Thomas reports a 30 percent spike in Internet contact conversions, a major factor in the company's expectations to improve its 8 to 10 percent annual growth rate. Success with the online customer service operation is spurring Thomas to add more online customer service representatives and to extend the company's contact center hours to 10 p.m., probably by the end of the year. Thomas also expects online customer service requirements to grow in the wake of JeffersPetOnline, a new, more feature-rich portal that will debut shortly. One is the ability to provide customer agents with intelligent access to reams of information about customer needs. It includes many customization features.
Agents also can use keyword search strategies to home in on information.
Meanwhile, the agent records the e-mail address of the client and explains that the information will be sent shortly. The question is posted to the expert network and answered at some predetermined interval. Now's CRM package offers revolves around staff monitoring. Supervisors can monitor sessions and intercede if necessary to provide the best possible support to customers and to train agents. Statistics are gathered and reports are available to help fine tune the staff response and assist in directing the incoming traffic to the right agents.