Live Web Interactions Risks And Rewards

YTA Marketing Leadership Peer group
February 06, 2008

Nabil Harfoush
nharfoush@manara.ca

© Manara International Resources Inc. 1

Agenda
 Introduction
 Context & Trends
 Current Status
 New Challenges
 Recent Thinking
 Lessons Learned
 WCIM Cornerstones


Introduction
Terminology

 E-Business Definition:
– A business conducted partially or entirely on the Internet

 E-Business Components:
 E-Service
 E-Commerce
 E-Marketing
 E-Learning


Terminology
Descriptors of Client Interaction
 Channel: Store, post, telephone, email, web
 Medium: Text, audio, video
 Resource: Automated system, human agent
 Response Time: Deferred, real-time response
 Initiator: Customer (passive), Organization (proactive)


Context & Trends
 Rapidly increasing E-business volumes
 Continued convergence of ICT
 Generational change
 Qualitative changes in web use
 Globalization  Increasing competition
 Productivity and cost cutting drive
 Internal processes pushed to self service
 ATM, gas stations, online banking, airline kiosk, i-shopping, check-
out…
 First, simple processes; then increasing scope and complexity
 Processes with significant revenues or savings are called Valuable
Processes


Current Status
 Simple processes lost their competitive advantage
 Valuable Processes are now the differentiators
 Success rate of valuable processes often unknown due
to:
 “black boxed” third-party components
 Lack of granular measurement tools
 Lack of awareness
 Where measured, success rate in Valuable Processes
<30%
 Despite users in VP being committed users!
 Increasing e-business volumes + low success rates =
potential for significant business results improvements


Current Status
 Traditional Responses
 Improve or change infrastructure
 More powerful servers
 Larger internet pipes (bandwidth)
 Network redesign, outsourcing
 Improve or change web design
 Often limited to presentation redesign
 Sometimes includes business process redesign
 Add an interaction option
 Publish email and/or phone number
 Add a click-to-chat or click-to-talk button


Current Status
Traditional Responses are failing !
 Infrastructure and design bringing only marginal
improvements
 Adding an interaction option creating a dilemma:
 Every live interaction converts a low-cost self-serve
process into a high-cost full-serve process regardless
of the value of the transaction or customer


Current Status
 Redirected web customers often must be serviced by
a call centre down-sized in anticipation of web service
reducing incoming calls
 Frustrated web customers are taking up to 50% more
time on the phone, than if they had called by phone in
the first place
 Interaction tools deployed are unsuitable for many
situations (silo captivity)
… So, how can this dilemma be resolved?


The New Challenges of WCIM
 How can we determine in real time the anticipated
value of the customer interaction?

 How can we dynamically balance the cost of
interaction with its anticipated value?


Web Customer Valuation
 Fundamental methods of valuation
 Historical information
 Site navigation information
 Behavior information
 Device information
 Location information
… and combinations of the above.


Web Customer Valuation
 Value is not limited to monetary
 Alignment with organizational values
 Lifetime value
 Image and reputation value
 Web customer may be anonymous throughout most of
the process
 The business defines what is valuable!


Using Site Navigation Information
 Various parts of web property are assigned business values
 Each business value is mapped to an interaction service level
 Each interaction service level:
 Uses a specific interaction tool
 Has specific processes for handling & escalation
 Interaction links deployed in a specific part of the web property
automatically select the interaction tool specified in the
corresponding service level


Using Behavioral Information
 Real-time tracking & analytics engine captures origin, geo, and
click-stream navigation data
 Click patterns translated into behavior types
 An interaction offer is triggered:
 Automatically
 When meeting preset behavior patterns;
 By availability of agents with corresponding skill set
 If accepted by customer, connection to agent established
 Manually:
 Agents use pre-established business rules or judgment
 Combination of passive and proactive interaction


Balancing Cost and Value
Prerequisites:
 Interaction tools with a range of cost points
 A platform integrating such tools and enabling their
easy deployment on a web site
 Ability to apply business rules to the selection of the
appropriate interaction tool and destination
 Ability to move seamlessly between the various
interaction tools
 Easy integration with other enterprise applications
 Reporting on customer interactions across tools


Interaction tools
 Portals with personalization (Amazon)
 Intelligent self-serve engines (IntelliResponse)
 Robo-agents (Novomind) (Artificial Solutions)
 Automated email systems (Emailtopia)
 Deferred response systems (HelpCaster Call/Me)
 Click-to-chat (HelpCaster ChatPLEX)
 Click-to-talk (Montbleue Resort)
 Collaboration systems (Webex)


Tool integration
 Mostly silo assembly of tools found currently
 Single tool vendors expanding by adding an
alternate tool
 Expansion by acquisitions leading to sub-optimal
integrated solutions
 Multi-tool vendors mostly in high-end e-service suite
segment
 Integration with existing enterprise applications still
a major endeavor



Intelligent Self Service

Delayed Response (CBR, SMS)

Integrated WCIM Click-to-Chat
Platform
Click-to-Talk

Collaboration

Concept & icons courtesy of HelpCaster Technologies Inc.

How does it work?

Web customer clicks for help  Business rules select optimal medium
& destination

From Interactive self … to Multimedia live
service tools… interaction

Intelligent Self CBR, SMS Click-to-Chat Click-to-Call Collaboration
Service

Cost $$$
Any combination of media!
Concept & icons courtesy of HelpCaster Technologies Inc.

Lessons Learned
 Valuable on-line processes need a certain amount of customer
interaction to succeed.
 Interaction has a cost that must be balanced with the value of the
interaction.
 Multi-tool interaction platforms provide options for balancing cost
and value.
 The interaction cost spectrum depends on both process efficiency
and technology
 Customers preferences vary according to situation and time;
customers like having options
 Value changes while interaction is in progress: need to up/down-
grade interaction dynamically as required.


Cornerstones of Adaptive WCIM
 Structural:
 AWCIM crosses multiple lines of business: web, call centre, IT,
telecom, marketing etc.
 Processes need to be thought through and have a “feedback loop”
 Operational lead must have full understanding of business needs and
implications
 People:
 Automation increases quality of knowledge-workers required
 Technology:
 Select agile solutions that can adapt to this changing environment
 Legal:
 Privacy issues
 Discrimination issues
 International exposure


• www.manara.ca
• nharfoush@manara.ca
• Twitter.com/NabilHarfoush


Live Web Interactions Risks And Rewards

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