Online customer engagement has always been a bit tricky -- a mashup of customer support forms or chat and emailed coupons offering incentives. However, a new model has appeared on the scene that could add sales and help redefine customer engagement on the Web.
Swedish mobile provider Tre's launch of its 3LiveShop online support service allows customer service representatives to manipulate information on the screen while engaging with the customer through the Internet. Customers can choose to interact with the rep with a combination of voice, video, and/or text as they are guided through their calls.
Check out the concept video:
Tre came up with the concept and outsourced hardware design through digital production firm B-Reel and software/application developer Teenage Engineering.
When I accessed 3LiveShop, I was pleasantly surprised. I went with just text on my end, and I was greeted by a helpful woman, who, when I said “Hello,” instantly switched to speaking English. (If only all customer service personnel were like this!) When I mentioned I was writing this blog, she started to show me the interactivity possibilities, dragging an iPhone onscreen, changing its color, giving me different views, and adding a full data plan to my onscreen basket. It took about 40 seconds.
This service is pretty slick, with minimal lag and a friendly customer service rep adding a human element that I now realize has been missing (at least for those of us who like people!). The representative can process your order faster than you could on a traditional Web page, particularly if you're not super tech savvy.
I reached out to Tre for some more information from Magnus Sjögren, inventor of 3LiveShop:
Me: Do you know of any competitors seeking to emulate this model? It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before.
Magnus: There is one similar service at Lexus.de, but we are unique in the world.
Me: Does Tre have any plans for commercializing this technology for other
companies?
Magnus: Yes, we are looking into the possibility to commercialize the LiveShop product to other markets.
Me: Has there been any significant change in customer satisfaction with
online support since the rollout?
Magnus: 3LiveShop has been received very positively. It gives the online user a service that they never experienced before. During the two months we have been live, I have been studying the users and the flow and have fine-tuned the unit. The next phase is to increase the traffic through campaigning.
Me: While using 3LiveShop, I felt there was nice performance. Is this due to
Sweden's high-speed network and/or an optimization of the technology?
Magnus: It is because of the technique we use. I cannot go into details, but it's a mixture of the camera we use, the number of information streams applied, and the compression of the data we send.
Me: I believe that 3LiveShop does not include any additional fees -- is this
correct?
Magnus: Correct, no extra cost at all. In fact, the fully loaded sales cost is actually cheaper then all other sales channels, and it should in theory be cheaper to purchase through it.
Me: To what extent was speeding up the customer experience a priority for
this new system?
Magnus: The customer experience was key when we developed the system, and we didn't cut any corners when it came to it. 3LiveShop’s purpose is to give all visitors the best service possible from the convenience of their own homes. Sweden is a long country, and not everyone can easily access a store.
Me: What is the area of LiveShop that could be improved the most?
Magnus: Video compression and latency.
3LiveShop is a joy to use, I’ll admit, but is it perfect? Well, no, but what is? I could see how, in areas where high-speed Internet wasn’t ubiquitous, this kind of service could be troublesome. Still, it’s more than impressive, and I can see this kind of virtual assistance becoming the new call center model of the near future.
— Adam Williams works as a technology consultant dealing with medical, security, and LBS tech.
- it shares some of the merits of face-to-face communicaiton with a human being
AND
- it looks to be cost-effective for companies to use this to shorten the amount of time it takes to resolve issues.
At the end of the day most companies don't cut back on support because they don't believe in humans in customer support - but it's they can't afford enough humans in customer support.
Many people are quick to criticize many a support department, but many of those same people won't pay more to get better support - thus putting businesses in the catch-22.
Anything that adds a human touch and helps to minimize costs is a great addition to the customer service world (in my humble opinion).
"Looking glass customer service" This experience is like looking through a window at the support person. If this were really true, one of us would be seeing the "backside" of an image. Things like text would be a mirror image. Asymetrical objects would be look different from one side and the other. How is this handled ?
Kim, if you haven't already you should go and check out the Finanical Services lectures from the first 6DEE, the stuff that Brett King was talking about is really awesome!
I guess we all tried the impersonal stuff and are craving social activity humans have been so successful with
Yeah I suspected areas where the internet isn't as highspeed as Sweden's there would be trouble. As for CRM that's really the next big thing. I too don't understand why when you're transfered the case file doesn't follow you around. It's silly that you keep having to give the same information, and even then the "notes" they always say they put on take 24 hours to process.
I think it's a really innovative aspect in customer support to use visual aid while assisting the customers. The experience can be highly impressive for the users and it can turn out to be as good as meeting the customer in real. I expect a lot of companies to adopt this technology as well.
Not sure I would say it's ironic. :) This is the direction all good online support has been going for a while. First with customer supports numbers you could dial, then with live online chat sessions and sales people asking you during the visit if you needed help and now moving forward with a more complete and engaging approach to real-time near face-to-face but with technology enhancements.
Would not be suprised if we saw the reverse happen...that is, seeing these kiosks in brick-and-mortar stores being used by the sales people when interacting with customers.
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