new call center can make or break your e-business initiative, The

Call Center Solutions, Aug 1999 by Perrotta, Ron

Want to feel like an outsider? Try talking about enterprise software without mentioning the Web. Chances are good that all businesses of all sizes are in some stage of planning or implementation for Web-enabling their enterprise applications. No longer can IS organizations view the Web as separate from their internal networks - it's time to welcome the Web into the enterprise.

More and more companies are realizing that the Web can help them manage their business more effectively and efficiently. It boils down to customers -taking care of existing ones and acquiring new ones.

Companies are realizing that the Web can help them serve existing customers better by allowing those customers to help themselves. Most companies now give customers and prospects access to product information. Many are also allowing them to purchase products over the Web. However, only a few have integrated their selling process with their call center, or their Web operations with the rest of the enterprise.

Web History

Most companies started their Web operations without a deep strategy for doing so. To their credit, they had the foresight to initiate these pilots. They knew it was going to impact their businesses, and that they needed to build a presence on the Web. What they found was both gratifying and terrifying. Gratifying because customers and prospects used the sites; terrifying because usage patterns were vastly unpredictable and threatened to bring down the entire system. As a result, traditional companies moved slowly to make the Web a revenue-generating operation, opening the door for Webonly businesses - the ".com" companies that offer traditional goods and services solely via the Web.

But both have found it more difficult than expected. Web-only businesses quickly found they could reach hundreds, even thousands, of customers virtually in seconds - customers who, at some point, might want to speak with a live person. But integrating traditional call center functions into their Web application proved difficult. On the other hand, traditional businesses started to build a Web presence to stay competitive, but found it was not easy to integrate the Web into their existing call center processes.

"E-Business" means "E-commerces," Right?

For most companies, e-business is synonymous with e-commerce, but e-commerce is only the transaction component. E-business means leveraging the Internet to connect vendors, suppliers and employees to create a personalized interaction that drives customer buying decisions and loyalty.

The problem with the Web alone is that it does not inherently build customer relationships. Unlike doing business face-to-face or via the telephone, there is no human-to-human interaction. This factor, combined with the fact that competitors are just a click away, means that customer loyalty is more difficult than ever to achieve and keep.

The moment of truth for customers or prospects often occurs when they move beyond the passive viewing of Web pages to actually doing something - like placing an order or taking to an agent while looking at a site. Companies that demonstrate they can handle these Web interactions are rewarded with loyal customers. In contrast, otherwise happy customers get annoyed when their Web interactions do not measure up to their expectations or to the level of customer service they have come to expect from talking to a call center agent.

Successful E-Businss Must Be More Than A Transaction

Let's face it; we have only ourselves to blame. We spent the past 10 years becoming customer-focused and getting close to the customer in order to make superior customer service a differentiating point. We have done our best to make the call center the nervous system of the company and to transform customer service from an expense to a corporate asset.

The problem is that customers now expect this same level of service regardless of how and when they choose to communicate.

These expectations have created frustrations for customers as they have taken advantage of e-business: '"What do you mean I can't return that book I bought from your Web site?" "Why does your Web site treat me like a first-time buyer when I've been a loyal customer for three years?"

E-business solutions that are set up as islands in the IS landscape will frustrate prospects, turn away customers and disappoint management. To maximize the opportunity that comes with e-business, companies should integrate their e-commerce functions with traditional call center operations. Following are essential customer integration areas for building a customer-friendly e-business solution.

Integration with back-office data. Information stored in traditional backoffice applications, such as credit, inventory availability and personal account information, is essential to maintaining a seamless customer experience on the Web.

Integration with the call center The Web goes a long way toward helping the self-sufficient customer. But even longtime customers occasionally want to speak to an agent about ordering problems, returns, shipping schedules or order status. Tying the call center into the e-- commerce application allows companies to leverage internal systems and customer information to provide more consistent customer interactions regardless of the channel of communication.