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August 5, 2014 • 4 minute read

Optimize Vendor-Customer Relationships Through Success-Based Pricing

New research indicates that traditional speech-based self-service over the phone can fail up to 48% of the time a customer speaks. That means if you’re using a speech IVR and paying on a consumption basis – you could be paying double for the value you are receiving.

That’s like paying for a Corvette and getting a Focus.

In 2008, Interactions introduced our success-based pricing model for our self-service solutions. In short, we only charge our customers for the transactions where we deliver value. To explain success-based pricing to you, we’ve asked Interactions’ long-standing customer, Chris Hale, Vice President of Reservation Services, at Hyatt Hotels to talk about it.

Interactions supports Hyatt on both their rewards program, Gold Passport, and their central reservation lines. Let’s take central reservations as an example. Interactions reservation solution helps Hyatt’s customers easily self-serve to find property information, as well as confirm, cancel or change reservations.

We also streamline the reservation setting process by collecting the information necessary to begin the booking process, including customer information, what hotel they want to stay at, when they want to check-in and check-out, and how many guests are in their party. We then pass this information via CTI (computer-telephony infrastructure) to a live agent to complete the transaction before passing the transaction back to Interactions for confirmation. All in all, we streamline the process, make the reservation agent’s job easier, and save Hyatt lots of money while maintaining their best-in-class Net Promoter Score.

When we are able to successfully self-serve the four transactions listed above, and for a new reservation, successfully collect the four pieces of data and then transfer the call to a specialist, then we have successfully completed a transaction for Hyatt. Each of those transactions has a price associated with it, and Hyatt only pays when we successfully complete these transactions.

Here’s what Chris, as Hyatt’s VP of Reservation Services, has to say about the solutions from Interactions and our success-based pricing.

 

So Chris, what initially attracted you to success-based pricing?

We’re in the business of getting to the heart of what the customer is looking to accomplish and that’s what attracted us to the success-based pricing model from Interactions. With this model, we knew that Interactions would be just as focused as we are on ensuring customer success.

 

How has the pricing model impacted Hyatt’s relationship with Interactions?

It has been positive. The pricing model contractually creates a unity between what we’re both trying to accomplish. We’re both seeing success in the same way – and that means we’re united around delivering the customer experience our guests expect from Hyatt.

 

Have you dealt with consumption-based pricing in the past?

 

We have. Consumption-based pricing becomes purely transactional and there wasn’t any notion of what we were trying to accomplish. With consumption-based pricing, it’s much less about securing the right experience for the guest. When you’re just paying by the minute or on the number of transactions, it can lead to creating the wrong platform for delivering a great experience.

 

What unexpected benefits have you seen from our pricing model?

 

The relationship between our companies is about creating value and joining in a goal to accomplish a better guest experience. That has driven our companies to want to innovate further to create successful interactions, which drives benefits to both parties. We’re constantly working together to drive innovation through customer care.

Thanks Chris!

 

Want to learn more?

Read our full guide about consumption – and success-based pricing: Are you paying more for less? Then shoot us an email at contact@interactions.net – we love to talk numbers!

Want to learn more? Let’s talk.