It is amazing where one gains inspiration. Recently we were talking to a top SMS vendor about our upcoming Notification Portal while at the same time looking for a call centre overflow solution for callers to our Sydney office.
What came out of a combination of both of these conversations and a requirement from a new customer is quite interesting.
Many RTOs are partially or fully government funded and payment is received based on the successful completion of a training course, but often the student needs to be assessed as competent before the payment is released. Having the student turn up on the day then is very important since most of the time they are not paying.
Together with our RTO client we have scoped an interesting solution many RTOs are likely to find interesting.
1 When the student is enrolled on the course they are sent an email.
2 A week before the course they are sent another email asking them to confirm their attendance and attaching any relevant information to engage the student.
3 If no “confirmation” is received within a set period an SMS is sent. Some SMS products do not allow a response but others do and this relies on that service.
4 Where there is still no response an automated call is placed to one of the phone numbers on file – a recorded call – “Press 1 to confirm or 2 to postpone your booking”. The selection of the second option transfers the call to a call centre to take down the information and rebook the student.
It is true that implementing this system is not inexpensive however when one considers the actual costs of the existing processes and the lost revenue from those who don’t turn up, this option is likely to be a significantly positive investment.
What do you think?