Market Overview: Chat Solutions For Customer Service · market overview: chat Solutions For...

Market Overview: Chat Solutions For Customer ServiceTwenty-One Solutions For Delivering Differentiated Experiences

by Kate Leggett and Art SchoellerJuly 10, 2015 | Updated: July 20, 2015

For AppLicAtion DeveLopment & DeLivery proFeSSionALS

FOrrESTEr.COM

Key takeawaysThe Chat Channel Enjoys High Satisfaction ratings And Is Increasingly Importantchat usage rates as a customer service engagement channel have grown in the past five years. it is widely adopted by all generational segments and has high satisfaction ratings.

Chat Vendor Solutions Aim To Support Several Customer-related GoalsA wide variety of stakeholders in an organization -- from eBusiness to ecommerce to customer service and the contact center -- purchase and use chat as a customer engagement channel. each stakeholder has different requirements that span customer service, customer retention, and revenue-generation goals.

Chat Solutions Fall Into Five Broad Categoriesthe chat vendor landscape is mature and crowded. Forrester groups chat vendors into five broad categories that cater to a subset of stakeholders: standalone chat vendors, online engagement vendors, multichannel vendors, crm suite customer service vendors, and contact center vendors. map your needs to vendors within this context.

Why read this reportcustomers demand superior service and support as the price for their ongoing loyalty and patronage, and they are increasingly leveraging the chat channel for customer service. the chat vendor landscape is mature and crowded. many vendors offer a range of chat capabilities and support a broad set of usage scenarios that application development and delivery (AD&D) pros supporting customer service operations can choose from. this report spotlights the capabilities of 21 chat vendors and offers a decision framework for choosing the right type of chat solution for your needs. this is an update of a previously published report; Forrester reviews and updates it periodically for continued relevance and accuracy.

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© 2015 Forrester research, inc. opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®, technographics®, Forrester Wave, roleview, techradar, and total economic impact are trademarks of Forrester research, inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. Unauthorized copying or distributing is a violation of copyright law. [email protected] or +1 866-367-7378

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table of contents

Chat: Critical To The Promise Of Effortless Customer Service

Zero In On Vendors With The Right Vertical Focus And Track Record

Answer Five Questions To Narrow The Chat Vendor Field

Profiles Of Five Categories Of Chat Vendor Solutions

recommendations

Build A Chat Vendor Strategy With A View Toward The Future

Supplemental Material

notes & resources

Forrester analyzed data from Forrester’s north American consumer technographics® customer Life cycle Survey, Q4 2014 (US). Forrester interviewed 21 chat vendors to solicit input for this report: [24]7, Aspect, Avaya, cisco, eGain, Genesys, interactive intelligence, Liveops, Liveperson, Logmein, microsoft parature, moxie, needle, netop, olark, oracle, Salesforce, touchcommerce, velaro, verint, and Zendesk.

related research Documents

the Six Key elements of proactive chat

transform the contact center For customer Service excellence

trends 2015: the Future of customer Service

For AppLicAtion DeveLopment & DeLivery proFeSSionALS

Market Overview: Chat Solutions For Customer ServiceTwenty-One Solutions For Delivering Differentiated Experiences

by Kate Leggett and Art Schoellerwith Stephen powers, Arelai ephraim, and ian mcpherson

July 10, 2015 | Updated: July 20, 2015

http://www.forrester.com/go?objectid=RES117982




http://www.forrester.com/go?objectid=BIO2629



For ApplicAtion Development & Delivery proFessionAls

Market Overview: Chat Solutions For Customer Servicetwenty-one solutions For Delivering Differentiated experiences


© 2015 Forrester research, inc. Unauthorized copying or distributing is a violation of copyright law. [email protected] or +1 866-367-7378

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chat: critical to the promise of effortless customer Service

customers today simply want efficient, effortless service. Fifty-five percent of US online adults say that they are very likely to abandon their online purchase if they cannot find a quick answer to their question, and 77% say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good service.1 As a result, customers are increasingly leveraging chat for effortless service. Some trends include the following:

› Customers are increasingly engaging with companies via chat. chat usage rates have risen in the past three years — from 38% in 2009 to 43% in 2012 to 58% in 2014 (see Figure 1).

› All demographics are comfortable using chat. more than one-third of older Boomers (ages 57 to 67) and the Golden Generation (68 and over) already using chat for customer service. customers are also increasingly comfortable with a proactive chat offer during an online research or purchase interaction.2

› Businesses increasingly embrace chat for cost efficiencies. chat can cost less than a voice call, especially for organizations that allow their agents to handle multiple chat sessions simultaneously. companies can easily build a business case and justify the purchase of chat solutions. organizations as large as verizon Wireless, virgin Atlantic Airways, and Bank of America — and as diverse as the Warner Bros. entertainment, 3 Day Blinds, the north Face, and newport city Homes — have successfully deployed chat for customer engagement.





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FIGurE 1 consumer comfort And Adoption For chat increases year over year

Chat use continues to grow, year over year1-1

“Percent of US online adults who have usedthe following customer service channels

in the past 12 months”Instant messaging/online chat with a live person

Base: 3,601 US online adults (18+)*Base: 7,411 US online adults (18+)†Base: 4,509 US online adults (18+)

Source: Forrester’s North American Technographics® Customer Experience Online Survey, Q4 2009 (US)*Source: Forrester’s North American Technographics Customer Experience Online Survey, Q4 2012 (US)†Source: Forrester’s North American Consumer Technographics Customer Life Cycle Survey 2, 2014‡Source: Forrester’s North American Technographics Customer Experience Survey, 2013

2009 2012* 2014†

38%43%

58%

“I like having an instant messaging/online chatbox appear and ask if I need help with

my online research or purchase”(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [disagree completely] to

5 [agree completely])

Base: 4,569 US online adults (18+)*Base: 7,411 US online adults (18+)‡Base: 7,522 US online adults (18+)

2009 2012* 2013‡

27%33%

45%

Satisfaction with chat as a communicationchannel grows year over year

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Chat Helps Companies Push The Envelope On Contextual Customer Engagement

over the past decade, chat has become an integral component of online web and, more recently, mobile self-service. chat is a mature channel, with clearly established best practices that deliver real business value. the technology has demonstrated its ability to improve customer service department operational efficiency by collecting information to populate a service ticket and quickly answering customer questions by leveraging predefined answers from a content repository; to improve sales by reducing shopping cart abandonment rates; and to better sales conversion by helping educate customers during pre- and post-purchase interactions.

yet, companies reacting to customer demand for more personalized, targeted service experiences are currently pushing the envelope on newer chat scenarios. companies we interviewed have successfully used chat to:





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› Double conversion rates. travel insurance Direct Australia incorporated verint’s Kana enterprise’s chat solution as a strategic component in their web self-service offering. customers can directly escalate a web session to a live chat interaction, and agents have full information of the customer, their session history, and their questions and can use this information to better personalize interactions. travel insurance Direct reports that customers who chat during the insurance quoting process convert at a rate two or three times higher than those who did not chat.

