Communicating with consumers is critical to a utility’s day-to-day operations. With the abundance of “free” distribution channels available to us today, that communication should be easier and faster, right? Not necessarily. The “free” option isn’t always the most reliable option, and reliability is just as crucial as keeping expenses under control.
To serve our utility customers better, SEDC is launching a new customer communications solution that will deliver SMS, text and email messages to consumers, provide cost-effective IVR capability, and keep the utility’s costs down: the AutoCue communications suite.
Not only is AutoCue a reliable delivery service for outgoing messages, but it’s also a cost-effective IVR solution for incoming communications. “AutoCue breaks the mold of traditional hardware-centric IVR systems,” according to Bob Basaraba, SEDC’s Director of Product Strategy. “It requires no capital costs, no contracts, no hardware, no software licenses. It’s simply a fully integrated, self-managed system that can coexist with all of the utility’s existing systems.”
Full integration is key to any communication platform. With AutoCue, being fully integrated means being able to automatically queue up and deliver messages based on consumer account triggers – such as missing or making a payment, or a prepaid balance falling below a certain threshold – as well as outage and restoration messages being sent from an outage management system (OMS). In a critical outage situation, AutoCue’s tight IVR/OMS integration will reduce the strain on the utility’s support teams and allow personnel to focus on restoring service as quickly as possible.
When you’re visiting the TechAdvantage Expo 2015 in Orlando in February, be sure to come by Booth 751 for an AutoCue demonstration.