Sound of Data gives brands a voice and customers a listening ear

Companies and brands can be contacted through various channels these days. Now shopping in stores has declined because of COVID-19 regulations, the importance of contact via telephone increases. At a time when products and services are more and more interchangeable, providing optimal customer service gives companies the opportunity to distinguish themselves.

“There are currently two trends: companies that communicate ‘call me’ and brands that send the signal ‘don’t call me’,” explains Thomas Hazelaar, Chief Technical Officer of Sound of Data. “Companies you can call opt for optimal customer-friendliness. They understand that optimal customer service distinguishes their brand from the competition. And that people are willing to pay extra for that service. They compete on quality and not on price.” On the other side are the companies that don’t provide maximum telephone support for economic reasons. Thomas: “While it is an important channel, because almost 75% of consumers lose interest when a company does not have a telephone number on its website.”

In order to optimally help companies and brands in their customer service, they also make sharp choices themselves. “Sound of Data has been in business for more than 30 years and over time has specialized in the human voice. We provide various services in the voice domain and connect this seamlessly with today’s omni-channel world,” says Thomas. “We work for a selection of large clients and not for many small clients. We immerse ourselves in our customers’ businesses and look forward, enabling us to provide high-quality service. We really add something and ensure value creation.”

The company works for major corporate brands, media companies and charities, among others. “Think of brands like Kaspersky, Sonos and Asus, TV programs like The Voice and All you need is love and charities such as Giro 555. We are basically a super telecom company for contact centers that arranges everything behind the scenes: from infrastructure to telephone numbers and from routing to overload solutions for call spikes. This allows our customers to scale up their telephone services quickly and easily. And in 2021 we added the integration to an omnichannel platform. “

Sound of Data creates added value in the market through complete services: from consultancy to implementation. That is why, according to CEO Jos van Loo, the company doesn’t just look at customer service, but also marketing and sales. “Great customer service is critical to consumer confidence and your company’s reputation. Good customer service seduces and leads to more sales and loyal customers. It is the key to sustainable success.”

Companies that work with Sound of Data get optimal service themselves. Jos: “We are flexible, and our customers have one contact person who takes care of everything. This is perfect in the present time because companies are increasingly opting for cloud platforms for their important business processes, including communication platforms. We act as integrator for companies, ensuring implementation and continuous optimization. We identify with them, get to know their full scope, and offer smart custom solutions where the standard isn’t enough. This leads to more effective use of platforms, a better business case and an overview of the entire playing field.”

“Companies and brands are thinking and growing beyond language and national borders,” Jos explains. “We enable human contact between brands and consumers. Worldwide. We are a one stop shop for global inbound voice customer service solutions. From arranging telephone numbers anywhere in the world, smart routing of telephone traffic, handling call spikes to managing call traffic via an online portal. Whether you sell something in Germany, Mexico or Thailand or all of them.” Sound of Data is platform independent. Jos: “We work with local carriers and providers of infrastructure platforms in the various countries and, as an independent party, connect with all providers and platforms.”

Sound of Data is continuously innovating to optimally serve brands and consumers. Jos: “We integrate the human voice into the online customer journey with innovations such as Talk. Talk is a click-to-call solution that allows users to easily call customer service with a button on a brand or organization’s website, app, or newsletter. Completely online. Without using a phone number or telephone network. This is especially interesting for E-commerce because it allows marketeers to integrate telephony into the online journey. This way they can increase engagement and maximize conversion.”

The company has also developed a product called Cruise Control. Thomas explains: “Cruise Control is an API that dynamically distributes incoming telephone calls across the call centers involved based on a smart routing algorithm. The API continuously monitors the most important KPIs and adjusts the distribution of calls in real time. As a result, the best performing call center receives the most calls. As an additional advantage, the Channel Manager no longer needs to continuously monitor performance and can focus on all other tasks.”

As a specialist in the customer service domain, Sound of Data knows that omnichannel is the buzzword right now. Jos: “As a company you have to be present on the channels where your ideal customers are. So not just telephony but also new digital channels. With our omnichannel contact center platform XCALLY Motion, we smartly combine those channels with telephony. And we integrate it seamlessly with a brand’s CRM. This way, all information is easily available, and customers can receive optimal service. “

Sound of Data wants to become known as the smart Voice Channel Experts for Customer Service and E-commerce. “We are a leading player in optimizing (telephone) contacts in the customer journeys of brands. Both in the Netherlands and internationally”, says Jos. “We continue to innovate. Offer integrated solutions and smart consulting services. This way we create value for companies and brands that focus on high-quality customer service. Because we believe that people want to be assisted with a human touch. The human voice creates a more personal bond and lasting connection. And that makes customers feel heard.”

This article was first published in Cross Border Magazine; Edition 17, March 2021. View the magazine here.