› Better educate consumers on their offerings. orbitz, a travel website, implemented oracle Service cloud’s chat to support the strategic goals of customer-service standardization and call-center agent efficiency across multiple websites, portals, mobile devices, and global distribution channels. Agents use chat to understand consumers’ needs, educate them on travel, and guide them to the answer to their question. From 2013 to 2014, orbitz reported a 40% increase in US consumer brands chat traffic, of which 7% originated from mobile devices, while continuing to maintain their high customer satisfaction ratings.

› Increase average order value. virgin Atlantic Airways, a UK-based carrier, uses chat from Liveperson to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. chat has reduced email volume and backlog, allowing customer inquiries to be dealt with at first contact. customers’ needs are met in real time and chat has helped raise customer satisfaction (cSAt) scores to more than 80%. costs per chat are less than both phone and email costs. in addition, customers who chat have an average order value of more than 15% over those who self-serve; customers who chat also purchase products at nearly 3.5 times the rate of those who do not.

› Increase productivity. nets, a nordic provider of payments, cards, and information services, uses netop’s chat solution for their help desk supporting 4,500 users. Seventy-five percent of all email and phone inquiries have been moved to chat. Sys mortensen, head of it help desk states that “chat is much more efficient, so i predict a complete phase-out of email and phone inquiries.” Forms-based inputs route chats to the right agent and agents can simultaneously chat with three or four users and leverage predefined answers and manage workloads using real-time reporting. they also report resolving 80% of inquiries upon first attempt, up from 20%.

› Optimize agent utilization and forecasting. videotron, a telecommunications provider in canada, uses Genesys to offer chat, email, SmS, and voice communications to customers. Forty-eight hundred call center agents across 27 sites handle over 18 million calls, 500,000 chats, and 125,000 emails annually. videotron has centralized management of all applications and applies standardized routing rules across all channels. contact center managers use unified reporting across channels to manage real-time inquiry loads. they also use the unified workforce management capabilities to optimize agent scheduling and forecasting across channels.





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› Increase engagement and revenue. Dell, a pc hardware manufacturing company, uses moxie Live chat to deliver more personalized customer experiences. Dell answers 10 million chats annually to upsell, cross-sell, and service their customers. they report a 30% increase in chat usage year over year, and currently, a third of sales in the US are through chat. Dell reports that 30% of visitors engage through proactive chat, which generates 40% of revenue.

› Improve the consistency of customer service. paretoLogic, a canadian company offering pc security and utility programs, uses integrated chat and email from eGain to offer consistent service experiences across these channels. mark rosario, operations analyst, says that “customer service agents are more productive as they do not have to use different agent desktop tools for chat and email interactions, which would impede their productivity.” He also says that “managers rely on consolidated chat and email reports to manage their staff, and managing the it infrastructure is much simpler as multiple channels are available from a single vendor solution.”

› Increase average order value and put advocates in touch with customers. carhartt, a US-based clothing company, uses needle’s chat platform for customer service. rather than staffing their operations with carhartt agents, the company recruits carhartt fans to answer incoming chats from online shoppers. robust reporting and forecasting helped carhartt line up the right number of advocates to address high chat volume during their busy season. Within 90 days of implementing needle’s software, carhartt saw a 31% average order value lift, and a seven-fold increase in online conversion, over visitors who did not chat with a carhartt advocate. customer satisfaction scores also trended positive.

› Selectively target customers for increased sales. Sears, an American retailer, uses the predictive analytics that are part of [24]7 chat solution to engage visitors who show a propensity for purchasing products. Sears reports a 20% lift in revenue by using predictive chat and has a cSAt of 90%.

› Improve customer experience and conversion rates across touchpoints. total Gym Fitness, a supplier of home exercise equipment, leverages chat, guides, and rich content from touchcommerce to better profile the customer, understand their situation, and answer customers’ questions along their shopping journey. total Gym, with the help of touchcommerce digital strategists, identified new ways to improve the customer experience through live chat and personalized self-service. each $1 spent on the combination of online and mobile initiatives with touchcommerce has resulted in $9.44 of incremental revenue for total Gym. chat plays a dominant role in total Gym’s overall engagement program across desktop, tablet, and mobile. During the fourth quarter of 2014, nearly 40% of the company’s online orders came from buyers who had interacted over chat, even though only about 5% of the company’s online visitors engaged with chat.





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Zero in on vendors With the right vertical Focus And track record

When choosing a chat vendor, the first questions you should ask relate to the vendor’s background and high-level focus areas. Ask questions about its vertical focus; the size of deployment that the vendor is most comfortable supporting; the supported deployment options — software-as-a-service (SaaS), on-premises, or via a managed services engagement; typical chat scenarios that the vendor supports — reactive, proactive, or both; whether proactive chat is rules or analytics-driven; and customer references (see Figure 2).

FIGurE 2 twenty-one chat vendors offer A range of Uses And vertical expertise

Netop 200 15 >100 Customer service (40%);help desk (35%);sales (25%)

Standalone (100%)

Olark >10,000paid

12 176 Customer service (50%);tech support (50%)

Standalone (100%)

Velaro >500 10 >100 Customer service (40%);sales (30%); both salesand customer service (30%)

Standalone (100%)

Vendorname Num

ber o

f

chat

cust

omer

s

Avera

ge ch

at

deplo

ymen

t size

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)

Larges

t chat

dep

loymen

t

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)

Main usage scenarios

Is chat typicallypurchased separatelyor standalone?

Financial services (25%);healthcare (20%);government (25%)

Leviton Manufacturing, NETS

Retail (50%);B2B SaaS (50%)

WordPress.com, Intuit

xx

x

Vertical focus Chat customer example

Deploymentoptions

Man

aged

serv

ices

On-pre

mise

s

Vendorname

Netop

Olark

eCommerce (25%); healthcare(20%); technology (20%);�nancial services (15%);education (15%);manufacturing (5%)

Stony�eld Farm, Comcast, HawaiianTelecom, Augusta Sportswear,LG Electronics, Sabic, Practice Fusion,oDesk

xVelaro

Standalone chat vendors2-1

Softwar

e-

as-a

-ser

vice





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FIGurE 2 twenty-one chat vendors offer A range of Uses And vertical expertise (cont.)

Source: Forrester Research, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction, citation, or distribution prohibited.92941

[24]7 >50 >100 3,000 Sales/acquisition (50%); customer service (50%)

Standalone (20%);integrated solution(80%)

LivePerson 18,600 70 2,000 Sales/lead generation (50%);customer service (50%)

Standalone (20%);Integrated solution(80%).

