CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY:
Major Bank’s Outbound IVR Supports Customers In Crisis
The Challenge
As the U.S. unemployment rate climbed during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 1 in 3 Americans missed mortgage payments. Lenders and servicers offered forbearance programs to accept lower or delayed payments, but the demand for these programs was unprecedented. Banks were inundated by customer calls to their contact centers seeking information and options.
To provide expedient service and reduce inbound call volumes, a global top-five bank wanted to proactively assist customers in its home lending forbearance program with an outbound IVR system. The bank would enable customers in the program to make changes to their own accounts through the IVR, including repayment plans and loan modifications.
The bank needed an experienced partner for this project. CSG, which had been supporting its home lending business with email and SMS notification programs, proved a natural fit.
The Solution
The bank and CSG stood up a forbearance outbound call program in just over four weeks.
The outbound IVR, which runs in English and Spanish, communicates with customers through 10 different personalized messages depending on the type of loan they have. The IVR presents a set of repayment options to offer each customer based on their loan type and account details. These options range from keeping the forbearance to restarting payments. Customers select a repayment option through a touchtone prompt, but they can still easily transfer to a live agent if they choose.
THE IVR’S FIRST 30 DAYS
213,000 CALLS MADE
72,000 LIVE ANSWERS
180,000 ACCOUNTS WORKED
The Results
The proactive IVR outreach had an immediate impact, supporting a massive population of customers and freeing up contact center capacity. In its first 30 days, the forbearance IVR made 213,000 calls, elicited 72,000 live answers and worked 183,000 accounts.
The IVR’s ROI was swift, as well. The bank estimated saving more than $80,000 in the first 12 calling days.
Most importantly, the outbound program reassured customers that the bank was responsive to their needs. It confirmed the bank wouldn’t take adverse action on their accounts while in forbearance, and it empowered customers to conveniently manage their options.
The bank originally planned for the forbearance program to run for 90 days, but they chose to extend it seeing their customers’ continued need during the pandemic. The bank also extended the outbound IVR program to deliver proactive support at a time when their customers need it most.