September 1998

The Internet Opens A New Door To Your Business

BY GARY REDMAN, AMERITECH CALL CENTER SOLUTIONS

Shopping online via the Internet is projected to be a $12.1 billion business by the year 2000. It will mark a big change in the way we live and do business - changes for consumers, businesses and call centers in particular.

But are these just bold predictions, conjecture at best? At one time I raised an eyebrow to such lofty projections. But when the Internet actually broke through the walls of my own home, I began to take them seriously.

It started when my daughter Lauren, at the young age of 11, extensively researched a product and made a purchase on the Internet. Her story not only opened my eyes to the broad penetration of this medium, it also illustrated the role of the Internet in today's call center.

Lauren, an avid horsewoman, recently began a project to purchase her first saddle using the Internet. Because saddles are not a mass-marketed, inexpensive item, I challenged Lauren to perform research for her purchase.

Saddle manufacturers distribute their products via independent retail shops and catalogue houses. Lauren, however, started her research on manufacturers' Web sites. Browsing the sites and gathering information, she submitted questions via electronic mail (e-mail) and impatiently waited for responses. Once she developed a new-found "expertise" in saddles, she navigated her way to retail Web sites and specialty catalogs, shopping for price. E-mail was her sole method of communication during the entire shopping process.

Her quest was time-consuming, but successful, resulting in the purchase of a saddle. Her experience online confirmed for me that the Internet is a viable sales channel for businesses. More important, though, it caused me to reflect further on how the Internet relates to call centers, what role e-mail plays and what the overall impact of the Internet is to a call center and its business.

Nearly a year later, I'm now convinced that a business that leverages the Internet within its call center has achieved a competitive strategic advantage: the Internet-enabled call center is a business tool that expands customer accessibility and improves operational efficiency and sales effectiveness.

So where does one start and what's involved with bringing a call center online? Like any business initiative, it starts with a sound business strategy.

Sure, there are several tactical decisions and investments that must be made - such as hiring a "Web master," investing in a server, connecting to an Internet service provider (ISP), or outsourcing the whole process - but those decisions are inconsequential without a strategic business plan. That plan should be developed with a clear goal of making your company accessible and easy to do business with. To achieve that goal, your plan should be founded by a customer-friendly Web site designed to complement the call center and a well-planned e-mail response strategy.

A Web Site Opens A New Door To Your Business
The first step in developing an effective Web site is to clearly understand the business objectives of the company and the expectations of the Web site. The second step is to select a professional Web site developer who is credible and reliable, one who understands the Internet and your company's business. Last, your strategy should phase the Web site into the business over a period of time so that it streamlines processes and doesn't add complexity to them. In other words, a Web site must work hand-in-hand with the call center. And there are some exciting new technologies that can help make that happen.

For example, a real-time Internet telephony callback system can change the dynamics of customer interaction. A customer who enters a Web site using a standard multimedia PC can simply click on a "Talk to an Operator" icon and instantly be connected to a live agent over a single phone line.

The latest Internet telephony services actually convert "Talk to an Operator" requests from Internet protocol (IP)-based calls to public switched telephone network (PSTN) calls (standard phone calls), which are then routed to an available agent. Computer-telephony integration sends calls to the agent's desktop where the browser is fully synched with the customer's browser. When the two are done talking, the caller is converted back to a surfer and sent on his or her way.

With the growth of multitasking high-speed data lines such as ISDN, and the continued improvement in the quality of voice over the Internet technology, Internet telephony appears to be a solid technology to invest in. And its benefits are almost too intriguing to pass up.

Imagine an agent and customer talking over the phone and simultaneously viewing the same pages on a Web site. It redefines the sales approach of agents by enabling them to personalize presentations for each customer. This will certainly improve sales close ratios. In Lauren's case, Internet telephony technology
could have cut her research time in half and led to an earlier purchase decision.

Internet telephony technology can also dramatically impact the call center from a customer service perspective. Particularly in the technical support area, agents and customers are able to simultaneously view and discuss online documentation which assists agents in achieving first-call resolution.

Sound Strategy Turns Inbound E-mails Into Gold
Even with such technology, a Web site invites e-mail queries. The call center must be equipped to process an influx of queries efficiently and respond quickly. An effective e-mail response strategy should address three key issues:

• Efficient collection of queries,
• Strategic use of customer-provided information and
• Timely dissemination of information for prompt follow-up.

In the case of the saddle manufacturers, response times to Lauren's e-mail inquiries were slow, which tells me the companies either had trouble collecting information or disseminating information, or both. The retailers weren't much better. And it is unlikely that any of them will use her input long-term.

Collection of e-mail messages is the first important challenge for call centers because it has an immediate impact on the efficiency of business operations. Call centers must develop processes to collect incoming e-mail just as they do incoming phone calls. Software packages that enable call centers to create what essentially becomes an "automatic e-mail distributor" are available today. These packages, which can incorporate skills-based routing, direct e-mail messages to a general queue and then distribute them to agents based on availability and/or skills.

In addition, by integrating workforce management software, you can designate specific employees as e-mail agents who respond to e-mail messages only during periods of low call volumes. This strategy enables the call center to manage incoming e-mail efficiently without hindering its ability to manage voice-call traffic. Real-time displays and historical reports for e-mail traffic can be incorporated with ACD reports to provide an overall view of customer interactions with your business.

With a process in place for collecting information, the next challenge is leveraging that information. This will determine a call center's contribution to the growth of the overall business.

The call center strategy should not limit itself to simply answering questions. The Internet, and inbound e-mail in particular, is a natural venue for market research. The questions people ask, the products they ask about, the time of year they ask them, the comments they make, the feedback they share - all this
can be captured in a database and leveraged in sales programs and marketing campaigns. It's an obvious tool for database mining and modeling efforts. Furthermore, customer feedback can identify areas of improvement for customer service, product development and operations.

The last component of the e-mail response strategy is disseminating information. Leverage the database to identify frequently asked questions, then develop template responses that agents can access quickly and easily. You'll marvel at the response times of the agents and the overall efficiency of the call center.

In addition, each e-mail response is an opportunity to market to a particular customer's needs. Agents should be armed with online collateral so they can recommend products and services that relate to customer queries. Make sure the collateral is easy to update and is maintained periodically. The last thing you want is outdated information traveling over the Internet.

With a sound strategy behind it, an Internet-enabled call center drives customers to the Web site, and the Web site drives business to the call center. Such a strategy streamlines processes, improves operations and enhances customer service, which makes your company easier to do business with. That translates into more sales and satisfied customers, even when those customers are just 11 years old.

Gary Redman is director of Ameritech Call Center Solutions, responsible for building and bringing Ameritech's portfolio of call center solutions to market.