Merrill Lynch is one of the world’s leading financial management and advisory companies, with offices in 36 countries and private client assets of approximately $1.1 trillion. Focused on customer service, the company was an early adopter of both IVR self-service systems and speech recognition and has today migrated to Tellme’s Voice Application Network. The teams have worked closely to improve Merrill Lynch’s automation rates as well as the overall customer experience.

Prior to working together, managing customer calls meant Merrill Lynch needed to invest in regular telecom hardware and software upgrades, manage complex telecom integrations, train employees on proprietary platforms, and integrate new technology developments. Over time, mounting development and support costs led Merrill Lynch to consider network-based alternatives — with the goal of outsourcing the headaches of traditional premises-based equipment but retaining complete control of application functionality and customer data.

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After a rigorous selection process, including a security audit and integration planning with the existing Genesys Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) infrastructure, Merrill Lynch began working with Tellme to provide its new self-service platform. “With Tellme, we can outsource all the headaches, yet maintain control of the applications. This model is the perfect combination for Merrill Lynch,” said Mike Gallo, Vice President of Contact Center Technologies for Merrill Lynch Private Client.

Today, Tellme’s VoiceXML platform handles over 80,000 calls per day by answering over 70 different 800 numbers for Merrill Lynch including its flagship 1-800-MERRILL retail banking line. Merrill Lynch achieved its ROI goals in 9 months and can now focus exclusively on serving the needs of its customers rather than worrying about the day-to-day operational issues associated with IVR, speech, and telecom infrastructure.
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