BoldChat byLogMeIn

>2,000 >20 1,000 eCommerce (55%); customerservice (45%). Approximately75% use it for both functions.


Needle 42 50 400 Sales (80%); customerservice (20%)

The majority purchasesNeedle’s integratedsolution.

Touch-Commerce

>50 >100 >5,000 Sales/acquisition (60%);customer service (20%);both sales and customerservice (20%)


Vendorname Num

ber o

f

chat

cust

omer

s

Avera

ge ch

at

deplo

ymen

t size

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)

Larges

t chat

dep

loymen

t

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)



Online engagement vendors2-2





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Online engagement vendors (cont.)2-2

Telecommunications (39%);banking/�nancial services(28%); retail (18%); other (18%)

Sears, Target, Argos, Capital One, Lenovo,Optus

Telecommunications (29%);�nancial services (26%); retail(16%); technology (16%);other (13%)

Microsoft, Intuit, Royal Bank of Scotland,The Home Depot, Verizon Wireless,Backcountry.com, W.W Grainger, The NewYork Times, American Airlines Credit Union

x

x

x

x


Deploymentoptions

Man

aged

serv

ices

On-pre

mise

s

Vendorname

[24]7

LivePerson

eCommerce/retail (55%);�nancial services (10%);telecommunications (21%);other (14%)

AutoZone, Groupon, Lexmark International,The North Face

xBoldChat byLogMeIn

Retail; consumer electronicstelecommunications; travel;education

Norwegian Cruise Lines, TaylorMade GolfCompany, Coach, Alienware, h.h. gregg,Northern Tool + Equipment, Horizon Hobby,Nikon, Carhartt

xNeedle

Telecommunications (60%);�nancial services/insurance(10%); travel and hospitality(10%); retail (10%); other (10%)

AT&T, Citizen’s Financial Group, Comcast,DirecTV, Dixons Retail, Equinix, SFR,T-Mobile, Total Gym Fitness, Virgin Media,Vodafone Group

x xTouch-Commerce

Softwar

e-

as-a

-ser

vice

x





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eGain >550(including

OEM)

~100 10,000 Sales/acquisition (20%);customer service (20%);both sales and customerservice (60%)


Verint >60 100 900 Customer service (100%) Standalone (10%),integrated (90%)

Moxie 200 250 22,000 Customer service (36%);sales (64%)

Standalone (32%),integrated (68%)

OracleService

Cloud

Vendordid notdisclose

Forresterestimates:

<50

Forresterestimates:

> 1,000

Customer service (80%);sales (20%)

Standalone (3.5%);integrated solution(96.5%)

Zendesk/Zopim

>29,600 <10 250 Customer service (50%);help desk (50%)


Vendorname Num

ber o

f

chat

cust

omer

s

Avera

ge ch

at

deplo

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t size

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)

Larges

t chat

dep

loymen

t

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)



Specialty omnichannel customer engagement vendors2-3





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Specialty omnichannel customer engagement vendors (cont.)2-3

Insurance and �nancialservices, telco and retail haveaccounted for ~75% ofrecent revenue

American Public University System, AXAEquitable Financial Services, CC Services(Country Financial), CompuCom, FarmersInsurance Group, Highmark, Lands' End

Financial services; Media/telecom; Healthacare; Retail/hospitality; technology;utilities/energy

Amazon Love�lm, Barclays Bank Delaware,Bright House Networks, British Gas, UnibetCox Communications, Insurance AustraliaGroup Limited, Starwood Preferred Guest

x

x

x

x


Deploymentoptions

Man

aged

serv

ices

On-pre

mise

s

Vendorname

eGain

Verint

Financial services;retail; travel/hospitality;high-tech; healthcare

3M, Crocs, Dell, Epson, Nationwide MutualInsurance Company, OTC Direct(Oriental Trading Company), Pitney Bowes,Sandals, Staples, Vitacost.com

x x

x

x

xMoxie

Retail, public sector, �nancialservices, communications,travel, transportation,hospitality

OrbitzxOracleService

Cloud

Broad industry focus.Concentration in: webapplications (15%);software (14%); retail (8%);education (5%)

Avast Software, British Council, Creative,Edmunds.com, Everlane, Garena Online,Hyundai France, Kixeye, Le Tote,Man-Pack, Philips, Strong Technology,View Quest, zulily

xZendesk/Zopim

Softwar

e-

as-a

-ser

vice





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Paraturefrom

Microsoft

69 11 150 Customer service (90%);help desk (10%)

Almost exclusivelyintegrated

Salesforce Forresterestimate:

<200

Forresterestimate:

<50

1,000 In order of usage: customerservice, sales, help desk

Integrated solution(100%)

Vendorname Num

ber o

f

chat

cust

omer

s

Avera

ge ch

at

deplo

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t size

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)

Larges

t chat

dep

loymen

t

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)



Technology (60%);public sector (20%); gaming/entertainment (20%)

Ask.com, FuelEd, Travelodge UK, WarnerBros. Entertainment

High-tech; gaming;telecommunications;�nancial services; healthcarelife sciences; retail

Liberty Mutual Insurance(Liberty Seguros in Brazil), Rackspace

x

x


Deploymentoptions

Man

aged

serv

ices

On-pre

mise

s

Vendorname

Paraturefrom

Microsoft

Salesforce

CRM suite customer service vendors2-4

Softwar

e-

as-a

-ser

vice





12



Aspect 50 75 750 Customer service ( 85%);sales (10%); help desk (5%)


Avaya 3,088 40 640 In order of usage: customerservice; help desk; sales


Vendorname Num

ber o

f

chat

cust

omer

s

Avera

ge ch

at

deplo

ymen

t size

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)

Cisco >400 25 to 50 1,500 In order of usage: customerservice; external help desk


Genesys Forresterestimate:

> 400

227 12,500 In order of usage: customerservice; sales support;help desk


InteractiveIntelligence

747 85 2,482 In order of usage: customerservice, sales, producteducation


LiveOps Vendor didnot disclose

33 263 Customer service (69%);sales (28%); help desk (3%)


Larges

t chat

dep

loymen

t

(num

ber o

f chat

agen

ts)



Contact center vendors2-5





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Contact center vendors (cont.)2-5

Financial services;outsourcing; healthcare;telecommunications.

