We have e-mail, e-commerce and e-tailers, among other “electronic” conveniences. The “e” phenomenon has spread quickly across all aspects of business and industry, and now wireless customers with questions or problems can access “e-customer service” to find help.
Of course, customers still have the option of speaking to a real person, but as it becomes easier to purchase products and services from start to finish using the Internet, carriers and vendors are moving to make the Web a comprehensive source for help and information.
By 2001, 45 percent of customer service responses will be online, according to the Boston-based research firm The Yankee Group.
“Now that companies have established their Web commerce presence, they realize they must build out the customer-service infrastructure behind their Web sites to keep existing customers loyal,” said The Yankee Group’s report, “E-Mail Response Systems: Crucial Components of Next-Generation E-Support.”
There are several ways a company can serve customers over the Web, including self-service, deferred service and real-time interactions using Internet Protocol telephony, according to “The Users Speak: Current and Future Plans for Web-based Customer Care,” another report issued by The Yankee Group.
Carriers such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless Services Inc. have Web-based customer service programs called “eCare.” At AT&T Wireless’ Web site, wireless users can enter their mobile phone number and view their billing statements and current calling plan, and submit questions for response from a customer service agent via phone or e-mail.
The self-service aspect of Web-based customer care solutions however, was cited far more than any other option by 100 customer care executives from various Fortune 1000 corporations surveyed by The Yankee Group as having the greatest impact on support and sales efforts in the future.
This attitude is reflected in the Web sites of most carriers and vendors, the majority of which have extensive “Frequently Asked Questions” sections on their sites. Customers can find answers to technical and service questions, and in the case of Verizon Wireless, also find out things like how it got its name and how long the re-branding will take.
FAQ sites are just one way to put power in the hands of the customer. The customer’s ability to control his or her own shopping, spending and researching process is very important, and the Web is an ideal tool to provide such support, said Mary Whelan, electronic business vice president for the Service Provider Networks division at Lucent Technologies Inc.
“The capabilities on the Web are allowing us to provide yet another dimension to that support by giving the customer a new level of control,” Whelan said.
For companies, Web-based customer service provides an extensive database for a vast number of customer qualities, including buying habits, preferences and demographic information.
Whelan said the most significant change Web-based customer service has brought about is the ability to do personalization. She said companies can establish two things-a fingerprint, which is an understanding of who the customer is, and a footprint, which allows the company to customize what the customer sees based on where they go in the site.
“It puts more work on site managers and gives the customer less to wallow through,” said Whelan.
There are, however, problems that arise from the humanless interaction the Internet provides. Person-to-person transactions give customer service representatives the opportunity to not only offer individualized help, but also suggest and sell new services and products such as plan upgrades, accessories and new data/Internet capabilities.
“Humanless transactions make it harder to sell new services. The ability to hold on to a customer also is minimized on the Web. A customer can be halfway through a transaction and decide he’s tired of this and log off,” said Betty Zakheim, director of product management for customer acquisition products at Lightbridge Inc.
“The more you know about the customer and the more you interact, the better the security. When you bring in the Web and there’s not that same level of interaction, it gets riskier for the carrier,” Karen Gobler, Lightbridge’s manager of corporate communications, further explained.
Despite the risk, wireless players increasingly are spending more on customer care Web interaction. Many see it not as a stand-alone solution, but as another aspect of their overall customer service offering.
“Companies are not investing in Web interaction for its own sake-they want to integrate well with existing call center and customer care infrastructure, and the ultimate goal is an enhanced customer interaction experience in which customers’ needs are handled gracefully and effectively, regardless of medium,” said The Yankee Group in its report on future plans for Web-based customer care.
Lucent’s Whelan said there is a learning aspect to making a purchase decision online that the Web can facilitate, and Web-based customer services are “in addition to, not in support of” other methods.
“I think you’re going to see more and more integration like simultaneously talking to someone while looking at the same computer screen,” Whelan said.
Additional methods coming to customer service centers in the wireless industry include “virtual” personalities that pop up with a video or voice box on a customer’s computer screen to offer help or product suggestions, especially when a customer is about to log off a site. Lucent said it is in the development stages of such a technology and is planning to introduce something by the end of the year.
Convergys Corp. and Neuromedia announced in April an alliance to market and implement Neuromedia’s vRep software. vReps are automated, online personalities built around specific knowledge bases that interact with customers, Convergys said.
This kind of tool will be important to companies in the future, which in the interest of cutting costs and increasing customer satisfaction, must anticipate customer needs before they are forced to call or e-mail the contact center, said Robert Mirani, director of customer relationship management strategies at The Yankee Group.
