. . . the official monthly newsletter for Bluefish Wireless Management, keeping our Sprint sales partners informed and educated on how we can help you help your clients.
In recent years, Sprint has been fighting a perception, built up by our competitors, that Sprint's coverage is inferior to others. We all know that Sprint offers comparable or superior coverage when compared to the "other guys". Unfortunately perception can become reality, leading to lost opportunity when bidding on projects.
Bluefish has successfully battled this perception on past projects using our proprietary coverage algorithm system and we want to help you achieve the same success. Used in the appropriate situation, the algorithm can:
The coverage algorithm begins by a customer filling out a brief survey prior to submitting a single or bulk order. The survey questions can be customized and involve where a customer is going to be using their device, both domestically and internationally. Once the survey is submitted the algorithm quickly and efficiently compares the locations to available Sprint coverage and makes a coverage recommendation on the line(s) of service to be ordered.
The majority of users have no coverage issues and move through to the ordering section of the portal. Some users may have spotty coverage at a particular location identified in the survey. The tool can be configured to allow those users the option of adding coverage-enhancing tools such as an Airave to boost their signal strength. For a minority of users who will have no chance of coverage, they are given the option of not proceeding with their order.
Not processing orders may sound counter-intuitive when driving new activations is in the best interest of Sprint and Bluefish. Acknowledging that all users won't have adequate coverage builds trust between the customer and Sprint as the customer realizes that Sprint is trying to find the best possible solution for their wireless needs. When we process orders that have no hope of coverage they invariably are returned by a now angry customer. This one user may vocalize how terrible "Sprint coverage" is which contributes to a negative perception based on their unique experience. In addition returned devices cost Sprint money as well as to negatively impacting our churn.
As we all know, Sprint is battling a brand bias in recent years that it offers inferior coverage versus their competitors. The truth is, Sprint offers outstanding coverage in most cases, but by proactively tackling these spotty coverage situations before the customer experiences them, you'll do a lot to overcome that bias," states Joshua Garrett, Director at Bluefish.
Josh points out that “negative word of mouth can cost you a lot more business than being proactive about a problem. If you fill an order without considering a customer's circumstance, and the device doesn't work, the end user complains and an exaggerated story is passed along for months after."
As we know, Sprint has been trumpeting the "Now Network" and as being "the world's only 4G carrier." Of course, what those commercials don't mention is that 4G is a rollout process that started several months ago and is taking several years to complete.
The Bluefish coverage algorithm takes this rollout into consideration when computing results from the coverage survey. Those users who currently can experience the benefits of 4G can have that service explained and recommended to them. In addition, those users who may experience partial 4G service can have a 3G/4G card/plan recommended to them. In addition the Bluefish Coverage algorithm includes monitoring of potential 4G upgrades. All survey information is stored in the system for future use. As soon as 4G coverage becomes available to past survey users the algorithm is re-run to identify those users who may qualify for an upgradable 4G card and plan. Each instance gives you an opportunity to promote the speed and availability of the "Now Network" to your clients as soon as it becomes available.
To learn more about the advantages of our proprietary coverage algorithm contact Joshua Garrett at 317.733.6478 (work), 317.514.2180 (mobile) or josh@bluefishwireless.net.
Bluefish launches a state-of-the-art feature-rich phone system—known as the Customer Interaction Center (CIC) April 23rd, 2010. The new system allows Bluefish Wireless to manage all of its business communications (phone, live chat, email, fax) from one united platform.
"Whoever calls in, whether Sprint reps, an end user, corporate business partners, a satellite employee, we have the capability to transfer them to the proper area in seconds, using software on our desk computers," explained Brooke Reagan, Senior Business Analyst for Bluefish Wireless. "The new system gives our call service representatives, managers, and end users greater flexibility and power to contact any department, any person, wherever they are, far quicker than our previous phone system."
The new system will have a tremendous positive impact on:
One impressive feature, created with superior customer service in mind, is skills-based routing. Essentially, CIC plays "matchmaker" between available customer service reps and the needs of the caller. The system will be able to identify the particular phone model and customer for an incoming call. For example, it can identify an IBM user calling from a BlackBerry Curve and the software will match that caller with an available customer service rep who has trained on both IBM and the Curve.
"Given the breadth of our services, one agent cannot train for every account here, but we train enough reps to have backup support for every account we oversee," said Brooke. "This backup support is critical so that we have the available resources to take calls in an acceptable timeframe as certain customer groups spike in demand. Skill-based routing helps us put our people to their best use, and gets the end user taken care of quickly and correctly."
The new system also allows us to integrate with our proprietary CRM. Incoming caller ID will help the agent identify if this user has called before, what tickets they may have open and what issues they have had in the past. In addition the new system also allows customer service to easily "tag" calls as they wrap up. The system cues the rep to enter a simple code signifying the purpose of the call, for example, a request for a hardware upgrade, a business partner conference call, troubleshooting und user software, etc. "The new system will give us more detailed information to track trends," noted Brooke. This tagging can be placed within a ticket, giving Bluefish and Sprint better insight into the types of issues being handled by the call center.
CIC also makes it easy for a new employee to unobtrusively monitor their trainer's calls, simplifying training procedures.
From an end-user perspective, Brooke says, "A caller may not immediately notice anything unusual. However, they'll be transferred to where they need to be quickly without having to go through a myriad of frustrating menus before they talk to a live person. These days, for many customers navigating a corporate phone system, that's fairly unusual. We've also eliminated virtually any possibility of a system crash."
Another huge advantage is how IC allows Bluefish to communicate with their satellite offices. "Customers who need to be connected to Las Vegas or Philadelphia can be sent directly to that office with the press of a button," explained Brooke. "With the new system, we can transfer a call to our remote office with ease, and that office can send them back after addressing a specific issue, all without the end user losing the thread of the conversation."
Bluefish IT recently initiated a third-party business continuity planning (BCP) and disaster recovery plan (DRP) audit to ensure that a physical disaster at a company location would have no impact on customers. This audit created a plan to allow us to continue operating in a worst case scenario. Having two fully redundant servers in two physical locations allows us to implement the last outstanding recommendation of the audit. This setup allows Bluefish to switch servers during maintenance or a disaster without taking down the phone system. In addition, Indianapolis employees can now take calls from their home offices through the Las Vegas location in the event the Indianapolis facility is not operational, a crucial piece of our BCP.
The new system is a product of Interactive Intelligence, an Indianapolis technology company specializing in cutting edge phone communications software for corporate businesses. "We compared many systems, and to me, Interactive Intelligence created a product that goes above and beyond our expectations. As a Wireless provider, nothing is more important than having the most reliable phone systems within our own internal structure. CIC offered all the features we wanted, along with many more we didn't know were possible," said Brooke. "And they're another Indianapolis-based technology company, which is great!" You can learn more about Interactive Intelligence at http://www.inin.com.