Newport City Homes, Vortalsoft, Wipro

Retail, service providers;�nancial services; utilities;insurance; technology

Advantel, Associated Bank, BuckeyeCablevision, EPB (Chattanooga ElectricPower Board), L.L.Bean, Panasonic, TTI

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x


Deploymentoptions

Man

aged

serv

ices

On-pre

mise

s

Vendorname

Aspect

Avaya

No vertical specialization None providedCisco

Financial services (36%);telecommunications (20%);retail (14%)

Banco itau, DNB Norway, Esri UC,Chil Rights International Network, UK,Nordea, TCS, UniCredit S.p.A, University ofPittsburgh Medical Center, Kundeservice),Marks & Spenser

xGenesys

No vertical specialization Western-SouthernLife Assurance Company

x xInteractiveIntelligence

Softwar

e-

as-a

-ser

vice

x

High-tech (24%); Retail (21%);Financial Services (17%);Telecoms (11%); Healthcare(10%), BPO (9%), Others (8%)

3 Day Blinds, LiveOps own website,Neopost (UK), Barnardos (NZ),LesConcierges (US)

xLiveOps

x x

Answer Five Questions to narrow the chat vendor Field

the chat vendor landscape is crowded; for this report, we surveyed 21 key vendors that offer representative capabilities for each category and support a breadth of enterprise deployment sizes in industry verticals that have embraced the chat channel. organizations must narrow the field to what category of vendor solution is most appropriate for their chat experience initiatives by asking such questions as:

1. What is your agent staffing model? Some organizations dedicate agents to a single communication channel, such as chat. Some restrict agents to working on a subset of communication channels that require similar skill sets. others embrace the blended agent model, where agents manage interactions over the breadth of channels. you must carefully choose your staffing model, which will dictate historical reporting, unified queuing and routing requirements, workforce management needs, as well as the types of agent desktops supported.





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2. What organization will be purchasing and managing chat? eBusiness and ecommerce are often the primary purchasers of digital engagement technologies, which include chat.3 these groups typically do not deeply integrate purchased technologies into customer management or product databases. in addition, they focus on standardizing business processes and measures of success across the digital channels that they own but do not necessarily align them with processes and success measures defined for the voice channel, which the contact center manages.

3. What is your chat engagement model — reactive or proactive? Decide whether you want to focus on offering reactive chat or whether you also want to offer proactive chat and whether proactive chat will be a cornerstone to your customer engagement strategy.4 if proactive chat is a cornerstone to your strategy, focus on vendors that use analytics to determine when to present chat invitations at the right time of a customer’s journey, based on segmentation and analysis of prior chat interactions. these vendors also have the know-how to best manage proactive invitations based on industry vertical to yield quantifiable revenue increases.

4. What is the end-to-end customer journey that you want to facilitate? you must decide whether to support a discrete customer chat journey or whether chat will be part of a broader customer engagement journey. For example, determine if chat is offered as a natural escalation point to failed web self-service or virtual agent interaction where the visitor can’t easily pinpoint a solution. you must also decide what type of information you need to pass to the chat agent during an escalation to preserve the context of the customer journey.

5. What end goal are you supporting? you must define upfront what usage scenarios you will focus on, such as offering chat to decrease customer service operational costs, to increase revenue by decreasing shopping cart abandonment rates, or to better target customers for increased upsell and cross-sell opportunities. you must then define the capabilities to support your end goal. For example, if you use chat to help with filling out forms where personal data is collected, you want to focus on vendors supporting security features such as payment card industry (pci) compliance standards, which define encryption and data security standards, and field masking.

profiles of Five categories of chat vendor Solutions

there are many vendors in the chat space with a broad range and wide variety of characteristics like background, capabilities, size, and focus areas. Forrester groups these vendors into five broad categories based on their primary uses in the marketplace: 1) standalone chat vendors; 2) online engagement vendors; 3) specialty multichannel customer service vendors; 4) crm suite customer service vendors; and 5) contact center vendors. each vendor category appeals to a specific type of buyer and usage scenario. However, many vendors listed have capabilities that could allow them to be well positioned to support alternate usage scenarios.





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Standalone Chat Vendor Solutions Provide Opportunities For Quick Wins

Standalone chat vendors — vendors that focus on providing only chat as an engagement channel — provide full-featured chat solutions that support small to midsize teams, but rarely large teams. these solutions are almost exclusively SaaS-based, although some vendors offer them as managed services. they are often deployed separate from existing crm solutions and customer or product databases, yet they can support such integrations. these solutions also include workflow engines tuned to only route chat sessions to agent groups, and individual chats can be managed to meet pre-established service-level agreements (SLAs).

typical buyers of these solutions include customer service, eBusiness, and ecommerce organizations. these standalone implementations provide these buyers with an easy-to-deploy and effective way for visitors to connect with a company, and they appear in a breadth of customer service, tech support ecommerce and education scenarios, both in a reactive and proactive chat mode. netop, olark, and velaro are representative vendors for this solution category (see Figure 3).





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FIGurE 3 profile of three Standalone chat vendors

Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: the ability to customize the UI, typing, waittime and of�ine indicators, pre-chat forms, and the ability to print and emailtranscripts, the ability to switch from text-based chat to video and audio chat.Also supports forms, cobrowsing, typing indicators, and customer messagepreviews. The HTML5-based customer console also automaticallyreconnects dropped interactions to the same operator, ensuring a seamlessexperience.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: HTML support for outgoing messages,spell checking, use of prede�ned responses, keyboard shortcuts,autosuggestions, support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions, etc.The tool allows agents to preview customer messages prior to sending.It also includes remote viewing of customer screens, remote assistanceand co-browsing.

Chat sessionmanagement

Highlights include:• Management of routing rules and work�ow, including assigning

agents to queues.• Proactive chat (rules-based, analytics-backed, and agent-offered).• Secure chats, post-chat customer surveys, reporting based on campaign,

operator, and department metrics.

Mobilecapabilities

Includes a HTML5-based customer console to support all operatingsystems. Mobile customers can select which department to connect with,be re-routed to experts, and be engaged by proactive chat invitations.Also able to reconnect dropped chats to the same operator.

Netop Live Guide is a standalone chat product. It includes an optional remote view,cobrowsing and remote assistance module. In addition, it can be bundled with NetopRemote Control as a full solution for help desks and technology service management.

Contact Centers, Technology Service Managers, Marketing

Per agent/per monthPricing models

Companydescription

Chat productdescription

Other vendorproducts that

can be bundledwith chat

Typicalorganizational

buyer

Netop provides software solutions that connect people with computers and smart devices,using remote access, screen-sharing and video chat technologies. Netop’s customerservice solutions include secure remote access and live text based and video chat.

Netop Live Guide is Netop’s chat solution. Chat is a standalone channel. Text-based, audio,and video chat are supported.

Netop3-1





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FIGurE 3 profile of three Standalone chat vendors (cont.)

Customer UI Includes: forms based chat, agent typing indicator, customizing chatwindow or link, post-chat ratings for satisfaction, knowledge, friendlinessand speed of response.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but not limited to: avatar support for agent, agent statemanagement (online, of�ine or busy), support for simultaneous chats,visitor visibility (IP address, visitor location, information provided at login),visitor browsing history, prede�ned greetings.


