October 2011

Bringing the web and contact

centre together for conversion

success

The real cost of site

abandonment

• Projected £61.3bn in lost revenue from online shopping cart abandonment in 2011

• You snooze you lose – abandonees are likely to purchase a similar product from an

alternative provider within 48 hours

• The human touch can turn around a lost sale.

The figures:

• Consumers browse, compare and explore what’s out there before committing to purchase

• Deals are usually sealed OFFLINE

• Web presence and offline support must go hand-in-hand – providing a holistic customer

experience.

Rely on a stand-alone web presence at your peril…

The big three…

• 1: Video: improves customer satisfaction

• 2: Mobile means business: an important channel yet few websites are optimised for mobile

users

• 3: Social networking: with 4 out of 10 online users generating or reading brand related

comments, social media is growing as a tool to act on insights and engage with customers.

Major trends for web conversion in 2011:

• 88% of online shoppers abandon a purchase at some point

• Higher earning, tech savvy visitors are more likely to abandon a purchase to shop around

• The top 5 reasons for abandonment:

• Shipping costs

• Visitor not ready to purchase

• Price comparison

• Products are too costly

• Items are saved for later

• But the visitor had a need – and you know what they were interested in. So how do you use

this knowledge to convert the sale?

Delving into buyer behaviour:

Bridging the gap…

• Pure self-service can lead to revenue leakage

• Bring together the very best offline customer service techniques with new online technologies

• Measure success across communications channels – 91% of best in class companies allow

customers to track issues while 57% measure support centre success across email, chat, web

and voice*

• Virtual helper and social media applications bridge the gap between the web and the contact

centre; giving agents visibility into the online customer experience.

•source: Aberdeen Group

Integrating on and offline contact to convert more visitors:

• Direct communications tools allow you to engage at critical points in the transaction process

• Immediate response puts you on the front foot while call back options eradicate customer waiting time

• The ability to act on queries as soon as possible is good customer service – rather than pushy sales

• Becoming visible in social media opens up new opportunities to influence and enhance customer

experiences

• A satisfied ‘browser’ is more likely to become a brand advocate and return to purchase

• Just a 1% cut in customer service problems could generate a further £16m for a medium sized business

over five years.*

*source: Customer Service Magazine

Tools for success:

New skills for a new way of working

• A new world of collaboration brings challenges at a technological and operational level

• New communication channels require a new skill set – education is key to identify

disengagement triggers…

• …and deal with them at the most appropriate online or conversational level

• Agents need to understand what the customer is seeing and how they interact with your

site

• Understanding can lead to cross and up-sell based on observed behavior.

Keep your eye on the prize:

Conclusion

• Self service can lead to a reduction in cost – but at the expense of

effective customer service

• New web applications allow contact centres to engage at the

crucial point of disengagement or abandonment

• Effective customer service = loyal customers = brand advocates

who can affect sales potential by discussing your company online.

For your strategy toolkit on online buyer behaviour and the tools available to

integrate web and contact centre strategies for conversion success visit:

www. 4net-technologies.co.uk