Businesses launch online turbo in customer communications

Online contact outstrips the classic call centre solution in customer care  
Companies in Germany currently reply to 84 per cent of customer enquiries in the classic way, by telephone or by e-mail. Now this strategy looks set to change. The reason: modern online communications promise a clear time-saving in customer service. Indeed, one in five skilled and managerial staff in the Internet segment expect to see customer enquiries dealt with in future by Internet-based FAQ systems. This represents a more than five-fold increase. These are the findings of the INTERNET WORLD Business Trendscout survey conducted by novomind in collaboration with the trade journal INTERNET WORLD Business. 
  
Live chat catches up with call centres  
Live chat options are giving an extra boost to direct online communications. The aim is to triple the level of customer contact via this channel from the present four per cent to twelve. That would bring this communication channel almost up to the forecast level for classic call centre services, where the experts expect a drop in telephone-based customer care from a current 22 per cent to just 14. 
  
New weighting of communications in customer care  
The communication mix is being reshuffled. Electronic FAQ systems, with additional back-up from live chat options, are taking over from call centres as the number two channel for customer enquiries. Communication via letter, until now the third pillar of customer communications accounting for five per cent of enquiries, is soon likely to be overtaken by virtual agents (six per cent), the experts predict. The percentage of e-mail responses to customer enquiries is set to shrink from a current 62 per cent to 53 - but e-mail will still remain the most important communication channel. 
  
Cost-benefit ratio of FAQ systems met with positive reception  
Apart from the time factor, cost considerations also speak for an increase in online communications. For instance, 34 per cent of respondents rated the cost-benefit ratio of FAQ systems as "very good". By comparison, only 14 per cent of experts questioned gave the cost structure of call centres an "excellent" score. 

novomind AG: innovative software for professional customer communication  
Hamburg-based software company novomind is the fastest-growing company in the fields of electronic customer communication and mail management. As a leading provider of innovative solutions for digital customer communication, novomind AG offers software for service-based, personalised interaction with customers. This achieves noticeable increases in the efficiency of customer administration, as well as a fast return on investment. The service portfolio of the Products Business Unit includes the novomind Self Service Suite™. This software package contains all of the communication modules required for a customer service centre, which revolve around a central knowledge base: e-mail management, virtual customer consulting and systems for interactive real-time communication. In its Services Business Unit, novomind AG implements complex eBusiness applications. More than 40 big-name companies have already opted for novomind technology, including Citibank, Otto and the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund (German Pensions Association). Club Bertelsmann, EnBW and Mexx, as well as public sector institutions such as the German Bundestag and the Federal Ministry of Economics, are already using novomind systems successfully to back up their customer communication, increase their turnover and improve their public relations. 

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