UBM ICMI Partners with SpeechStorm to Support 2013 'Top 50 Companies for Customer Service' Programme

LONDON, July 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Who's Who of industry 'look bravely inwards' to their own possible customer service issues

UBM's International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), from UBM Live, 'Top 50 Companies for Customer Service' Programme is pleased to announce SpeechStorm as its key partner. A leader in voice and mobile customer experience applications, SpeechStorm will play a significant role at the Top 50 conference as well as running workshops for the many organisations taking part.

The annual Top 50 programme encourages member organisations, including: ASDA, British Gas, Nationwide, Phones4U, RBS, TFL, Virgin Media, and many others, to look in detail at how they service their customers and explore ways of improving those services with new technologies and new approaches.

Oliver Lennon, co-founder and CEO of SpeechStorm, said: "SpeechStorm is delighted to partner with UBM's ICMI and to be associated with the Top 50 Companies for Customer Service programme.  It's great to see companies recognised for the investment they make in providing better customer service, particularly when it is based on real customer feedback and opinions.  The programme also provides an excellent opportunity for companies to engage with those who genuinely want to make everyday tasks easier for their customers."

Members will be able to sample speaker sessions from SpeechStorm on voice self-service, mobile applications and personalisation of customer experience. "As technology evolves, it is crucial that we maximise its potential and help businesses recognise the impact this can have on their customer relations. We're excited to take to the floor at the Top 50 Companies for Customer Service and look forward to discussing the future of customer service," Lennon added.

Top 50 members form a veritable 'Who's Who' in customer service from the UK's public and private sectors, including organisations from banking, insurance, retail, telecoms, and service industry sectors. Members are benchmarked using 'mystery shopping' involving a group of real consumers selected at random from the companies' own customer bases. Carried out in partnership between ICMI and marketing research agency, GFK NOP, this method is highly effective at uncovering both positive and negative responses to questions about service quality and everyday interactions.

The Tops 50's Head of Partnerships, Ashley Williamson, said: "Our programme is designed to help companies evaluate their service quality, improve standards and is the most credible mystery shopping exercise in the UK. We're excited to have SpeechStorm onboard as a partner of the Top50 programme because they share our passion for customer service improvement.  Their innovative approaches to both voice and mobile customer service and their ability to present technical concepts in a way that is relevant to the business need is something that our members really value and appreciate."

The Top 50 Companies for Customer Service' Programme 2013 will be announced at a Gala dinner on October 24^th at the Park Plaza on Westminster Bridge. For more information about the Programme or SpeechStorm visit: http://www.callcentre.co.uk/top50.

Notes for Editors

About UBM Live

UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets.   Through premier brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.

About SpeechStorm - http://www.speechstorm.com

SpeechStorm® helps organisations of all sizes make everyday tasks easier for customers interacting with the contact centre. We provide pre-built and configurable IVR, speech and mobile self-service apps that reduce waiting and call handling times. Our solutions are quick to implement and easy to manage, putting the business in control of the customer experience.