Asia Pacific Study Reveals Increasing Business Impact of Integrating Web Interactions in the Contact Centre

  • Study Finds Live Help on the Web Increases Customer Satisfaction and Sales Revenue
  • But Only One in Four Contact Centres in Asia Pacific Have Made Major Progress
WOKINGHAM, August 16, 2007 - Businesses in Asia Pacific are facing increased pressure to integrate the Web and the Contact Centre, but few have yet to fully leverage multiple channels, according to a comprehensive study of the region. Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, an Alcatel-Lucent company (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), has issued its latest Contact Centre Realities research report titled, Managing Web Interactions in the Contact Centre. The report examines how contact centre managers are addressing the growing consumer demand and business impact of web-based communication channels, such as agent Web-chat, click-to-call, click-for-call back, and email. While the majority of contact centre managers understand the need to better engage with customers on the Web, the study found that contact centres in the Asia Pacific region have made only moderate progress, with only one in four respondents supporting live help on the Web.

As part of its ongoing series of Contact Centre Realities research reports, Genesys conducted online and phone-based surveys of 236 contact centre managers across the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

Key findings of the report include:
  • 82 per cent of organisations surveyed offer some level of Web self-service, including viewing account information (47 per cent); making online payments (44 per cent); and making purchases or orders online (29 per cent).
  • Only 27 per cent of companies surveyed offer live help or assistance to customers browsing their Web sites.
  • More than 60 per cent of organisations using proactive Web chat say it has increased sales revenue, and almost 50 per cent note a drop in web abandonment rates.
  • 70 per cent of respondents who do not currently offer live help on their Web sites have no firm plans to implement any form of Web-chat, click-to-call or click-to-call-back.
Support and Usage of Web Channels
Respondents to the survey identified click-to-chat as the most commonly supported live help option (14 per cent), followed by click-for-call-back (13 per cent), proactive Web-chat (8 per cent) and click-to-call (7 per cent). The survey also found that Web-based interactions and transactions account for an average of 11.5 per cent of inbound customer traffic, and on average 24 per cent of customers use Web self-service where it is available.

Planned Investment in Web Channels
Survey results also indicated that of the organisations who have not already implemented Web-chat, 29 per cent plan to offer proactive Web-chat in the future; 21 per cent plan to offer inbound Web-chat; and 20 per cent plan to offer click-for-call-back. At the same time, industry analysis indicates that consumer interest in Web-based customer service is growing. A Genesys consumer survey conducted in the Asia Pacfic region in August of 2006 indicated that 85 per cent of consumers prefer email as a supported channel and 18 per cent indicated that they would like to use Web-chat.

Integration of Web-based Interactions and Other Service Channels
Responses to the survey revealed a significant lack of integration between Web-based service and more traditional channels, such as voice, both in terms of business 'ownership' of the function and integration of information across channels. Only 15 per cent of respondents said that internal business ownership of Web-based channels was owned solely by the contact centre. More often it was shared with other departments, such as marketing, IT, sales or operations, or managed completely by a department other than the contact centre.

The study also found that organisational structure was not the only integration challenge businesses face today when bringing the Web and contact centre together. In fact, only 31 per cent of respondents indicated that, if a customer moves from web self-service to calling the contact centre, the receiving agent would be provided with information on the customer's self-service session.

"While responses to our latest Contact Centre Realities survey provide some encouragement, the results clearly indicate that the contact centre industry in Asia Pacfic is not taking full advantage of integrating the Web with contact centres," said Michael McBrien, senior vice president, Asia Pacific, Genesys. "We believe Web sites are an untapped opportunity for engaging with your customers, and companies that fail to integrate the Web with contact centres and agents will miss out on opportunities to drive increased revenue and customer loyalty over the long term."

For a complete copy of Genesys Contact Centre Realties, Volume 9: Managing Web Interactions in the Contact Centre, visit http://www.genesyslab.com/resources/reports/CCRealitiesVol9

About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, is the only company that focuses 100 per cent on software to manage customer interactions over the phone, Web and in e-mail. The Genesys software suite dynamically connects customers with the right resources - self-service or assisted-service - to fulfill customer requests, optimise customer care goals and efficiently use resources. Genesys software directs more than 100 million customer interactions every day for 4,000 companies and government agencies in 80 countries. These companies and agencies can leverage their entire organisation, from the contact center to the back office, to improve the overall customer experience. As a result, Genesys helps stop customer frustration, drive efficiency and accelerate business innovation. For more information, go to www.genesyslab.com or visit the industry blog at www.betterinteractions.com.

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research, technology and innovation organisations in the telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved adjusted proforma revenues of Euro 18.3 billion in 2006 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. [All figures exclude impact of activities transferred to Thales]. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: www.alcatel-lucent.com.

Media Contact:
Duncan Burford, PR for Genesys, 01780 721433, dburford@iba-europe.com

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