Customer service is the name of this game - Technology Information

Communications News, Feb, 2001 by Mike Sargent

Add the human touch to online shopping to increase sales.

The call center is a company's life-blood and, according to industry experts, represents as much as 70% of its interaction with customers. Companies are characterized as successful when they provide great customer service--historically, a call center with friendly agents who have a positive interaction with its customers.

Over the last several years, call centers have been supplemented, or even replaced, by e-commerce websites, which have caused an explosion in online business. Many consumers are not embracing these technologies to make their purchases, however. One reason could be that, despite the fact that the Internet is quite possibly the most powerful sales tool available today, nearly half of its 100 top-ranked sites offer weak services, like not answering e-mail for at least five days.

According to Forrester research, up to 40% of shopping carts are left in the aisle at the time the customer is required to complete the e-commerce transaction by typing financial information into an online form. Customers are more likely to complete a purchase transaction online when they have the ability to have a conversation with a live voice; in other words, people prefer doing business with other people. Websites are great for doing research, but when making an actual purchase, many customers need the reassurance of human interaction.

According to a telecommunications industry report from Frost & Sullivan, the market for Web-enabled call center solutions is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 110% through 2004, while the Web-enabled call center market is projected to reach $1.3 billion in the U.S. alone by 2006.

Today, exciting new technologies exist to bridge the customer service gap between call centers and online commerce, including solutions like text-chat, touch-to-talk, and visual collaboration like Web push technologies.

THE POWER OF INTERACTIVE E-COMMERCE

Interactive e-commerce applications provide a direct online customer service link between the Web and the traditional customer service call center. Using touch-to-talk technology, a website customer simply clicks on an icon, which automatically connects a voice call from the user's PC to a customer-service agent. Customers get their questions answered immediately.

The agent can also provide an even greater level of service by using Web push technology. Using a Web-based user interface, the agent can interactively "push" Web pages to customers to guide them through the website, or to show them different products as they talk over their live voice connection.

The agent has the ability to up-sell products by showing customers an upgraded version of the item they are interested in, or cross-sell complementary products for which the customer may be in the market. For example, if the customer is in the market for a bicycle, then he may need to purchase a helmet, as well. The user simply watches as Web pages automatically appear on the Web browser. The agent can also allow the customer to push Web pages back. As the customer navigates through the website, the agent sees every page.

Since customers are linked via an Internet connection, there is no need for them to disconnect from the website or install two phone lines. In addition to user benefits, businesses save on long distance by reducing agent call-backs to customers and incoming 800 number calls.

HOW DOES A CALL CENTER WEB-ENABLE?

A business can Web-enable its call center in one of two ways: by building the network itself, or through an ISP or application service provider (ASP) that hosts the network infrastructure.

To build the proper network infrastructure, the business would purchase the required customer premise equipment, including a voice-over-IP gateway. The gateway is incorporated into the company's existing data network. When a call is placed from a customer's PC, it travels over the Internet to the company's gateway, where it is converted to a circuit-switched call. The call is then routed to a call center agent for service.

Building this network takes time, money and carries a certain amount of risk. Before choosing this strategy, a business would need to carefully analyze its operations. It would need to determine if the scope of its operations justifies the costs.

By far the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to Web-enable a call center is through an ISP or ASP. Touch-to-talk, Web push and a variety of other services could be hosted by a service provider. For a flat rate or monthly fee based on usage, the service provider would deliver these services to a business through an IP connection. This business model allows businesses to get into the game fast without making a risky capital expenditure

In conjunction with the IP PBX, interactive e-commerce applications like touch-to-talk and Web push allow businesses to create virtual call centers. An entirely new generation of customer service agents can now work from home in the same manner as if they were located in a centralized office environment. In fact, they can work from anywhere in the world where an appropriate Internet connection is available. Additionally, through the use of a distributed network, call centers can support multiple languages by having agents located worldwide.