SafeHarbor selected by SunTrust for online banking self-service support
SATSOP, Wash., January 21, 2003 — SafeHarbor Technology Corp., the leading Web self-service provider, announced today that SunTrust Banks, Inc., one of the nation's largest commercial banking organizations, has launched a new customer online Help Center created and powered by SafeHarbor.
SafeHarbor's self-service customer support environment is seamlessly accessible through SunTrust's Web site by clicking on the "Questions?" link and then on the "Help Center" link. In the Help Center, customers are able to quickly and easily search, ask questions and view step-by-step answers. From the self-service support environment, a customer can also easily escalate a question to SunTrust's e-mail or phone support.
"Across SafeHarbor's client base of financial institutions, we have been able to dramatically increase the number of customer support issues handled through Web self-service versus more expensive and less satisfying assisted channels," said Bo Wandell, president of SafeHarbor.
"For banks, one of the biggest benefits of online banking is the sharp reduction in transaction costs. But online banking requires online support, and it's difficult to justify supporting a $.05 transaction with a $10 support telephone call," Wandell said. "While financial institutions are thrilled when their transaction and support costs match up, what they really want is improved customer satisfaction."
Existing deployments of the company's self-service environments have shown a significant reduction in one-to-one support phone calls and an increase in self-service usage and customer satisfaction, according to SafeHarbor.
"Online banking customers are demanding effective self-service support environments," explained Monica Champion, SunTrust's Senior Vice President - Internet & eBusiness. "Self-service is only valuable when the available information answers end-users' questions faster and more accurately than is possible via the phone. SafeHarbor's service model takes into account the need for the self-service environment to be updated and improved on a daily basis."
On average for all SafeHarbor clients, self-service adoption rises 304 percent in the first nine months after launching the new Web support services. When given the choice, a majority of end-users choose Web self-service over assisted support, with an average of 83 percent of SafeHarbor's support delivered via self-service, based on company data.
"The trend towards online banking is clear, with customers showing an increased preference for managing their banking transactions and inquiries via the Internet," said SunTrust's Champion. "It is absolutely necessary that our customers receive the same excellent level of customer service through all channels of support."
According to a recent study by Jupiter Research, 24.3 million U.S. households are expected to be banking online by the end of 2002.
About SafeHarbor Technology Corp.
SafeHarbor is the leading provider of Web self-service customer technical support. A business process outsourcer, SafeHarbor is the only company that provides Web support as an ongoing service, integrating self-service with analytics and assisted support. SafeHarbor Support Services 3.0 is proven to reduce cost and time to market, while improving satisfaction. For a typical client, self-service adoption rises 304% in the first 9 months after launching SafeHarbor's Web support environment. SafeHarbor is the only company that creates, manages and continuously optimizes multiple Web self-service environments for large corporations that interact with customers, employees, customer service agents or partners online. The company's Web self-service delivers dramatic — and immediate — ROI for clients such as Washington Mutual Bank, American Airlines, NTT/Verio, and TiVo. SafeHarbor is an IBM Premier Business Partner under IBM's PartnerWorld xSP Prime for Service Providers initiative. For more information go to www.safeharbor.com.
Press Contacts:
Margaret Dawson
The Silver Company
(206) 624-0388
margaret@thesilvercompany.com
Susan Cummings
SafeHarbor Technology Corporation
(206) 922-5000
sue@safeharbor.com
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