Highlights include management of chat transfers to other agents,of�ine message routing, routing rules and work�ow, blockingnon-customers, tagging chat conversations.

Mobilecapabilities

On the customer side, Olark is mobile web responsive. On the agent side,Olark integrates with a number of third party mobile chat clients to allowagents to chat via their mobile device.

Olark is a standalone chat product which includes cobrowsing.

Marketing, Customer Service, Customer Success

Per agent/per month or unlimited license.Pricing models

Companydescription





buyer

Olark provides a lightweight and user-friendly chat solution for sales and customer servicefor small and mid-sized teams.

Chat is a standalone channel.

Olark3-2





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FIGurE 3 profile of three Standalone chat vendors (cont.)

Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: the ability to customize all aspects of the UI,typing, wait time and of�ine indicators, business calendar support, pre-chatforms, and the ability to print and email transcripts.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: HTML support for outgoing messages,spellchecking, use of predened responses, keyboard shortcuts,autosuggestions, support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions,attachments, plug-ins, etc. The supervisor UI supports silent monitoring,supervisor whisper and barge-in capabilities, as well as customermanagement capabilities.


Highlights include:• Management of routing rules and work�ow, including assigning

agents to queues.• Proactive chat (rules-based and agent-offered) split testing of

proactive chat scenarios.• Support for eld masking, secure chat sessions, and PCI compliance.• Post-chat customer surveys, robust real-time and historical reports.• A/B testing pre-chat surveys and canned messaging• Rating chat line responses• Chat agent coaching• Canned message auto-suggestion

Mobilecapabilities

Same functionality present in desktop solution also available via IOS,Android and Windows client.

Velaro chat is a standalone product.

Customer Service and Support, Contact Center, Sales, Marketing

Per agent/per month.Pricing models

Companydescription





buyer

Velaro offers web chat, primarily geared to small and midsize teams.

Chat is a standalone channel. Velaro chat has productized integrations with a range oftelephony, CRM, help desk, knowledge bases and eCommerce applications.

Velaro3-3





19

Online Engagement Chat Products Support Deeply Personalized Service

online web and mobile engagement vendors focus on providing proactive and personalized customer interactions. Some use sophisticated proactive rules engines, while others use predictive analytics to target visitors and customers with offers, multimedia content, and chat invitations optimized for whatever device the visitor is using or to predict intent to optimize customer journeys. in these scenarios, chat aims to increase sales conversion, support customers in pre- and post-purchase scenarios, and increases customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

these vendors provide deep customization of engagement interfaces, robust reporting, and analytics to manage and optimize visitor engagement. they are SaaS-based, and some vendors also offer solutions via a managed services model or a pay-for-performance model. the vendors typically offer chat as a standalone channel or bundled with a subset of interaction channels. Buyers for these solutions are the organizational owners of digital engagement channels, such as ecommerce, customer experience, or customer service owner. [24]7, Liveperson, Boldchat by Logmein, needle, and touchcommerce are representative vendors for this solution category (see Figure 4).





20

FIGurE 4 profile of Five online engagement chat vendors


Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: the ability to present chat as a separate pop-upbrowser window or embedded within the web page. The chat client persistsas the user navigates from one page to another. The chat UI supportscustomizing the UI, typing, wait time, of�ine indicators; business calendarsupport; pre-chat forms; the ability to print and email transcripts. Alsoincludes two-way multimedia interactions (called sliders) controlled by chatagent which support widgets such as calendars,payment and ful�llmentprocesses.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes but not limited to: HTML and multimedia support for outgoingmessages, switching between active sessions, prede�ned responses,spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses, keyboard shortcuts,autosuggestions, profanity �lters, attachments, plug-ins. The agent UIprovides an integrated view of customer journey information, historicalinteractions, current interaction data. Supports suggested actions via real-time text mining chat. The supervisor UI supports live, queue and agentmonitoring, whisper and barge-in, as well as customer managementcapabilities. Also includes a “lobby” for agent collaboration.


Highlights include:• Predictive chat based on real-time decisioning to target customers

based on analysis of journeys. Chatcan also be initiated from a virtual agent interaction.

• Security features include secure chat sessions, masking of data, and PCI compliance.• Automated analysis of 100% of chat interactions used for data-driven

performance management and coaching.• Reports provide insight into key business and operational metrics across

channels including chat, web, and voice.

Companydescription


[24]7 provides cloud-based customer engagement software and services. The [24]7platform engages customers across web, chat, mobile, social, and phone channels withpredictive analytics, natural language, optimal channeling, and learning at scale.

Chat is a component of [24]7 customer engagement offering. It is integrated with its virtualagent, knowledge management, social, and IVR products.Chat interactions are driven by predictive a nalytics, real-time decisioning and real-time chat transcript analytics.

[24]74-1

Mobilecapabilities

Mobile web: Supports responsive design. Integrated into the platform,prediction and agent-side capabilities.

Native mobile apps: Supports SDK-based integration into iOS and Android apps as either reactive or proactive help. Supports iOS/Android noti�cations.Other: Assist for IVR de�ects quali�ed IVR callers to a mobile chat triggeredby a web link sent via SMS.





21

FIGurE 4 profile of Five online engagement chat vendors (cont.)

Chat is typically bundled with any of the [24]7 products and services which include: virtualagent, knowledge management, IVR, social, Vivid Speech (multimodal IVR interactions), andAssist for Voice (multimodal interactions with phone agents).

Marketing, eCommerce, Customer Service

Priced based on successful business outcomes (ex. incremental revenues, orsuccessful task completion rates).

Pricing models




buyer

[24]7 (cont.)4-1





22



Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to, the ability to customize the UI, typing, queueposition indicator, and the ability to hide chat links when chat services areunavailable; business calendar support; pre-chat forms; and the ability toprint and email transcripts.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to, HTML support for outgoing messages,spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses, keyboard shortcuts, autosuggestions based on understanding of incoming chats that include learning capabilities, agent conferencing, support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions, attachments,plug-ins, etc. The agent workspace is an integrated multichannel view that automatically prioritizes work for the agent so they can work across items from one place. The supervisor UI supports silent monitoring, supervisor whisper and barge-in capabilities, as well as customer management capabilities. BoldChat also offers an integration API and Data Extraction API that connect to a wide variety of external applications to read, write and report on information from other systems.


Highlights include:• Management of routing rules and work�ow, including assigning agents

to queues.• Proactive chat (rules-based and agent-offered); BoldChat includes a

built-in Chat Experiment Engine for multi-variable testing of buttons,windows, invitations, and invite rules or rulesets simultaneously,calculating the results for control groups and experiment groups all theway through to conversion.

• Conversion tracking allows �rms to tie sales to speci�c chats forcommission calculations.

