Shifting Consumer Needs Create Market Opportunity

Integrated live web communications meet consumer demand and grow revenues

Technology today has a way of going from fiction to table-stakes in no time. Once something truly innovative is introduced, it is mere months before consumers cannot imagine (or tolerate) a world without it.

Having been involved in the communications industry for nearly 45 years, we have seen advances in technology and customer service follow this same track. These trends have made it challenging for business owners to decide where to spend their next dollars. Many invested in an initial PBX infrastructure that might include a contact centre, but with IT and other budgets as tight as they can be, regular upgrades do not always survive the cuts.

This is the opportunity that portfolio company Talkative is focused on – assisting businesses in transitioning from legacy voice-centric contact centres to integrated voice-web interactivity, at a fraction of the cost of equipment replacement.

Talkative software enables contact centres to embed real-time voice and video communications services into their existing websites. Co-browsing features let agents join customer browsing sessions on request. They can then annotate screens, answer questions live, direct the web session to other pages, even share additional documents. The results? Talkative customers report uplifts in online conversions, decreased shopping cart abandonment rates, increased Customer Satisfaction Score ratings and cost savings as agents can service multiple customers concurrently. For example, Talkative client Bravissimo, a leading UK lingerie retailer, has seen a decrease in abandonment rate to just 6.08% (well ahead of the industry best-practice of 10%).

While low prices and high quality remain prime sales drivers, customer service is becoming a critical competitive differentiator, for customer acquisition and all-important retention. According to Microsoft research, 96% of consumers worldwide say that customer service experience is integral to their brand loyalty.

What makes for a positive customer experience? Timely, complete and accurate product or service information is vital, and so is ease of access to service/support staff to assist with additional questions. And this is an area where many businesses are not necessarily focusing enough effort – not making the right engagement tools and resources available.

A level of human interaction remains fundamental to so many sales efforts. Talkative integrated live web chat connects a customer with a human agent rapidly. It allows data entry to be synchronized, web screens to be shared, questions to be answered in context, and ultimately, sales to be pushed over the finish line in a cost-effective manner. It also provides a positive experience for customer retention programs.

Visit gettalkative.com/ to learn more about Talkative.

Wesley Clover invests in a range of technology companies, and they bring impressive innovation to markets and clients around the globe. I/O is our way of sharing some of the best insights. I trust you will enjoy them.

Terry Matthews, Chairman