May 1998

BY CARMEN SEARS

We have been bombarded with predictions and statistics about the integration of the Web with the call center. It is easy to be swept up in the latest advances in voice-enabled Web pages. However, the challenge in this area is to design solutions with an array of end user technologies in mind. To make this integration successful, companies must accommodate low-end home computers, without compromising functionality for the business user with high-end, high-powered PCs. Companies risk losing customers with less cutting-edge technology to support the high end, and vice versa. This is the trick: Learning how to build a voice-enabled Web site that can scale from the low-end home PC to the high-end power user.

WHY SUPPORT WEB CALL THROUGH?
There have been great advances in the self-service capabilities of the Web, and sites like Amazon.com have proven successful at selling products over the Web. However, many companies realize that those self-service and sales capabilities can only take their customers so far. If customers plan to make an important purchase, or need help solving a problem, they still frequently need to talk to a live person. In the same way that callers have learned how to "zero out" of a voice mail system to get to an operator, customers want the comfort of a real voice to help them navigate a Web-based purchasing decision or to solve a technical problem.

Voice-enabled Web sites also pro-vide a quick and direct link to a company’s call center or customer service department. With voice access to a live call center agent, customers are more likely to inquire about a product or service, especially if they have already taken the time to visit a company’s Web site. Taken one step further, voice-enabled Web sites integrated with self help software let customers help themselves to information first, but then forward that information to a live call center agent if assistance is needed. That way the agent knows exactly what information the customer needed, and how far they got in their quest.

DESIGNING FOR THE AT-HOME BROWSER
The challenge of designing for the average Internet user is that they have a variety of ways to connect to the Internet (Ethernet, analog dial-up connections, etc.). They also have a range of computing capability, browsers, and operating systems. Since the majority of Internet users still have only one phone line, this poses a challenge for a Web-enabled call center. If a customer is using their single phone line to access a dial-up Internet Service Provider, how do you make a voice call? Many home PC users work with low bandwidth or low resolution computers, so downloading graphics or applications may take twice as long and then may not look the way they were meant to be viewed.These issues must be considered for companies to make the most of their Web sites, and ensure that low-end users do not leave in frustration.

At the other end of the spectrum, it is clear that voice over IP (VoIP) is already part of today’s landscape and will be even more prevalent in the future. Wise call center managers need to lay the groundwork to reap the future benefits of voice over IP. Making use of the Internet for voice or video transmission has tremendous rewards in cost savings and tighter integration of voice and data communication. In the short term, this forces call center managers to deal with a whole new realm of technology, such as routers, gateways, firewalls, and internal departmental "walls."

The bottom line is that companies interested in voice-enabled call centers must either choose one segment of Internet users to accommodate, or develop solutions which provide alternatives for the spectrum of users.

LIMITATIONS OF WEB CALL BACK
One way to approach this problem is to avoid it. Web call back allows a browser to leave a name and phone number so that a call center agent may return the call request. The advantage of this approach is that the call center can bypass the problem of working with a variety of business and home PC configurations. This is because the browser’s phone is used for voice communication, rather then their computer. In this scenario, the Web page is used essentially as a message board to return a customer’s call.

There are several disadvantages to this approach. For one, the Web interaction is not integrated with the phone call. Web call back does not take advantage of the timing of the browser’s interest. Secondly, the call center must always pay for the return call rather than taking advantage of toll or 900 numbers. Finally, the customer with a single line may rely on that line for their "dial-up" access to the Internet, which complicates the agent’s ability to call the person back. Management of this outbound call may result in a long delay in the "call back" to the customer, which mitigates the advantage of integrating the Web and voice call experiences. However, because it is less tightly integrated, Web call back should be recognized as an alternative for low-tech browsers.

WEB CALL THROUGH
An alternative approach to Web call back is Web call through. With Web call through, the call is initiated and controlled by software on the browser’s computer. A call queuing request is sent to the call center’s ACD, which locates an agent as it would for any incoming call. It then informs the Web browser of how to contact that agent. The Web browser’s computer then places the call to the call center agent.

Call through’s advantage is its ability to achieve tighter voice and data integration during the browser’s experience.The queuing request can carry information with it, such as the last Web page the browser accessed, or data entry to an online form. It is also possible to perform skills-based routing and detailed reporting on the calls that come in from the Web. The information collected on the page can be used in the same way as information collected from voice prompts on an IVR. Instead of Web "hit rates," ACD reporting provides "real data" about your Web visitors and the effectiveness of the Web site like average answer times, and length of calls.

Another advantage of Web call through is its compatibility with an Internet protocol (IP) phone. IP phones could be used in any configuration — with gateways to the call center agents, or directly from an IP phone at home to an IP agent. The call queuing request sequence can be used in exactly the same way in each of the scenarios.

As an example of the lowest common denominator, consider the customer at home with a single phone line. With the call through approach, the customer is browsing a Web page and needs to speak with a company’s call center agent. Because the customer is using their only phone line for the Internet connection, an IP phone is one way to remedy their situation. If an IP phone is not available, the alternative is to postpone their connection to the Internet and reuse their single line for the voice call over the public switched telephone network. They can then reconnect to the Internet after their call to the agent. Ideally, both of these options would be available to the browser, allowing them to choose the approach that best suits their needs.

For a customer with more then one communication path — an Ethernet card or multiple phone lines — the Internet connection can remain intact while the call is made. Thus, the call center agent can guide the browser through their Web pages. With an IP phone, there is even more flexibility because the Web visit and voice communication are completely integrated.

The strength of this integration is not in the medium chosen, but the underlying infrastructure to handle these customer options in a consistent way. Even after IP phones become commonplace, customers will still be trying to call in on a 386 PC with a 9600 baud modem — the call center who wants to keep their business must find a way to accommodate them.

IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLES
Call center vendors are already providing a variety of approaches to deliver voice-enabled Web sites. One approach is to develop a closed network with kiosks, in which browsers can access call center agents on a private network.With a closed network, call centers can completely control both the agent and browser computers. This allows companies to completely define the browser requirements. Few companies today have the luxury of this option, but it is becoming increasingly popular, especially as an internal solution.

One government agency has determined that this type of interface provides them with the most effective and least expensive way to provide information to their constituents. They are able to reduce the number of call center agents needed because some questions are answered from the Web. They are also able to reduce transport charges by using a closed kiosk to the agent interface. They are currently using the PSTN to make voice calls, but plan to examine IP telephony as it improves in its audio quality.

In the end, though, most companies are not able to control what type of connections their customers will use. Companies must therefore address a variety of access connections options. One outsourcing company knows that many of their Web call arrive from browsers with single-line, dial-up connections to their ISP. Thus, they have decided to provide a call through interface which plans for a single line, but provides an alternative for customers with multiple lines. An alternative for this company is to consider call through paired with a call back interface to meet the needs of all browsers. Both organizations have adopted a call through or combination approach which keeps the end users in mind.

While it is important to provide high-end customers with interesting, thigh-functionality access to the call center, it is also important to support the average and low-end browser with less powerful PCs. Most important for companies and call centers who want to provide viable voice-enabled Web sites is to select an approach (or a combination of approaches) which allows for scalability, and therefore works for the largest numbers of users.

Teloquent is a leading provider of call center software featuring solutions for call center networking, telecommuting, and computer-telephony integration to bussiness of all sizes. Teloquent’s Distributed Call Center is a fully featured, switchless ACD that provides call center solutions in a truly distributed manner. Distributed Call Center employs a client/server architecture using industry standard platforms, the public network, and desktop CTI to bring call center solutions to new heights. For more information, contact the company at 978-663-7570 or visit their Web site at www.teloquent.com.