Midlands-based used car specialist Parkway Motor Group has upgraded its telecom systems across its four dealerships in order to improve the way it interacts with customers.

The group had previously moved its telephone systems into the digital age with an internet based VoIP call system (voice over internet protocol).

However, the business saw that customers were increasingly using email to communicate with the contact centres but there were no reporting tools in place to monitor how many emails were coming through and how quickly they were being responded to.

Through an exclusive partnership with contact centre software specialist Zeacom, Parkway used Node4 to offer web chat and to track email response times.

Sean Booth, Parkway managing director, said: “This solution will allow people to interact with us through web chat, and later we’ll add in social media.

“We aim to give our customers the choice of the most convenient channel, but most importantly always to give them the highest possible level of customer service. Zeacom’s new application installed by Node4 will build on the strengths of our existing platform and enable us to offer better service while increasing our staff’s productivity.”

Parkway said the new system has allowed managers to see busy and quiet periods easily and plan staff rotas and holidays accordingly.

Parkway was founded in 1999 and has dealerships in Derby, Leicester, Kettering and Northampton.