Chat, e-mail and self-service, unite!

History enthusiasts know it was Karl Marx who wrote, "Workers of the world, unite!" Although he was addressing the proletarians, it's possible to substitute "workers" to correspond with present-day technologies; in the case of this piece, the workers are platform capabilities. (And no, Communism is not being endorsed here, not is any other "ism" for that matter.)

All elements of a communications platform, ideally, are completely integrated to perform each function's duty--united workers, if you will.

While numerous online communication offerings claim full integration, many are disparate programs grouped under a common name. LivePerson has orchestrated all elements of its latest communications platform to work in unison. The high level of conflation between its channels is reflected in increased continuity of communication, a unified interface and robust cross-channel reporting.

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LivePerson, a New York City-based provider of communications solutions for online sales, marketing and customer service, recently released a fully integrated online communications software platform called Timpani. This hosted platform can deliver commingled chat, e-mail and self-service knowledge base capabilities, providing multiple channels for customer interaction, and a comprehensive customer history within one unified agent interface.

LivePerson's real-time analytics engine detects customers in need of sales or service assistance and automatically routes them to the proper communication channel, the purpose of which is to raise customer satisfaction levels and increase sales. All channels of Timpani's platform are built on a rules-based architecture, ensuring that customers are guided to the most appropriate channel and the most knowledgeable representative.

Timpani Contact Center

Timpani performs this combination of capabilities for sales and customer service in the contact center, completely integrated across all channels, for the purpose of enabling agents to manage all of their contacts from one place. In addition to integrated ticketing for all interactions, the platform features a rules engine to drive the proper channel at the proper time. The unified agent desktop manages all interactions so that all agent support content can be managed at one central place and later searched for the purpose of finding common information on the database. Performance measurement is reached through expansive reporting. The challenges faced by sales and service executives at telecommunications and ISP companies, to leverage Web traffic and to empower the action of that traffic, are the focus of Timpani.

Communication Channels

ISPs, through Timpani, have the ability to track, manage and answer incoming inquires with professional efficiency. POP 3 and secure or standard forms can be managed throughout the system (security ensured through a visitor log-in). Incoming messages can be run through a spam filter to remove unwanted imported e-mail and then through the knowledge base for auto-response prior to routing.

Targeted visitors can be invited to chat, or visitors can click on a chat button that resides on the Web site to start the communication with an agent. A chat ACD system is used to route the proper visitor to the proper agent, like on the phone.

The Timpani knowledge base learns from each interaction. It is automatically updated based on additional customer requests, allowing for self-service--for Web site visitors and internal agents to have the ability to help themselves find relevant information in the answers they seek.

Intelligence Modules

A rules module/engine allows the company to monitor all of its Web site visitor activity, to process that activity, to identify specific customer types and to tailor actions--actions such as sending chat invitations or sending specific product promotion or providing knowledge articles. Customization can be done for the entire visitor experience: pre-chat surveys, knowledge base searches, content, and e-mail templates included.

The flexible ACD system in Timpani routes each customer interaction to the first available agent who has the proper skill, information and capacity to address any questions the customer has. Chats can also be routed to specific groups or forced into available agent queues, similar to the phone ACD. The ACD/routing system is completely customizable to support multiple call centers in different locations.

The third module functionality--cross-channel integration--provides seamless service across channels through a unified agent interface and common trouble ticket system. All relevant chat, e-mail and phone calls around a customer issue can link to a single, common ticket for efficient resolution, significantly increasing resolution times.

The Analytics and Reporting module offers in-depth reporting on all customer activity and agent productivity, channel and cross-channel effectiveness, and sales conversion rates. All of these aspects of the module are provided in real-time. Information can be viewed in HTML, or it can be exported to other systems.

Finally, the Security and Integration modules: all interactions are encrypted with the same security austerity that is applied to online banking and credit card transactions. The transactions managed through Timpani can be integrated into common CRM and SFA tools, as well as into telephony systems.

Next year, Timpani will be upgraded to integrate voice interaction from the desktop (with a receiver), specifically for sales teams to drive sales conversion rates.

Like integrating the apportioned elements to sculpt a movie or to compose a symphony, LivePerson has integrated the various communication capabilities of its latest customer interaction management and system/account management platform so that each countenance comes together in uninterrupted communion.

www.liveperson.com

For information and subscriptions, visit www.TMCnet.com or call 203-852-6800.

By David R. Butcher, Assistant Editor, Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] Magazine