Customer spotlight
TradeMe, www.trademe.co.nz
TradeMe switches onto SIP with the help of CallPlus
The Challenge
Smart businesses use smart technology to identify high value customers and then lavish attention on them. So it is that the gutsy, successful online auction site Trade Me identified their top sellers and allocated them an account manager. Trade Me’s challenge then became ensuring that the top sellers got through to the right account manager immediately; that the seller’s number could be identified by the system and their call automatically routed to the priority queue.
The solution
When Trade Me Head of Infrastructure Dave Wasley asked his existing supplier if they could arrange for SIP trunking to be integrated into the network so calls could be automatically prioritised, they said it couldn’t be done. So he asked CallPlus and they said, “of course.”
This was two years ago, and Wasley says overall the fourweek implementation period went well and the new system has created plenty of tangible paybacks for Trade Me’s business. CallPlus and Trade Me worked together closely through the initial setup and deployment, ironing out any wrinkles along the way.
The result
Its top sellers are not only given gold-plated telephony service, but all of Trade Me’s customers are benefi ting. The total solution saw Trade Me replace their “black box” PBX with an Open Source VoIP system which leveraged the SIP trunks provided by CallPlus. This overall solution has enabled better call reporting, so that now the 45-seat contact centre can get an accurate measurement of key metrics such as Average Handling Time, and Average Speed of Answer.
“CallPlus’ VoIP solution has been a piece of work that was vital to providing the business with the tools it needed to improve its overall customer service,” says Wasley.
Being Trade Me, there’s a group of skilled technologists itching to optimise the solution and manage calls in better and more useful ways, so they’ve welcomed the installation of a flexible solution which allows for in-house customisation. In addition, Wasley says his team is continually working to improve Trade Me’s own IP network in order to make better use of the features available in the solution.
It isn’t only the contact centre that’s better off. The finance department is also pleased with the 20% reduction in monthly call costs – a saving that Wasley says can be directly attributed to the new system.