In today’s fast-paced financial services sector, the ability to efficiently connect with clients and manage interactions is crucial. Read about how Ascent Funding, a private financial services firm specialising in providing tailored loans for underserved students, as well as career-transforming bootcamps, leveraged the power of cloud-based communication services like Amazon Pinpoint and Amazon Connect to enhance their outbound campaigns.
Addressing the need for transformation
Recognising the importance of optimising contact programs, Ascent Funding embarked on a journey to streamline customer engagement via voice calls (and later SMS) to follow up on individuals who have not yet submitted their applications. The objective was clear: to adopt technology capable of seamlessly managing large volumes of outbound reachouts, particularly during peak seasons, while simultaneously reducing costs and time investments.
Key requirements
The initial plan for this transformation outlined several critical requirements:
- Outbound calls→ prioritising outreach to applicants who had yet to submit their applications
- Toll-Free number assignment→ equipping agents with toll-free numbers to facilitate communication.
- Inbound call routing→ implementing a system to efficiently route inbound calls to the main line, possibly with customised trees for better handling
- Automatic call recording→ ensuring all calls were automatically recorded for compliance and training purposes.
- Customer list integration→ seamlessly importing customer lists into Amazon Connect Customer Profiles.
- Amazon Pinpoint campaigns→ leveraging Amazon Pinpoint Campaigns and Journeys, configured with Customer Segments, to automate calls and route answered calls to agents.
Success case
Parser successfully executed the integration of Amazon Pinpoint and Connect Flows for Ascent Funding, crafting a tailored communication flow, providing extensive documentation and guidance for environment setup as well as configuring campaigns. To further streamline operations, Parser automated infrastructure configuration, including the setup of initial configurations, security policies, and networking, using Terraform scripts. Despite encountering limitations with some PinPoint and Connect flows requiring manual intervention due to Terraform constraints, Parser diligently supported Ascent Funding’s team, ensuring a seamless transition.
Key achievements
- Record time development: The project achieved completion within a one-month timeframe, highlighting the agility and efficiency of the implementation process.
- Pinpoint and Connect flows configuration: Parser seamlessly configured Amazon Pinpoint and Connect flows to meet Ascent Funding’s unique requirements, ensuring flawless integration and functionality.
- Terraform automation: Terraform scripts facilitated the automation of environment creation, enhancing scalability and minimising manual intervention.
- Integration of lambda flows: By integrating Lambda functions into Terraform scripts, Parser enhanced system functionality, scalability, and error handling, laying the foundation for a more resilient and reliable infrastructure.
Conclusion: Transformative Power Unleashed
Ascent Funding’s successful integration of Amazon Pinpoint and Amazon Connect showcases the potential of AWS cloud communications in optimising outbound campaigns, setting a new standard for efficiency and innovation in the financial services sector. As businesses embrace the digital age, solutions like Amazon Pinpoint and Connect emerge as indispensable tools, driving growth and elevating customer experiences to new heights.
