space, we call Engagement Communications. By integrating advances in technology and communications with the ability to overlay the experience of a human touch, Engagement Communications provide the promise of not only highly engaged customers, but also of activated customers; customers that are not activated ‘just in time’ but at ‘the optimal time’. As well as the positive impact on individuals’ healthcare, the business economics of intervening and creating positive actions in human behavior are far reaching.
Historically, when doctors wanted to engage patients with appointment times, they were able to issue an automated voice notification and tailor it to the patient. While valuable, it only really created a single point of engagement. With Engagement Communications of today, a doctor can reach out to a patient though a broad range of communications such as voice, email or SMS message, which pretty much ensures the patient will receive it regardless of location. As well as outbound messages, response messages or engagement can be encouraged by, for example, including a ‘click here’ telephone number on messages for patients to call to re-schedule an appointment if necessary; or a URL to take them to a secure online portal where they can access their bills or change information. In the case of a medication reminder, an alert can be sent to the doctor if the patient doesn’t respond to a certain message as it may be a sign that they are experiencing some form of medical distress.
Healthcare institutions and practices can now even deploy an entire host of practice management and communications tools from a single web portal to run fully integrated patient marketing campaigns including HTML newsletters, social networking and patient referral programs – all using Engagement Communications. All these engagement paths and points are designed to activate a patient into a positive behavior; and they can be executed on a massive, yet highly personalized scale.
An important technology development in Engagement Communications is in the area of automated bi-directional communications which will further help transform how companies can engage and interact with their customers. The ability to manage massively scalable and personalized two-way automated messaging opens up exciting and entirely new applications but with an added pressure on security and privacy. However, because the nature of healthcare communications demands strict adherence around privacy, security and compliance, the applications initially developed for this market are already robust, compliant and well suited to broad range of vertical markets – such as financial services - where the ability to engage with customers just in time to encourage them to pay on time and avoid late payment penalties helps activate positive actions and results that in turn create strong customer loyalty and brand satisfaction – as well as increased revenue flow and predictability for business.
Most companies outsource Engagement Communications because the ability to scale, execute and manage thousands or hundreds of thousands of messages and customer touch points a day is rarely their core competency. They partner with companies that have deep expertise across the technical, integration, API (application interface), underlying structures, database, web services, and FTP aspects of massively scalable messaging; and deep knowledge of compliance, data security and privacy; and who provide complete applications, and consulting and support services needed to manage successful Engagement Communications.
Consumers no longer want, they demand, to engage with brands and service providers at a time and in a manner that suits them. Gone are the days when a business can offer a five hour delivery time-frame, or a utility company can ask a customer to wait in their house for a five hour window around a service call. When a customer greets a service representative with an exasperated ‘it’s about time’ comment, clearly communications and engagement have failed them – not to mention your brand. Engaging customers must not only be ‘just in time’ but at the right time and in real time.
Fundamentally it comes down to customer service. Every improvement to the customer experience through Engagement Communications provides the means to touch and activate a customer; to get closer to them; to respond to their needs and to communicate, not just in time, but also, before time – i.e. before they even know they need to engage. This is the essence of customer centric organizations and great customer service. And, to quote the founding father of ‘Just In time’, A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry -- profits. They will be embarrassingly large. Henry Ford
About the Author
Appointed as TeleVox’s President in November 2008, Scott Zimmerman leads all aspects of TeleVox operations to include client operations, sales, information services, product development and marketing. From January 2006 through joining West Corporation, Scott was General Manager of a division of GE Healthcare’s Clinical Systems business. In total, Scott spent more than nine years at GE Healthcare in a variety of cross-functional and global leadership roles as well as seventeen years in the healthcare space. Scott is a graduate of the John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.