WETA
“When we see a repetitive or manual process, we work with our clients to articulate business rules that govern the process and then automate a solution which helps save time and money.”
Libby Chandler
Account Director
ROI Solutions
Integration:
Optimizing the Member Experience Through Intelligent Integration
Pledge drives and their successful execution are the very foundation of fundraising in public media. If done well, these drives allow positive one-on-one interactions with audience members and supporters.
However, the operational side of pledge drives and ensuring that inbound calls are properly stewarded and processed have historically been time-consuming and labor-intensive. ROI Solutions teamed up with WETA and their on-air pledge inbound calling center, ACD Direct, to rethink an integration between our solutions, improve on-air pledge management, and reduce manual processing time.
About WETA
Founded in 1961, WETA is the leading public broadcasting station in the nation’s capital, serving Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia with educational, cultural, news, and public affairs programs and services.
Learn more about WETA: weta.org
Opportunity
WETA wanted to improve the data flow between ROI Solutions’ Revolution CRM and their inbound call center, ACD Direct.
At the same time, they wanted to gain efficiency in their pledge processing by leveraging automation.
Outcome
The Solution
Saving Time and Improving On-Air Pledge Management
ROI Solutions, WETA, and ACD Direct, collaborated on a technical solution to improve the quality and timeliness of data available to inbound operators. Operators now have the data they need for a more informed and productive conversation with constituents. This allows operators to be conversant with members, which makes them feel far more connected to WETA.
Brandon Hemel, Senior Director of Data Strategy and Management, said, “Members expect you to know that they are members and have the most accurate information possible to inform the dialogue. By streamlining the communications between ACD and ROI Solutions, ACD’s agents have nearly real-time updates on every member.”
ROI Solutions also automated pledge processing. During the project, ACD Direct authored an API-driven integration that sends daily pledge transactions and premium fulfillment data in near real-time to Revolution CRM. Instead of requiring WETA staff to search for and identify incoming pledge drive data errors, Revolution CRM processes all incoming, error-free pledge transactions and issues premium requests immediately.
Along with the other WETA-specific automated processes already configured in Revolution CRM, three time-sensitive pledge drive tasks happen automatically and immediately:
- The payment/pledge is credited to the constituent’s account.
- Appropriate acknowledgment letters are sent.
- The premium order is sent to WETA’s fulfillment partner, and PBS Passport activation occurs in the case of TV.
Update
Resolve
Automate
Grow
The Result
Intelligent Integration Streamlines Pledge Drives
This integrated solution enables WETA staff members to spend time addressing constituents with exceptions that need manual review rather than manually reviewing thousands of transactions. During a pledge drive, the 5-6 hours previously spent manually reviewing processed pledges have been reduced to under an hour per day. With fewer transactions/pledges to check, far fewer outstanding questions require research, such as listening to call center calls.
For WETA, these newly automated processes have increased pledge drive capacity for the organization. Senior Director of Data Strategy and Management Brandon Hemel says, “We can now handle multiple pledge drives concurrently or use that brain power to focus on other data-driven opportunities. This is a huge plus for public media organizations, and the results speak for themselves! For each pledge drive, the approach has cut 75% of the time needed to review the daily file for member data inconsistencies. The time spent reviewing call center calls has been reduced by over 90%.”
