Web Chat & Collaboration
Datapoint offers solutions for web chat and collaboration management that are integral components of an interaction hub solution. This means they are not point solutions and have not been designed to function outside that environment.
The benefit of this approach is being able to leverage a centralised configuration and management environment and therefore avoid complex and expensive integration issues when third party text solutions such as email and chat are introduced into existing voice platforms.
Such pre integration ensures that chat and collaboration sessions are managed by the same business rules as applied to other interactions. Furthermore, CTI screen pops can be used to access customer histories and reporting and analysis remains unified.Overview Of Web Chat
Web chat is a form of interaction whereby agents and customers can communicate online via text-based messaging. It is used by online customers to seek help from live customer service agents. Web collaboration is another online customer service which synchronises agent and customer browsers in a collaborative environment, enabling browser-independent shared navigation. All sessions are protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) support to ensure privacy and security of the interaction between the agent and the customer.
Some solutions provide knowledge management systems to support chat and collaboration sessions while others provide integration capability to third party solutions. In this way standardised responses can be rapidly accessed and sent to the customer.
Web Chat Routing Options
Inbound requests for chat and collaboration sessions can be queued, prioritised and routed according to whatever criteria has been defined in your customer contact strategy which Datapoint can help define.
In addition to a simple ‘first in, first served’ logic, routing plans can be built from the customer ID collected from the initial chat request, skill based routing or automatic rerouting of overflows to less busy queues when service thresholds are in danger of being breached. Routing policies for holiday and understaffing situations can also be incorporated.
In situations in which customers have to wait for the next available agent, relevant text messages or a series of web pages or banners can be presented to them while they wait. Queue length estimates can also be pushed to keep them informed and encourage them to stay in queue.
Once a session has begun, customers can specify a number where they can be called during the chat session. The system will automatically dial that number and connect the customer to the same agent with whom they are chatting.
Once sessions are completed a transcript of the text interaction can be provided to the online customer for reference and also be automatically archived in the customer management system.Time Saving Features For Web Chat
From the agent’s perspective these solutions offer a number of time saving features. The web page from which the customer requested a session can be presented in the chat browser for initial orientation.
If the customer name or email address has been recognised in the customer management system via CTI, then multi media interaction histories and relevant prompts can be presented onto the agents screen to speed up the session and help improve the customer experience.
Standard communication can be automated to save time such as pre formatted greeting and wrap up messages plus access to cut and paste responses from knowledge bases as previously mentioned.
Agents can work on single or multiple chat sessions. The number depends on the nature of the customer service enquiry and whether there is frequent lapsed time during sessions, for instance as customers pause the chat session to try out the advice just provided.
Agents can conference in additional help or transfer a session to other more qualified agents. Supervisors can also introduce themselves into sessions whenever they have been involved in silent monitoring or agent coaching sessions.
For even greater productivity, some solutions provide blended service options in which agents can belong to chat, inbound and outbound voice, email and workflow services concurrently. The system delivers the appropriate contacts to the agents across these channels.
Overview Of Web Collaboration
The web collaboration solution allows either the customer or the agent to take control of each others browsers in order to navigate to particular pages on a web site so that both agent and customer are looking at the same web page.
Agents can use this to help the customer find the information they are looking for or assist them complete forms or purchasing workflows. Customers can direct agents to specific pages about which they want to ask questions.
The sequence of pages navigated by the agent and customer during collaboration sessions can be automatically recorded along with the text chat. This gives managers the ability to view the pages for training, compliance and/or dispute resolution.
Web collaboration is browser-independent and does not require additional software installation.
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