CRM Chat
Capabilities
CRM Chat
Capabilities referred to the CRM system where we can chat our
customers by typing the message instead of talking using head phones
and phones. Although live CRM Chat Capabilities have captured only a
tiny share of contact-center interactions, some verticals have done
well with this channel, particularly when it enables true
collaboration between users and customer-service agents, according
to a report from the Yankee Group.
According to
Robert LoCascio, chief executive of LivePerson, despite chat's
lackluster uptake in contact centers at present, the technology has
the potential to reshape how companies sell products and services
online.
The financial
services, retail and catalog, and technical-support camps;
especially have reaped favorable results of CRM Chat Capabilities
when users can do more than simply exchange chat messages with
customer-service agents, according to Art Schoeller, Yankee Group
senior analyst and author of the report. To be successful, both
parties might jointly navigate Web pages about new bank accounts,
view different portions of an online catalog or attempt to
troubleshoot computer hardware. However, he added, this
collaborative chat strategy has not worked for all verticals.
In fact, just 1
to 2 percent of all contact-center communication now takes place via
chat using CRM Chat Capabilities, and Web collaboration, according
to the Yankee Group study. That paltry figure contrasts with 74
percent via live voice (phone), 8 percent each via e-mail and Web
self-service , 10 percent via IVR (interactive voice response) and 2
percent via speech recognition
"Human behavior
is hard to change, and the move to channels, other than the phone,
will not solely be driven simply by their availability," the Yankee
Group report noted. In fact, chat is unlikely to gain much momentum
in the next few years, according to Schoeller. When he was asked
does chat reduce talk time, he said "Generally, no. It takes more
time to type."
Indeed, many
contact-center clients "own but don't use" CRM Chat Capabilities,
according to Laura Preslan, research director at AMR Research. For
example, several CRM companies, such as Chordiant, Onyx, PeopleSoft,
Pivotal, SAP and Siebel, include CRM Chat Capabilities in their
contact-center offerings. Best-of -breed vendors like HipBone and
LivePerson also offer CRM Chat Capabilities in their
system.
However,
despite chat's lackluster uptake in contact centers at present, the
technology CRM Chat Capabilities has the potential to reshape how
companies sell products and services online, said Robert LoCascio,
chief executive of LivePerson. The company has expanded its
offerings to focus more on marketing in addition to sales, LoCascio
told CRM Buyer.
