LivePerson, a provider of cloud mobile and online business messaging solutions, has entered into a partnership with Liberty Global, an international cable and internet provider.
The two companies say their plan is to transform how customers connect to the brand in a new conversational era.
This partnership, which initially launches in five countries, will offer conversational two-way messaging to all 29 million Liberty Global customers.
It represents another major milestone in the industry’s rapid shift to messaging, and away from legacy voice calls and IVR systems.
Messaging, primarily on smartphones, is overwhelmingly the chosen method of communication among consumers. As the current and clear channel of choice, it sits at the heart of Liberty Global’s “digital-first” care programme.
Live across the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, with Media, Unitymedia, UPC, and VodafoneZiggo, the LivePerson platform enables customers calling care centres to convert to messaging, allowing them to solve queries whenever and wherever they choose.
Melanie Longdon, VP, customer experience operations at Liberty Global, a company with over 30,000 employees and in the top 100 of the Forbes Most Innovative Companies list, says: “We understand that the lives of our customers are fluid and demanding.
“We simply don’t have time to wait for answers to our questions – that’s why we are messaging each other more than ever in our personal lives.
“Knowing this, we are using LivePerson’s market-leading technology to ensure Liberty Global goes fully digital, and align with consumers, empowering them to use our services on their own terms and at their own pace, for a best-in-class experience.”
LivePerson CEO and founder, Rob LoCascio, says: “Conversational business is the future, and we’re thrilled to be working with Liberty Global to deploy it for them at scale.
“Consumers have had enough of calling customer service centres only to be put on hold. It’s not the way we live today. With the option to text and message businesses just as they would friends and family, customers can finally solve queries at their own convenience.
“Companies implementing messaging have doubled agent productivity versus voice-based interactions, saved on labour costs, and significantly increased customer satisfaction scores – we’re looking forward to seeing these benefits take effect within Liberty Global too.”
