Old Mutual, a Cape Town, South Africa, financial services company managing more than $50 billion in assets, hopes to improve productivity and increase upsells and cross-sells through a software program providing call center agents with up-to-date information on customers and products.
The Siebel Call Center system from Siebel Systems Inc., San Mateo, CA, will provide Old Mutual service representatives with up-to-date product information and will have the ability to send customer information to its field and telemarketing sales forces. The system is a part of Siebel's Enterprise Relationship Management program that Old Mutual was already using.
“A successful financial services company must be in a position to satisfy its clients through wealth creation, management and protection,” said Vic Lumby, chief information officer at Old Mutual. “Because their needs are constantly changing, we must be prepared to quickly and accurately respond to its customers.”
Old Mutual distributes its products through the telephone, Internet kiosks and other electronic channels as well as through branches, tied intermediaries, independent brokers, salaried advisors and sponsors.
The 153-year-old company will begin using the new software this month at its inbound and outbound telemarketing center to sell short-term insurance policies, mutual fund products and specially designed life assurance products. The company has yet to decide if the program will be installed at its call centers around the world. Old Mutual has 750 call center agents working throughout the world to service its 3 million policy holders. All of the agents are trained inhouse by Old Mutual.
“A lot of organizations have to have huge technology infrastructures, and how well a company links its customer service and sales department will influence its success,” said Tamara Ireland Stone, a spokeswoman for Siebel. “They have to be able to do this without reinventing the wheel. We want to provide our customers with the leverage information that will make its sales force nimble within the system that is already in place.”