• Security features include secure chat sessions, �eld masking, support forPCI compliance.

• Post-chat customer surveys and robust real-time and historical reports.

Mobilecapabilities

Mobile capabilities include: layered chat windows, mobile-aware windows,mobile proactive invitations, mobile SDK, mobile reporting.

BoldChat also offers email, SMS and Twitter management and co-browsing andremote control via LogMeIn Rescue.

eCommerce, Customer Service and Support

Per concurrent agent seat/per monthPricing models

Companydescription





buyer

BoldChat is LogMeIn’s live chat and multi-channel customer engagement solution that helps businesses quickly and effectively engage customers across online, mobile, and social channels.Chat is one of the engagement channels that is part of the BoldChat suite.

BoldChat by LogMeIn4-2





23


Customer UI Includes, but not limited to: ability to customize the UI, typing, wait time andof�ine indicators, business calendar support, pre-chat forms, ability to printand email transcripts. Supports rich media, including HTML, picture sharing,co-browsing, video sharing, and links. Supports the ability to reconnect withthe same agent if the chat session is interrupted. The chat window can beembedded which means it can follow the visitor across the site.

Agent/supervisor UI

Web based workspace (no download) and can be accessed from anybrowser or computer, and mobile devices. Agent tools enhance pro�ciencyand ef�ciency such as: desktop noti�cation, pre-de�ned content, color-coding, quick preview, customer information, CRM integration, hotkeys, andmore. Also includes personalized, real-time data such as agent shiftinformation, number of chats, average handle time and CSAT. Managers canalso utilize real time natural text analytics to �ag negative customersentiment and respond using on-the-�y campaigns creation.


Highlights include:• Algorithmic-based predictive intelligent targeting (PIT) automatically

matches visitors with agents and introduces chat at the time and place withthe highest likelihood for conversion

• SOX, PCI compliance• Visitor authentication, visitor and customer information• Rich media and support• Management of routing rules and work�ow, including assigning

agents to queues• Post-chat customer surveys and robust real-time and historical reports

Companydescription


LivePerson offers a cloud-based engagement platform that supports messaging, chat,and content delivery, including websites, social media, and mobile devices. Engagement isoptimized via a behavioral and predictive targeting engine.

Chat is one of the engagement channels that LivePerson offers. A predictive algorithmicengine drives LivePerson’s proactive chat solution. This engine is used for real-timebehavioral segmentation and targeting of web, messaging and mobile visitors. In addition,LivePerson offers detailed, real-time reporting and analytics which include unique real-timesentiment and hot topic analysis based on real-time natural text analytics.

LivePerson4-3





24


Mobilecapabilities

Includes:• Uniform consistent chat experience from any device• Out of the box mobile web (no setup or code needed)• SDK pack for mobile apps that includes chat and intelligence• Messaging communication through mobile include SMS to chat,

chat from social media• Mobile-to-mobile: apps for consumers and agents for pure-mobile chat• Agent mobile app which includes noti�cations and ef�ciency tools such as

pre-de�ned content• Consumer mobile app connects brands with consumers• Cross-channel capabilities (e.g., from IVR to chat)

LivePerson chat (LiveEngage) can be bundled with SMS, IVR de�ection, chat,targeted content, and collaboration across web, social, and mobile channels.

Customer Service, eCommerce, Marketing, Customer Experience

Usage-based modelPricing models




buyer

LivePerson (cont.)4-3





25


Customer UI The customer UI is a customizable, fully responsive chat interface thatappears on an business website. The UI follows the site visitor from pageto page during their visit and can be minimized and repositioned by amouse click and drag. The UI contains an advocate bio that gives thecustomer information about who they are chatting with. The UI alsocontains areas where a customer can view linked product images ofsuggestions made by the advocate.

Agent/supervisor UI

The Advocate Console is the portal for agents and supervisors to observeand interact with customers and other agents. A business can integrate theirproduct catalog and all relevant product data directly into the AdvocateConsole so that agents can better serve their customers. Agents canselect products from the catalog and display them in the chat. They canalso group items and display them for cross sell and upsell. There is also adrawing tool that enables the agent to mark the images they are sharing toimprove communication. The Advocate Console also provides all theinformation gathered about the customer including, pages visited,purchase history, visit history, time on site, referring page, IP location,browser and hardware, etc. Within the Advocate console the agent canalso interact with other agents and supervisors in real time in order toshare information and better assist customers.


Highlights include:• Management of routing rules and workows• Proactive chat• Real-time and historical business outcome, and operational reports.

Companydescription


Needle powers real-time conversations between a company’s certi�ed advocates andits customers.

Needle couples chat technology with predictive analytics to identify online customers whoneed help making a decision and offer them an opportunity to chat with a companyadvocate in real time.

Needle4-4

Mobilecapabilities

Needle’s chat function is fully responsive and works on any browser ormobile device.

Needle is a standalone product. Includes community services that source and certifyexternal advocates — people who are brand enthusiasts and product experts.

Marketing, eCommerce or Community

Needle customers can license the software or pay for software plus services.Pricing models




buyer





26


Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to, the ability to customize the UI, typing, waittime and of�ine indicators, business calendar support, pre-chat forms, andthe ability to print and email transcripts. Visitors can move, resize, andpop out chat windows, allowing them to control the chat experience.Customers can also select the most likely text for a response instead oftyping. Mobile chat is also available and is customized to mobile experience.Offers a multi-pane window that persists as consumer navigates the site.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to, HTML and multimedia support for outgoingmessages, spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses, autosuggestions,support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions, attachments, and pushedcontent ranging from offers to videos (or any HTML5 content). Thesupervisor UI supports silent monitoring, supervisor whisper and barge-incapabilities, as well as customer management and agent monitoringcapabilities.


TouchCommerce uses a behavioral targeting engine to identify in-sessionbrowsing behavior, search terms, referring URLs, and site activity topresent the right level of engagement (e.g., decision guide, offer, chat,or call) to the visitor. TouchCommerce maintains a data warehouse withthe ability to mine, report, and segment data in order to optimize thetargeting of chat sessions.

Companydescription


TouchCommerce offers omni-channel engagement solutions geared for customeracquisition, conversion and retention based on real-time behavioral targeting, in a fullymanaged services model.

Chat is one component of TouchCommerce’s online engagement suite.

TouchCommerce4-5

Mobilecapabilities

UI includes a persistent window; tracking and merging purchase behavioracross devices; complete customization with logo placement, SMS-styledchat bubbles, con�gurable for business rules. TouchCommerce solution isHTML5 based, supported by all browsers with no additional software orinstallations required. Features include full transparent background support;minimized chat with message indicator and scrolling chat. Also includesautomated guides, rich content, and post-chat surveys.

