BUPA'S ONLINE SALES RESPOND TO NETCALL TREATMENT

The addition of a live response function, known as a 'call-me button, to BUPA Internationals website has improved global customer service to millions of customers, increased sales conversion rates and even staff morale, according to figures released today.

Nearly 15 per cent of BUPA Internationals sales are now made online. The international insurer attributes this growth to the use of the NetCall 'call me button. By clicking on the button, customers are able to request a free callback from an agent, which research shows is the way most customers prefer to do business on the web.

By minimising the delay between interest and action, the 'call me button attracts the highest quality prospects. Nearly 40% of 'call me customers make a purchase; the highest conversion rate of any form of communication used by the healthcare company.

Because the service is easy to use and free to customers, it neatly overcomes customers traditional hesitancy to make an expensive international phone call. Equally, by giving the company access to much lower call charges than the international freephone service it was previously using, NetCall800 has enabled BUPA to reduce the cost of operating its customer freephone service.

NetCall800 fully equips BUPA International to automatically manage its response to an international customer base, ensuring a customer call is never missed due to an out-of-hours time zone difference. When this happens, the system automatically sends a fax or email notification of customer contact details to its call centre to enable any missed calls to be followed up successfully.

Customer service has been enhanced further by placing different buttons on the website, which allow calls to be routed to operators whose expertise best fits a question coming from a particular area of the site. BUPA International uses the customer data it captures from the service to create a powerful user profile and database.

Bill Ward, director, general manager of BUPA International says, We are delighted with the functionality and cost effectiveness of the system. We set out to find a solution that enabled customers to contact us through our website, but most of the options available were expensive and complex to install. Setting up NetCall800 couldnt have been simpler and with the button on our site, we were up and running within hours. The reaction from our customers has been great. Our response time is very quick and customers are extremely impressed."

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