The story of BKR
Chatbot improves BKR customer experience
Maureen van den Bergh (Senior Lead Customer Contact Center) and Koen Gebbink (Digital Marketing Specialist) share their daily experiences using a Watermelon chatbot. The interview includes details about setup, implementation and results.
The Bureau of Credit Registration (BKR) is an independent credit authority and has contributed to a financially healthy society for over 50 years. BKR manages the credit data of millions of Dutch citizens as the legal facilitator of credit registration. The organisation gets hundreds of questions from consumers every day, naturally wanting to answer them as completely and correctly as possible. Until recently, consumers with questions landed on the FAQ page at www.bkr.nl. Considering how different and specific each personâs questions are, it was difficult to find a definitive answer and understand what this meant for each personal situation. Change was needed. BKR has been using a Watermelon chatbot since May 2018 on their website to support customers in getting their questions answered.
Digitization in customer service
Koen: âWe could provide and manage digital contact with our customers, still staying personal and acting as consultants. Thatâs exactly what we wanted.â
Collaboration and implementation
BKR and Watermelon started working together in February 2018. Maureen: âWe did a pilot and determined that Watermelon is the right partner. It was a discovery process for both of us to design the best solution. The process was straightforward and the chatbot was delivered by the agreed upon deadline. The process was new to us of course, but Watermelon is always available and supports us where we need help. We have one point of contact whoâs easy to reach and who always has our best interests in mind. That was very helpful during the implementation process.â
Before finding out about Watermelon, finding ways to improve the digital customer experience was difficult. Koen: âConvincing colleagues of the benefits of a chatbot isnât always easy. You canât expect that chatbot to work optimally at full power on day one. The time we spent to set up the chatbot with Watermelon was worth it.â
24/7
Availability
5.000
Conversations automated monthly
2
Maanden tot livegang
âWe could provide and manage digital contact with our customers, still staying personal and acting as consultants. Thatâs exactly what we wanted.â
Going live!
The chatbot went live in May 2018 â and there wasnât a moment to lose. âOver the first weekend, the chatbot successfully completed over 1600 conversations. With the chatbot, the BKR team is available 24/7. This is already far better serviceâ, says Maureen.
Results
The chatbot has an average of 300 conversations every day. At the end of the conversation, the visitor is asked to rate his or her satisfaction with the chatbot. 75% of customers provide feedback. âWe see a rise in the number of conversations with âcustomer serviceâ since we launched the chatbot. We canât tell if all of these people would have otherwise contacted us by phone, but itâs instantly clear that weâve helped a lot of people with the chatbotâ, says Koen.
A helping hand
The chatbot is set up to help consumers find what theyâre looking for on the BKR website. The visitor is helped much more quickly than when he calls the customer service team. âWith minimal effort, each customer is helped simply and quickly, but the BKR site is better maintained now that the chatbot is effective. Weâve already optimised a number of pages on our website. The chatbot helps our customer service be more effectiveâ, says Maureen.
75%
customer contact automated
165%
daily conversations
11
gebruikers in het Watermelon platform
Helping customers is more fun
Itâs not only the BKR customers who are satisfied with the chatbot â the employees in BKRâs Customer Contact Center also are having more fun at work. According to Maureen, 60% of calls are about content, and 40% is simple provision of information. âThe employees have more time to spend on the more complex questions. Itâs important to them that we still have personal contact with consumers.â
Koen says that heâs seeing fewer customer service centers where only telephone contact is possible: âConsumers expect to approach a business 24/7 with question. We can still provide personal contact, except weâre using Livechat instead of the phone. It is 2018, after all.â
BKRâs takeaways
The chatbot has an average of 300 conversations every day. At the end of the conversation, the visitor is asked to rate his or her satisfaction with the chatbot. 75% of customers provide feedback. âWe see a rise in the number of conversations with âcustomer serviceâ since we launched the chatbot. We canât tell if all of these people would have otherwise contacted us by phone, but itâs instantly clear that weâve helped a lot of people with the chatbotâ, says Koen.
Maureen: âWe want to further automate parts of how we provide customer service, and professionalize how we use the knowledge of our employees.â