December 1999

24-Hour Roadside Assistance On The Information Highway

BY PAT AUBERT

The market for Internet access is characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, changes in customer needs, and frequent new service introductions. To survive, Internet service providers (ISPs) must use leading technologies effectively, continue to develop technical expertise, enhance existing services, and develop new services. Most importantly, ISPs must remain flexible to quickly accommodate changing customer needs while providing exemplary customer service to acquire and retain customers in this explosive market.

Some ISPs are exeptionally adaptable. One such ISP is Internet America. Founded in 1994 in a garage in suburban Dallas, Internet America quickly emerged as one of the leading ISPs in the southwest. Today, Internet America provides service to nearly 54,000 individual subscribers and over 2,000 business customers. The ISP offers a wide array of Internet consumer and business services such as dial-up Internet/Web access, e-mail addresses, personal Web sites, and other related services.

ON THE MAP
Known to most Texans as “1-800-Be-A-Geek,” Internet America has aggressively used their dial-in phone number in television and billboard advertising. The campaign emphasizes the speed and quality of its Internet services and its commitment to customer care in an effort to rapidly build a customer base and create brand recognition in existing markets.

Internet America’s infamous “1-800-Be-A-Geek” brand fuels their call center operation, mandating the need for a reliable, flexible, and powerful communications solution to serve their customers.

FUELED FOR SUCCESS
Laying the foundation for continued growth, Internet America chose Intecom in 1996 to install a communications platform, the Intecom E, along with the CallWise ACD, to manage call center operations.

“Consistent with the phenomenal pace and growth rate of the industry, Internet America requires a communications platform that provides the most technologically advanced call processing applications,” said Mike Maples, Internet America’s president and CEO. “After close evaluation, we chose the Intecom E platform because of its ability to keep in stride with the growth of our company.”

Internet America’s inbound 24-hour, seven-day-a-week call center operation consists of over 70 agents who handle sales, customer service, and technical support. Intecom’s call center solutions enable Internet America to handle over 7,000 calls per month and over 80,000 calls per year. The company acquires 700 to 900 new customers per week and increases revenues by 27 percent annually.

Looking to handle as many calls as possible with the optimal number of agents, the call center has a target of answering 100 percent of incoming calls within 45 seconds, in contrast to the industry hold-time average of 10 minutes, according to Charles Richardson, Internet America’s director of quality assurance. Internet America accomplishes this with a unique strategy that connects their best technicians to speak with customers and resolve issues. Agent scheduling is based on call volumes, obtained from CallWise. “The Intecom system has allowed us to provide tools to our customer care technicians as well as management to improve quality of service,” said Doug Davis, COO of Internet America.

WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD
Outstanding service and customer care are critical to customer acquisition and retention in the ISP industry.

“Our investment in call center technology has greatly improved our customer care operation’s ability to respond to new and existing customers,” said Davis. “Our original system did not offer the flexibility we demanded, but certainly the Intecom E has grown with us over the years.”

Internet America intends to pursue strategic acquisitions that will jump-start its entry into new markets. Add-on acquisitions in its existing markets will account for at least 20 percent of their growth. For example, the company recently acquired 14,000 new customers through an ISP acquisition. Therefore, it is imperative that Internet America’s call center operation remains nimble and continues to provide seamless service during its frequent migrations.

Pat Aubert is director of product marketing for Intecom, which helps customers meet their strategic business goals by providing advanced enterprise communications solutions. For more information, please visit their Web site at www.intecom.com.