Looking back on a holiday season that saw the birth of terms such as
"e-Christmas," the value of premium customer relationship management
(CRM) has become all too apparent. While post-holiday statistics confirm
that online shopping has become a valuable alternative for the rapidly-growing
population of wired consumers, the rate of failed Internet commerce transactions
has skyrocketed, reaching record levels last year.
A study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group and Shop.org, the association
of online retailers, showed 270 percent growth in the number of orders
placed online, and a 300 percent increase in revenues enjoyed by e-tailers
this past year over the year before that. However, according to Enamics,
a substantial 25 percent of online shoppers abandoned attempts to buy
via the Internet. Further, it was forecast that customer frustrations
and disappointments would result in losses of more than $6 billion of
potential revenue during the 1999 holiday season.
Heeding the words of industry analysts, e-tailers prepared for the onslaught
of online shoppers by investing heavily in content development and site
maintenance, and spending millions of dollars on advertising and promotions
for the holiday season. However, the focus still seemed to be on acquiring
customers, not servicing them. In their attempts to generate interest
and move traffic to their sites, little attention was paid to the most
fundamental of retailing principles: customer service.
According to Computer Economics analyst Michael Erbschloe, part of the
problem is that so many of these new e-tailers are not traditional retailers
at all -- they are dot com companies that are strongly focused on raising
venture capital and preparing for their upcoming IPOs. As such, they struggle
with even the most basic concepts of retailing. On the other side are
numerous brick-and-mortar companies that launched sites in anticipation
of their first e-Christmas, while not fully comprehending the high level
of consumer demand with which they would be met online.
ONLINE CUSTOMERS NEED HUMAN INTERACTION
Although many companies initially thought that Web-based commerce would
remove people from the selling equation, this has not been the case, as
retailing on the Web is still very labor-intensive. Jupiter Communications
reports that 90 percent of online customers prefer human interaction,
and analyst Melissa Shore forecasts that providing outstanding customer
service is going to be even more important now, as there are more customers
shopping online who are less comfortable with making online purchases.
New online shoppers tend to be especially nervous about completing transactions
without human assistance, and often abandon shopping carts out of frustration,
or fear of submitting their credit card information over the Web.
The bottom line is that both novice and Web-savvy online shoppers have
begun to demand the same level of customer service and responsiveness
they have become used to receiving over the phone. Clearly, this is not
what they are getting.
THE SOLUTION: ONLINE CUSTOMER SUPPORT
That's where e-services come in: From enhanced e-mail management to Web-enabled
applications, call centers using these technologies provide the solutions
for today's online-based CRM problems. Industry trends point clearly to
an increase in customers' expectations for e-mail and Web requests, with
expected response times dwindling from hours to minutes.
Enhanced e-mail management promotes faster responses, and employs auto-responders
that provide tangible proof to customers that their requests are not being
ignored. The combined use of new technologies and agents skilled in written
communication yields more satisfying interactions for the customer, and
reduces customer service costs. If e-mails are not handled effectively,
a customer's next step will usually be to use the phone, thereby increasing
the cost of that customer interaction significantly.
Web-enabled applications include voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP),
Web-enabled interactive voice response (IVR), Web callback, Web call-through,
live text chat, and the use of push/pull technology.
Voice over IP enables customers to talk over the Internet (instead of
through a carrier such as AT&T) with a telephone service representative
(TSR) in a call center. This is essentially the same on the agent side
as receiving phone calls through the Public Switched Telephone Network
(PSTN), and is handled in the same manner by call centers. However, this
technology provides for a substantial decrease in standard telco expenses
(especially when used in place of a toll-free number), and tighter integration
of voice and data communication.
Web-enabled IVR units provide for the development of a more complex
customer interaction. The user's navigation through the transaction is
very different than with traditional voice-based services, and the system
supports more complex data entry and data responses. In addition, Web-enabled
IVR provides the added benefits of centralized data storage and more effective
reporting metrics.
Web callback provides customers with a quick and direct link to a telephone
service representative, wherein the TSR calls the customer on the phone
using the number they have input at the site. Because the phone is used
for voice communication, rather than the computer, the problem of working
with different PC configurations is bypassed. Web callback is least efficient
for customers that are using a dial-up connection and only have one line
in their home -- they'll need to disconnect from the Internet in order
to accept the incoming call.
Web call-through is similar in nature, however the user's Web browser
actually initiates the call to the TSR. The TSR receives a screen pop
identifying the caller and the referring Web site information, at the
same time the call is transferred to them by the ACD. Web call-through
has the added benefit of providing businesses with real data about their
site visitors and Web site effectiveness. Web call-through affords customers
the comfort of a real person to help them navigate their visit to the
site, similar to the way callers have learned to "zero out"
of voice mail systems to speak with a live person.
Live text chat offers customers immediate access to a trained telephone
sales representative in a familiar setting -- typing messages back and
forth through an interface on the company's Web site. Real-time interaction
promotes customer participation in sensitive credit card and banking transactions,
and is similar to the above technologies in that it provides site visitors
with the help they need to navigate unfamiliar Web pages and online procedures.
The above technologies can be combined with push/pull technology to
further enhance the customer's online experience. TSRs can interact with
the customer in real-time, while pushing appropriate content to their
Web browser, providing assistance throughout the session that simulates
that of a personal shopper in a department store. Combined, these technologies
provide for significant opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell the customer,
as well as a significant means of closing more online shopping transactions.
TANGIBLE RESULTS
Whether used alone or combined for a multiple interaction channel approach,
the latest Web-enabled technologies provide solutions that online retailers
need now. The benefits garnered from these solutions are multi-tiered:
- Orders taken through a client's Web site and by telephone sales representatives
can be consolidated, allowing for increased efficiency, and providing
for the collection of more accurate metrics;
- The closure rate of Web transactions can be increased, yielding higher
revenues, and decreasing the high rate of abandoned shopping carts;
- Customer satisfaction levels can be elevated, while broadening customer
relationships and promoting customer retention;
- Significant cost savings can be realized by handling customer interactions
via e-mail and the Web;
- Opportunities for cross selling and up-selling are promoted, and
impulse-buying revenues are increased;
- And the e-commerce experience is personalized, enabling customers
to have the human contact they desire.
Industry analysts predict that the fall out from the first e-Christmas
will result in a consolidation of online vendors -- some will make it,
but many won't. The companies that do will be those that have outsourced
their customer service needs, or beefed up their internal customer service
departments. Call centers who turn to e-services as the next line of attack
will be able to provide cost-efficient, humanizing alternatives to these
companies, thereby increasing revenues and giving consumers the service
they are clamoring for.
Eric Greenberg is the president and CEO of Millennium
Teleservices, LLC. Millennium Teleservices is a premier provider of
integrated teleservice and direct marketing solutions.
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