Call centers boost customer service with new breed of Web-integration software

CommunicationsWeek International, Nov 2, 1998 by Kevin Delaney

A new wave of call-center software is transforming the way corporates offer customer services by providing more efficient and targeted customer interactions, closely integrating Web-based services, and in some cases cutting costs.

These products, which generally reside on Unix or Windows NT servers and have Windows or Web browser agent interfaces, are offered by a growing number of software companies, several of them startups. The recent innovations have centered on the application level, with the products still relying on computer telephony integration (CTI) middleware software, such as IBM's Call Path, for their direct interface with the call switching hardware.

While the latest software' is heralded as the first generation of call-center products designed for use 'out of the box," analysts say it still requires substantial customization. Even with more tailored products," it might be that you have to customize 20% of the functionality because it doesn't exactly work the way you do," said Philip Carnelley, principal consultant at London-based Ovum ltd.

Perhaps the fastest-growing area is the closer integration of companies' Web sites and their telephone call centers. Programs such as HelpDesk for Windows, sold by Woking, England-based royalblue technologies plc, Instant Call, from USA Global Link, of Fairfield, Iowa, and iCare from netDialog in San Mateo, California, which will be formally released in November, allow corporates to create a "Call me button on their Web sites.

Consumers type in their phone numbers and then by clicking on the button send their details to the call-center operator. They are then entered by the software into a queue for a return call from a customer service representative.

Some products, such as HelpDesk, display a countdown on the Web page of the waiting time for the call back. Barclays Bank in the United Kingdom currently has a "Call me" page on its Web site for marketing and providing service to its U.K. customers,

Despite the potential for pranksters to enter false information and have call-center staff make the return call to an unsuspecting third party, Michael Moore, product manager at USA Global Link, said this has not been a problem for the 60 or so customers that have implemented the service in the past four months. He said the greatest potential for fraud was that people might try to copy the button, but that the software was protected against this.

Meanwhile, 1-800-Flowers, the U.S. telephone florist, has paired the "Call me" button with the Net2Phone technology from Hackensack, New Jersey-based IDI Corp. to allow call-back to occur through the user's Web browser, Once the connection is made, consumers conduct a conversation with the representative using their PC's microphone and speakers,

Consumers can also initiate an online text chat session with a representative through the NetAgent software from eShare Technologies Inc. of New York that 1-800-FLOWERS has integrated into its Web site. Staff at the florist company's call center, working on a Windows PC interface, are trained to handle telephone, IP telephony, and text interactions.

Donna lucolano, vice president for interactive services, says the ultimate goal is to save money by making customer interactions more efficient. "There is more and more integration between the telecenter side of the business and the interactive side every day," lucolano said. "It's actually quite complementary."

In addition, HelpDesk for Windows and iCare can forward a "click track," a record of the Web pages the customer has visited, along with the request for help, to the customer service representative, That is accompanied by a list of likely problems and their solutions, chosen from the company's solutions database and matched to the specific "click track."

Some systems, such as HelpDesk, can also route consumers' calls based on their previous activity on the Web site. "At its most complex level, the software will look at what the customer has been looking at, then it can find a skills-based expert based on what the person has been looking for," said David Langren, technical director at royalblue.

Another form of providing additional help is exemplified by iCare's "push" function, where possible solutions are sent over the Web to users from the operator's database while they wait for the return call, According to netDialog, about 20% of consumers who have requested a call back through an iCare Web site have their questions answered in this way and never need to speak to a live operator.

Overall, the software reduces call-center expenses by an average of 30%, claimed Bill Bonduran, vice president for marketing at the California-based software start-up. "They're satisfied at a lower cost point," he said.

Like some of their software package predecessors, iCare and HelpDesk also allow corporates to achieve savings through the creation of virtual call centers. Their Web browser- and Windows PC-based agent interfaces make it easier for businesses to add customer service representatives working Outside of the main site-such as people working from home-to the call queue during high-volume hours,