Newsletter 
The Impact of Click to Call on Online Retailers
In a recent Forrester research document titled: Twelve Technologies That Will Transform Online Retail (free registration required), Senior Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru identifies VOIP as a key driver of consumer adoption of online shopping. She says:
"Click-to-call further reduces eCommerce friction. Unlike live chat, which many retailers already offer, VoIP allows consumers to connect directly from a Web site to a phone conversation, which can immediately help address consumer buying concerns, encourage upsells, and increase conversion from Web site visitors. The one drawback for most retailers? VoIP is not necessarily cost-efficient, as it necessitates additional labor: VoIP integrated into a Web site encourages more volume to a call center, which means more staff to handle the calls. For high-touch, high-consideration purchases, or ones where buyers and sellers are not that familiar with each other, this may be an investment well worth making."
She further illustrates her point by charting these technologies in 3 dimensions: internal IT involvement, vendor IT involvement and impact on customer retention and acquisition:
The list is remarkable, mainly because most of the technologies outlined are “in the edge,” and not entirely understood by decision makers. This has two implications for online retailers:
- To use the technology will require some risk taking and experimentation.
- Those who get it right will reap the rewards of differentiation from the competition.
Which brings us to Click to Call. The technology has great potential. The first implementations by companies like eStara, or LivePerson focused on connecting callers to call center agents. Not bad. But expensive. The next generation of solutions, such as those offered by Angel.com, are based on voice automation. Voice automation can address the cost issue and add more value, with features such as:
- Contextualization — the ability to know exactly where in the website the customer or prospect is, what they’re looking at, what they’ve tried.
- CRM integration — the ability to understand the current interaction as it relates to prior interactions
- Persistence — the ability to remember where things were left off in the prior interaction
- One-channelization or multimodality — the ability to define a task (e.g. checking out) that can be accomplished, in steps, partially over the web and partially over the phone, without missing a beat.
In addition, other than responding to customer or prospect initiated requests, Outbound IVR technology can do more:
- Let a customer know that a credit card authorization failed, and give them a chance to address the problem instead of cancelling the order (Sears.com’s preferred way to not serve)
- Ask a customer for feedback about a recent transaction, surveying them for satisfaction.
- Letting them know that a rare or scarce wish-list item is now in stock, in case they want to buy it.
So, before going forward with the purchase of a next generation solution, there are some very important questions to ask any potential vendor.
- Does your solution provide a mechanism for voice interactivity, or does it simply connect callers with agents?
- Can your solution plug in to my ordering and CRM systems and transact with them?
- Is it possible to create interactions that support the workflow of my customers?
- Since I will be experimenting to get the solution right, how easy is it to change set ups? Can my team make the changes?
- What kind of reporting and instrumentation do you offer? How can you help me understand what is working and what isn’t?
Click to call will soon become an important avenue for retailers that are looking to improve their customer service. By educating themselves, asking the right questions and experimenting, smart companies will stand out - and quickly reap the benefits of Click to Call.