TouchCommerce products are powered by TouchCommerce RightTouch Platform. Chatproduct can be bundled with click-to-call, automated guides, surveys, targeted contentdelivery, and co-browse. TouchChat is included with TouchCommerce omni-channelengagement solutions such as TouchSell, TouchCare, TouchConnect, TouchStore, andTouchMedia.eBusiness, Customer Experience, Digital or Omnichannel Operations

Pricing includes monthly �at fees for technology and services with a variablepay-for-performance compensation component. Engagement Agents are priced separately,dependent on the level of service offered.

Pricing models




buyer





27

Specialty Omnichannel Customer Engagement Vendors Standardize Interactions

Specialty omnichannel customer engagement vendors provide solutions for standardizing pre- or post-purchase customer interactions across a subset or the entire breadth of web self-service, digital, and social channels. they have a central interaction hub of customer data and history, a content repository, routing, and queuing engines, case management, and workflow. these solutions also enable cross-channel communications, allowing a customer to start a conversation on one channel, such as a virtual agent interaction, and continue it on another, such as chat, without restarting the conversation. As a result, buyers typically implement chat capabilities from these vendors as part of a greater suite.

While these solutions can’t queue and route voice interactions, computer telephony integration (cti) is typically used to pop voice calls to the agent desktop. typical buyers for these solutions are eBusiness, and increasingly ecommerce organizations in addition to customer service. representative vendors for this solution category include eGain, moxie, verint, oracle, and Zendesk/Zopim. Some of these vendors, such as moxie and eGain increasingly target the ecommerce buyer, while other vendors such as verintSystems, increasingly target the customer service or contact center buyer (see Figure 5).5





28

FIGurE 5 profile of Five Specialty omnichannel vendors

Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: the ability to customize the UI, typing,wait time and of�ine indicators, business calendar support, pre-chat forms,and the ability to print and email transcripts. It also supports uni�edtext-based, video, and co-browse capabilities. It also offers self-serviceoptions for customers waiting in line.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: HTML support for outgoing messages,spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses, keyboard shortcuts,auto-suggestions, support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions,attachments, etc. The supervisor UI supports silent monitoring,supervisor whisper and barge-in capabilities, as well as the ability topush chats to agents. Agents also have the ability to invite customers onsocial networks to private chat conversations.



to queues.• Proactive chat (rules-based and agent-offered), split testing of proactive

chat scenarios. Proactive chat is also used to push contextual offers ofcontent and real-time collaboration.

• Security features include secure chat session, support for PCI compliance,and �eld masking.

• Post-chat customer surveys and robust real-time and historical reports,and chat (and omnichannel) performance analytics.

• Chat customer journey analysis and optimization.

Companydescription


eGain provides customer engagement solutions for social, mobile, web, andcontact centers to support omnichannel journeys.

Chat is a key component of eGain’s omnichannel engagement offering. It includes text,audio, and video chat, as well as page-sharing.

Gain5-1

Mobilecapabilities

Includes:• Responsive design for customer UI.• Mobile SDK. Includes 2 reference apps (Android and iOS versions) that

can be reskinned for reuse. The apps include omnichannel collaborationwith agents through chat (text, audio, and video). knowledge andcase management.

eGain chat can be integrated with autochat (virtual assistant), self-service, email,co-browse, click-to-call, voice, SMS, and proactive offers. It is sold most often as part ofeGain’s “super-chat” bundle that includes chat, autochat, co-browse, and click-to-call.

Customer Service, Customer Experience, Contact Center, eBusiness

eGain offers agent-based, session-based (for autochat), and interaction-basedpricing models.

Pricing models




buyer





29

FIGurE 5 profile of Five Specialty omnichannel vendors (cont.)

Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: UI customization, typing, wait time andof�ine indicators, business calendar support, pre-chat forms, and theability to print and email transcripts. Chat launch forms can include custombusiness objects (con�rmation number, error code, etc.), and chats can belaunched from a variety of mobile or tablet devices.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses,keyboard shortcuts, autosuggestions, support for multiple simultaneouschat sessions, etc. Agents can automatically insert links to knowledgearticles or full text from knowledge articles. The supervisor UI supportssilent monitoring, supervisor whisper and barge-in capabilities, as well asthe ability to push chats to agents.



to queues.• Proactive chat (rules-based and agent-offered) and split testing of

proactive chat scenarios. Proactive chat is also used to push contextualoffers and real-time collaboration.

• Security features include secure chat session, support for PCI compliance,and �eld masking.

• Post-chat customer surveys and historical reports.

Companydescription


Verint provides software and hardware products for security, surveillance, and businessintelligence. KANA, a Verint company provides customer service solutions that coupleprocess guidance, knowledge management and omnichannel interactions. KANAEnterprise supports large organizations. KANA Express supports midsized organizations.

Chat is a component of KANA, A Verint Company’s process guidance solution.

Verint (KANA software)5-2

Mobilecapabilities

Customers can launch a chat via the web self-service site from anymobile or tablet device. The responsive web design allow the screen toformat appropriately based on the device type. The system can display tothe agent whether or not the customer is chatting from a mobile device.

Chat is integrated with co-browse, email management, the agent desktop,web self-service, and knowledge management. Chat can also be bundled withVerint Workforce Management to manage staf�ng of chat agents.

Contact Center

KANA Enterprise supports a perpetual license or on a per-agent/per-month subscriptionmodel (as a managed service). Kana Express supports a software-as-a-servicesubscription model.

Pricing models




buyer





30


Customer UI Responsive design allows customers to chat within their online experienceinstead of a pop up. Features include, but are not limited to: the ability tocustomize the UI, typing, wait time and of�ine indicator, business calendarsupport, pre-chat forms, ability to print and email transcripts, real-timetext translation, �le sharing, and surveys. Also includes automatedmenu-based decision trees.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses,keyboard shortcuts, autosuggestions, support for multiple simultaneous chatsessions, attachments, etc. The supervisor UI supports silent monitoring, andsupervisor whisper and barge-in capabilities.


Highlights include:• Management of routing rules and work�ow, including assigning agents to

queues.• Proactive chat (rules-based and agent-offered) and split testing of

proactive chat scenarios.• Robust language support including localization of the customer UI and

agent desktop.• Security features include secure chat sessions, �eld masking, and

support for PCI compliance.• Post-chat customer surveys, robust real-time and historical business

outcome, and operational reports.

Companydescription


Moxie provides digital engagement solutions for self-service, digital, social and mobilechannels.

Moxie Live Chat allows enterprises to proactively engage their customers on any devicewith rules-based chat invitations to move more visitors from browsing to buying. MoxieLive Chat is a component of Moxie’s Digital Engagement solution.

