Golfbreaks.com selects Aspect to implement multi-channel contact centre, optimise Microsoft unified communications deployment

Aspect, a leading provider of customer contact and Microsoft platform solutions, has announced that Golfbreaks.com, one as Europe's leading golf tour operators, selected Aspect to integrate its customer relationship management (CRM) system, Web chat, voice calls and e-mail into one streamlined system.

Collaborating with Dell, Aspect will implement its Aspect Unified IPv7 and workforce optimisation applications at the Windsor-based contact centre, integrated with Microsoft Lync and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, supplied by Dell.

“With more customers than ever booking with us, we required a way to meet the challenge without increasing headcount, and to do more with less,” said Steve Hemsworth, Managing Director at Golfbreaks.com. “Our customer service is why people keep coming back to us, but as demand increased, the lack of channel integration was putting a strain on our agents and systems, increasing administration time. Customer preferences for the way they contact us are changing, as are the times at which they choose to contact us. We have already extended our opening hours by more than 30%; hopefully the new support for SMS and e-mail - as well as integration with our CRM system - will make booking with us easier and quicker than ever.”

With a clear aim to become the de facto supplier of golfing holidays, Golfbreaks.com is experiencing a period of rapid and long-term growth. The specialist tour operator's previous communications IT infrastructure was unable to fully support its business goals and provide enough flexibility to develop the way it interacts with its customers. Golfbreaks.com selected Aspect to transform its customer service operation to meet increasing demand and improve the booking process for customers, without increasing personnel resources. With a worldwide market of $17 billion, golf tourism is growing in popularity among people of all nationalities and ages, causing it to become a competitive playground for tour operators.

“Golfbreaks.com understands that the shifting changes in the way consumers want to be engaged requires a more advance and unified approach to customer interaction,” said Mark King, senior vice-president, Europe & Africa, Aspect. “We're excited to see how the deployment of Aspect Unified IPv7 can create a dynamic customer contact solution that will deliver deeper, more cost-effective customer interactions for them.”

Aspect's voice technology has already gone live at Golfbreaks.com, with CRM, Web chat, e-mail, call recording and blended interaction for agents handling multiple channels, due to go live later this year.

Working with Dell's project team on-site, Aspect will integrate its multimedia applications into Microsoft Lync and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, underpinned by Dell's servers and operating system. Aspect has also provided Golfbreaks.com with a software developer's kit and full training for Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance, including call recording, for secure handling of customer credit card details.

“We expect to see a quick return on investment. Since we are not increasing any personnel resources there are other benefits, including reduced average call handling times, which naturally brings down the cost per interaction, especially when combined with cheaper channels such as e-mail,” said Hemsworth.

The project timescale for voice implementation was 12 weeks, but the teams completed full voice integration within 8.5 weeks and well within budget. This is a testament to both the Aspect and Dell teams - as well as the professionalism of Golfbreaks.com in putting the system into operational service.