Web communications enhancing interactions

One of the common questions as people are learning about our WebSphere Communications Enabled Applications (CEA) function is if we are trying to replace interactions with "real people" when they see features such as the cobrowsing. The real idea behind CEA is using an interactions via the web to enhance real time communications which could be phone calls or instant messaging. There are several scenarios that we try to show in the demo video below, but here are some of the common issues that a web based interaction could solve in a contact center:

Click to Call:

• Increase efficiency by removing the need for people to type in phone numbers they see on a web site.
  
• Help a user connect to the most relevant help based on what page they are on without having to traverse a voice based menu system.
  
• Provide the backend contact center with relevant user information from their web session.
  

Contact Center Cobrowsing

• Help explain complex data to customers which may be too difficult to describe. Some examples include mortgage closing costs, insurance policy details, order information, financial transaction details, or product information. Customers could print or save the information which could result in them not having to transcribe what the contact center representative is saying.
  
• Teach a customer how to use a specific site rather than just telling them an answer so that they may not need to call again for a similar issue.
  

Two way forms

• Allows a customer to visually verify information rather than waiting for the contact center representative to repeat it. For example, a misspelled last name can take time, cause problems looking up information in the future, and decrease customer satisfaction. Two way forms allows the customer to visually verify what the contact center representative has entered.
  
• Either party in the session could fill out some fields which, if it makes more sense for the customer to do it, can increase efficiency.
  
• Some vital data like Social Security Numbers or Account/Credit Card numbers could be entered by the customer and obfuscated to the contact center representative reducing the risk of critical information being misused.
  

All of these scenarios are in the context of a real time communications session like a phone call. Here is a demo we have shown in the past showing these features in a contact center scenario. Download the beta now from the link on the right hand column and try the application shown below yourself.