Company: Mediacom Communications
Company background: Mediacom Communications Corporation is the United States' fifth-largest cable television provider based on the number of video subscribers and is among the leading cable operators focused on serving smaller cities and towns.
Contact: VICNESWARAN ARUMUGAM
Title: Manager
Related URLs: https://community.mediacomcable.com;
https://www.facebook.com/mediacomcable;
https://twitter.com/MediacomSupport;
https://twitter.com/MediacomCable
Kudos Category: Keep Calm and Carry On
1. How did your team shift your existing strategy by using Khoros technology to better engage customers during a crisis?
During the past three years, as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, Mediacom faced many crises of its own, notably wildfires in California that destroyed our infrastructure, hurricanes that devastated whole cities in FL, and tornadoes that impacted communities in IA. But thankfully, with the aid of Khoros, we could target and communicate crucial life-saving information to these affected communities. We provided information that was not only applicable to our service but included local food distribution centers, important shelter news, and rescue efforts. Using customer conversation data, we customized Khoros's functionality to locate the affected crisis areas. It allowed us to coordinate internally with other customer service channels, such as Call Centers, Management, NOC, and Digital Teams, to provide our customers with real-time information. This tool saved lives and allowed us to mobilize resources to resolve the most impacted areas first!
Khoros social has made our life easier and more organized; Before this software, Mediacom digital agents were directly conversing with customers over Social Media platforms like ( FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and plastering information to everyone even if it was irrelevant to them during a crisis. It led to confusion, poor organization, and the usage of multiple documents to store data and follow-up.
- IA Derecho Storm:- https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/08/14/iowa-derecho-updates-governor-kim-reynolds-power-outages-storm-debris-cleanup-aftermath/3373445001/
- Hurricane Sally:- https://mynbc15.com/news/local/internet-outages-persist-in-baldwin-county-after-hurricane-sally
- Tornado in TN:- https://qctimes.com/news/local/live-updates-tornado-watch-issued-brief-tornado-near-colona-rock-island-starts-storm-cleanup-power/article_ffa7c037-375f-5dfd-ab2c-ab2312b0dedd.html
- Electrical Outage:- https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/mediacom-outages-caused-by-rare-type-of-electrical-issue-at-a-data-center-in-atlanta-georgia/
2. What operational processes did you create or change to respond in a time of crisis? How were you able to be innovative using Khoros?
Mediacom recognized the importance of listening to our customers early on and adapted our operational procedures accordingly. We have successfully been able to capitalize on the numerous functionalities within Khoros (utilizing Tags, Smart views, Welcome responses, and multiple Work queues) to maintain operational efficiency during crises. We also listened to our customers and recently deployed the Mediacom Community ( powered by Khoros) to expand our self-service options beyond Social. The site encourages collaboration between users and sharing of information about the telecommunication industry along with any issues one might have. We announced the launch of this new support community site through our social media channels, making it easily accessible to our user base.
- Mediacom Communities
- Khoros Functionalities
- A public post from Mediacom is made once the problem is identified and impact verified. The "Outage post" will allow affected customers to reply with their complaints, preventing them from being assigned to the general Care Queue. Allowing for dedicated attention to the Outage affecting customers and separate for general queries.
- "Tags" are applied automatically when a conversation contains a specific word or phrase, such as "TV Outage," "Internet outage," or "Phone Outage," and are used to sort conversations into work queues and trigger Welcome Responses.
- "Work Qs" are built to filter outages and general questions to agents that need priority attention.
- "Welcome Response" is used for personal messaging (PM & DM), and its target audience is Outage inquiries. The purpose is to minimize our response times (TAR) and send a pre-fabricated message containing info about the Outage, credits, and ETR the moment the customer sends us a DM or PM.
- "Smart Views" are used to create analytical data, trigger welcome responses, and route conversations to the correct queues.
3. What success metrics did you use to determine if your shifts in strategy and process had the desired outcomes? What were those quantifiable outcomes? Please be as specific as possible.
Mediacom's measurement of success is predicated on delivering remarkable experiences to our customers and providing them with various communication options outside of phones. Therefore, we focus on several tangible metrics within the self-serve and social media universe:
- Number of Customer Posts
- Response Time (TAR)
- Tags
- Number of automated responses
- Number of customers who ask for help outside of the Outage
These metrics allow us to gauge customer satisfaction with our response and resolution time.
In addition to these quantitative metrics, it's essential to consider qualitative stories shared by our community when measuring strategic success. Mediacom's community site has grown in the hundreds since its inception a few months ago, with plenty of positive and constructive user feedback. In summary, our lives on the digital landscape have dramatically changed for the better thanks to Khoros, and we are never returning to the old ways. Thank you, Khoros!
Special Thanks: Sean Roark & Scott Cockrum
Case Study Opt-In: Yes