Technology Case Studies - Customer Service

Advertising Agency

Advertising - 20 employees - £5m turnover

The Challenge

Customers like their service suppliers to be near at hand. When this advertising agency was set up in Bridport, Dorset, it wanted its clients - in London, Edinburgh, the south-west and Midlands - to see it as a virtual 'local firm'.

The Answer

The firm decided to make the most of video and data conferencing, linking its existing computers in new ways. The technology enables face-to-face discussions, and the ability to exchange video, documents and designs instantly. Clients can see ideas at a moment's notice and collaborate on their development.

The Benefits

The 'delay of distance' has been completely eliminated. They believe that through technology they can gain advantage over its competitors, even if they are physically more 'local' to the customer, and provide its services more effectively, cheaply and rapidly. Customers like the fact that the agency is working on their account, not wasting time driving up and down motorways.

Running costs have been halved.

An educations admissions organisation replaced its mainframe computer with a 'distributed' system, where computer power is spread around the organisation, to make it easier for staff to process shared computer information. This enables it to give its institutional clients information faster and more accurately, and with a better analysis of statistics. It also allows candidates to alter their applications at short notice. Running costs have been halved.