Ecommerce: Melding Together the Call Center and Online Store to Increase Sales

[mandy]

Retailers' approach to interaction between e-commerce and the contact center is changing. The online and call center channels are starting to meld together, and perspectives on how retailers handle the two have to change.

A typical shopping experience today may go something like this: The customer browses online, fills the shopping cart, and might have a question before placing her order. The shopper then picks up the phone to call the contact center. This might look to the e-commerce manager like an abandoned session, but to the contact center, it is viewed as a brand new phone opportunity. In the ideal scenario, the e-commerce and contact center channels are linked and work together to pass on opportunities.

In the example, if the contact center agent knew the customers' previous interaction on the Web, she could act like a store clerk: look in the shopping cart, answer questions based on the current order and make suggestions. Creating this type of integrated, collaborative shopping experience is difficult but when it is done well, it is highly rewarding and eliminates customer frustration. ..

full article: http://ecommercetimes.com/story/For-More...63014.html