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Online Customer Service 99<br />
Video conferencing over the <strong>net</strong> is uncommon at present in the customer<br />
service arena for a number of reasons. First, a video camera in both parties is<br />
necessary. Second, a quality video conferencing session requires a high bandwidth<br />
with powerful computers. Third, many Inter<strong>net</strong> users may not want to show their<br />
faces to the agent. However, this can be solved by one-way conferencing where<br />
the customer can see the agent but the agent cannot see the customer. This approach<br />
eliminates the need for a video camera on the customer side. The protocol that<br />
supports Voice over IP (H.323) also supports videoconferencing. However, a<br />
H.323 compliant application such as Net Meeting is necessary to run a<br />
videoconferencing session (Genesys).<br />
Online customer service agent is software that tries to assist the Inter<strong>net</strong><br />
customers in a timely and a more human way. This software (also called a bot) acts<br />
like a human customer service agent and tries to anticipate the customer’s needs,<br />
based on their click trail on a website. Moreover, it is customizable and it uses facial<br />
expressions to add a human element to the interaction. Although this technology is<br />
in its infancy, it narrows down the problem for the human representative, thus cutting<br />
down the costs. The average call to a live customer service representative costs<br />
about $4, whereas an automated interaction costs about a quarter (Trott, 2000).<br />
Artificial intelligence plays a crucial role on the effectiveness of a bot. The most<br />
advanced bots are capable of learning as they interact. In addition, these bots also<br />
can remember the actions users took and the preferences that they made. It is also<br />
suggested that these bots should have scripts ready for predictable questions asked<br />
in their websites. This can be done by the help of a database. However, the same<br />
question can be asked in many different ways and this should not be overlooked<br />
(Zhivago, 2000)<br />
Some tools that enable the interaction between the customer and the agent are<br />
front-end tools. There are other tools that are used by the agents to assist their<br />
customers better and that are invisible to the customers. The tools of “Customer<br />
Relationship Management” are essential to an effective web-based customer<br />
service. Customer Relationship Management is defined as’’ a strategy reflecting the<br />
business’ processes and technology that can be combined to optimize revenue,<br />
profitability, and customer loyalty (Microsoft). CRM is about creating relationships<br />
with customers on an individual basis in order to transform the information collected<br />
into a useful tool to treat each customer differently. This customer-focused<br />
approach is a key element in creating an effective online customer service. This<br />
approach creates customer loyalty, which. is extremely important since it is much<br />
harder to gain new customers than retaining the existing ones. Some statistics<br />
indicate the importance of customer loyalty. The top 20 percent of the customers<br />
Copyright © 2003, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written<br />
permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
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