BY CAROL DRZEWIANOWSKI
Managing Editor, Communications SOLUTIONS™

Hunting For Call Center Software

What are you looking for in an online shopping site? Now that the days of free shipping and killer discounts are over, consumers are focusing on superior service. While clicking through a store's online catalog can't give you the same experience as browsing through racks of clothes in a retail shop, certain basics should be offered. Communication with knowledgeable associates (or agents) tops this list.

Earlier this week, eshare communications announced a sales agreement with Cabela's, a hunting, fishing, and sporting goods outfitter. eshare has upgraded the Nebraska-based mail-order company's Web site and online store to utilize eshare Expressions and NetAgent MEDIA-CHAT.

EXPRESSIONS
eshare Expressions is a turnkey solution for adding chat, threaded discussion forums, and online presentations to Web sites. It enables businesses to conduct virtual meetings, live training, conferencing, distance learning, moderated events, and social chat, and integrates fully with a company's existing software and servers. Expressions is customizable, so companies can choose the capabilities that best suit their needs.

Cabela's implemented Expressions to build online communities. The company wanted Web site visitors to have the same experience online that a customer would have in a retail store. Cabela's online community now allows Web site visitors to communicate with one another, post questions, and share experiences. Mark Mazour, Cabelas.com content managing editor, said, "Our Expressions software has been a very valuable asset in building a community for our Web site. We now can offer users a complete interactive experience, and this also helps us gather quality feedback on the products we offer."

Expressions also offers:

• Filters that can be applied to chat and forums.
• Live audio and streaming video.
• An interface that doesn't require users to download a plug-in for their browser.
• Multiple chat interfaces (Java, Java-Light, and HTML).
• A scheduling feature to set hours of operation.

You can download an evaluation copy of Expressions from the company's Web site.

NETAGENT
Cabela's has also completed an initial installation of NetAgent MEDIA-CHAT. The chat application from eshare's NetAgent Suite (which recently won an Editors' Choice award from TMC Labs, earning an "A" rating) enables contact center agents to provide live, online support to users who need help navigating a site or who have questions regarding things like products and warranties.

According to the TMC Labs review in the March issue of Communications Solutions, "Because of the various levels of interaction afforded through NetAgent, it proved simple to engage in live, one-on-one chat with a needier visitor while pushing canned content to others, allowing agents to deal with a higher volume of visitors while maintaining a human touch."

MEDIA-CHAT also assists in decreasing shopping cart abandonment for online purchases. Labeled on www.cabelas.com as "Cabela's Live," MEDIA-CHAT has enabled the company's contact center agents to increase service levels to customers, while also increasing their own efficiency and productivity.

BENEFITS
Cabela's customer relations lead supervisor Mark Speer said, "The NetAgent MEDIA-CHAT technology has proven to be very effective in allowing us to quickly and easily communicate with our customers via live Web chat. We are able to answer questions online regarding order status, exchange information, and product information, as well as being able to 'push' pages from our site to help our customers make more informed purchasing decisions."

Another benefit for Cabela's is that training employees for MEDIA-CHAT is easy. According to Speer, the company saves weeks of work time that would ordinarily be used for training.

"Increased productivity is also a huge benefit, as our agents are now able to carry on multiple 'chats' at one time. This technology has definitely enabled us to offer a more complete line of services to our customers." said Speer.

BOTTOM LINE
It's one thing to improve an online shopping site to benefit the customers, but if it comes at the expense of costly training for your agents, is it really worth it? eshare's products allow for easy call center upgrades that don't require additional weeks of training time. Meanwhile, the products also add value to the Web site for a consumer who is looking to make a purchase. Perhaps there is a rebate available, but it expires on the day the customer is browsing. Instead of taking a chance and being disappointed later (or not making the purchase at all), the customer can chat with a live agent who will answer the question. Sure, one single sale isn't going to make or break your business, but over time you clearly want your customers to be happy and informed. Likewise, you want your agents happy and informed. Products like those offered by eshare can help achieve this balance.

Carol Drzewianowski welcomes your comments via e-mail.