P&O Ferries Embraces Talisma’s Advanced Email Customer Service Capabilities

London, UK – 23st May, 2007 – Talisma® Corporation (www.talisma.com), the leading provider of Customer Interaction Management (CIM) solutions, today announces that P&O Ferries has implemented its advanced email management software, Talisma Email , to help its customer service team provide more personalised, accurate and rapid responses to customer email enquiries. Using Talisma Email, P&O Ferries can also effectively route and track all email communication, while monitoring agent performance and customer service levels.

P&O Ferries carries more than eight million passengers a year and receives thousands of email enquiries every month. Talisma Email was implemented in February 2007 to replace the company’s Microsoft Office system, which provided limited email management functionality. The solution has enabled P&O Ferries to deliver a more consistent and personalised service by giving agents a real-time view of a customer’s interaction history, ensuring responses are always relevant. Email processing time has also been reduced by using intelligent routing rules that direct emails to appropriate agents and allowing agents to select and use pre-written ‘suggested responses’.

In addition to assisting front-line staff, Talisma Email is enabling P&O Ferries’ management team to continuously review its email customer service and identify any areas that require improvement. The system’s comprehensive reporting functionality provides accurate, real-time views of service levels, such as email response times, and enables the management team to measure agent performance.

“Our customer service team supports a very large customer base so it is vital that our team has the right tools to effectively manage incoming emails and ensure accurate and timely responses,” explains Mike Webb, Customer Service Manager at P&O Ferries. “Talisma impressed us with their professional approach and has provided an intuitive, easy to use and feature-rich solution that has empowered our customer service staff when answering email queries. Talisma Email has only been live since February but our average email response times have already fallen significantly.”

“Email contact from customers is on the increase across multiple industry sectors and it can be a highly effective channel when used to its full potential,” states Jon McNerney, VP and General Manager of International Operations at Talisma. “In the area of email management speed of response, ease of use and access to rich customer data are key to achieving first rate customer service. The organisations practising this have a real advantage over their competitors.”

Following the successful implementation of Talisma Email, P&O Ferries plans to review how other tools in the Talisma CIM suite could further improve customer satisfaction levels, increase sales conversions and reduce pressure on customer service staff.

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About P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is the UK's largest ferry operator with a fleet of more than 20 ships, the widest choice of routes and the most frequent service to the Continent and Ireland for tourist and freight passengers. The company has an annual turnover of £1 billion, employs up to 7,000 staff and carries approximately 14 million passengers each year. P&O Ferries operates services between Dover - Calais, Hull - Zeebrugge and Rotterdam and Portsmouth - Bilbao. The company also offers freight only sailings between Teesport - Zeebrugge and Rotterdam. Across the Irish Sea, the company operates services between Liverpool - Dublin and Larne - Cainryan and Troon.


About Talisma
Talisma Corporation is the leading provider of Customer Interaction Management (CIM) solutions that empower businesses to deliver an exceptional online customer experience. Talisma’s proven products help customer service and support organisations to proactively and reactively engage in a continuous customer dialogue by integrating Web self-service, email response, live chat, VoIP, phone, and campaign management with comprehensive analytics and a system-wide knowledge base. Talisma’s global customers include Aetna, AOL, Aviva, Bank of America, Canon, ChevronTexaco, Citibank, Comcast, Daimler-Chrysler, Dell, DHL, Ford, University of Notre Dame, Microsoft, Pitney Bowes, Siemens, Sony, Sprint, VeriChip Corporation, and the U.S. Department of State. Talisma is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and has offices located across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. For more information, visit www.talisma.com.