Moxie5-3

Mobilecapabilities

Includes a responsive chat experience designed speci�cally for PC, tablet,and mobile, as well as a full featured native chat app for iOS and SDK forAndroid. Features include: ability to customize the UI, in-app noti�cations,�le sharing, ability to browse and chat simultaneously with transparentoverlay, geo location capabilities, message waiting alert, reconnectcapabilities, reactive and proactive functionality, etc.

Moxie chat can be bundled with email, web self-service, cobrowse; also a knowledgebase for automated agent assistance and content creation.

eCommerce, Digital Operations, Customer Service

Per-user/per-month.Pricing models




buyer





31


Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: multilingual support, typing, wait time andof�ine indicators, print and email transcripts, �le transfer, pre-chat forms,custom �eld capture, dynamic feedback on queue position and estimatedwait time, off the record (ability to keep sensitive data private from thetranscript), integrated knowledge (search while you wait), integrated VirtualAssistant with automatic escalation to agents, customizable pixel perfectUI for integration into existing portals, auto-reconnect with the same agentif a chat session is interrupted.

Agent/supervisor UI

Agent UI Includes, but is not limited to: visibility into customer context(page peek — see the customers page when starting chat, view customerhistory pages before requesting a chat, 360 degree customer interactionhistory), integrated knowledge. Also includes productivity features suchas HTML support for outgoing messages, guided assistance work�ows,prede�ned responses, plug-in support for desktop integration,spellchecking, keyboard shortcuts, autosuggestions, attachments, multiplesimultaneous chat session management, multilingual support, conferencingand transfer. The Supervisor UI includes silent monitoring, supervisorwhisper and barge-in, real-time dashboards for monitoring agent andqueue performance.


Highlights include but are not limited to:• Proactive engagement based on user actions, navigation, data entered, etc.• Management of routing rules and work�ow, including assigning

agents to queues• PCI compliance, �eld masking, secure chat sessions• Post-chat customer surveys• Real-time and historical reports on agent and queue productivity• Universal queuing support to allow hand off of routing to

a third-party ACD system• Push or Pull chat assignment

Companydescription


Oracle Services Cloud delivers web, social, and contact center experiences in a uni�ed,cross-customer service solution.

Chat is a web and mobile communication channel that can be purchased standalone orbundled with Oracle Service Cloud’s web experience solution, social experience solution,contact center experience solution, and engage solution.

Oracle5-4

Mobilecapabilities

Includes mobile pageset for proper �t and usage on mobile devices,consumer API for native mobile application support (built in chat).





32


Oracle (cont.)5-4

Bundled with:• Web experience solution that includes web self-service, assisted resolution,

mobile service, and email.• Social experience solution that includes self-service Facebook, support communities,

innovation communities, and social monitoring.• Contact center experience solution that includes voice, email, click-to-call, and

co-browse.• Engage solution that includes customer feedback, outreach, analytics, and knowledge.

Customer Service, Customer Experience, eCommerce

Oracle Service Cloud supports both a session-based and a per-agent/per-monthpricing model.

Pricing models




buyer





33


Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: of�ine and business hour indicators,pre-chat forms, social (Facebook, Google+) logins, the option to rate chats,send �les, and the ability to email transcripts.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: chat dashboard accessible in 30 languages,chat and agent reporting, real-time monitoring metrics, complete historicaldata, visitor pro�les (location, browser, operating system), shortcuts,automatic chat translation (with Google Translate), triggers, support fordepartments, and �le sending.


Includes post chat customer ratings and historical reporting.

Companydescription


Zendesk provides customer service and internal help desk solutions. Zendesk acquiredZopim and has integrated Zopim Chat with its customer service platform. Zopim is alsosold as a standalone live chat solution.

Zopim Chat is live chat software that expands the chat capabilities of Zendesk’s customerservice platform. Zendesk provides web widgets which can be embedded into websitesand mobile sites.

Zendesk/Zopim5-5

Mobilecapabilities

Mobile-optimized chat widget that works across all platforms. Can supportAndroid and iOS applications. Zendesk also provides a mobile SDK whichallows chat to be embedded in native apps.

Bundled with Zendesk’s suite, which includes email, web portal, social (Facebook, Twitter),and voice channels.

Customer Service, Sales, Marketing

Per-agent/per-monthPricing models




buyer





34

CrM Suite Customer Service Solutions Provide Comprehensive Customer Management

crm suite customer service solutions provide the breadth of sales and marketing automation as well as customer service capabilities. During the past five years, these solutions have greatly matured as vendors have focused on solidifying the building blocks of their customer service capabilities and folded new technologies such as business process management, decisioning, business intelligence, and mobility into their solutions. now, many excellent solutions not only provide customer service capabilities but can also be extended to provide holistic end-to-end customer engagement capabilities at a later date.6

vendors provide chat as a SaaS offering, and buyers often implement them as a part of a broader solution suite supporting customer service, customer engagement, and revenue-generation scenarios. typical buyers for these solutions are customer service, contact center, and ecommerce organizations that have operational responsibility of the digital channels but not necessarily the voice channel. these buyers tend to dedicate a subset of customer-facing personnel to managing the chat channel or a blend of digital channels that include chat. parature from microsoft and Salesforce are two representative vendors for this solution category (see Figure 6).





35

FIGurE 6 profile of two crm Suite customer Service vendors

Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: the ability to customize the UI, of�ineindicators, business calendar support, emergency shut down of chat,pre-chat forms, ticket number for chat session for future reference, theability to escalate to another channel, and the ability to print and emailtranscripts. It also supports agent-to-agent chat capabilities.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: the use of prede�ned responses,knowledge base integration, routing rules, keyboard shortcuts, agentspeci�c chat deployments and support for multiple simultaneous chatsessions. Additional features include a customer waiting indicator, theability to support up to 99 chat sessions simultaneously, personalizedgreetings and the availability of frequently-used sayings and pages.The supervisor UI supports silent monitoring, supervisor whisper andbarge-in capabilities, as well as ability to push chats to agents. Additionalfeatures include the ability to see the number of agents logged in, thenumber of waiting customers and the number of current chats in session.


Highlights include:• Management of routing rules and work�ow, including assigning agents to

queues and SLA management.• Rules-based proactive chat and split testing of proactive chat scenarios.• Post-chat customer surveys, historical reporting to include chat activity,

performance and feedback cross-cut by customer service agent,accounts, SLA.

• Multilingual support and translation for chats.• Chat security with the portal needing to be con�gured to use HTTPS and

the service desk always HTTPS.

Companydescription


Parature, from Microsoft provides a cloud-based customer service solution that includesknowledge management, self-service and multichannel capabilities.

Chat is a component of the Parature customer service suite.

Parature (Microsoft)6-1

Mobilecapabilities

There are no mobile chat capabilities at this time.

Bundled with Parature’s customer service suite.

Customer Service

Parature prices its chat module on a per agent basis, with no limit on the number ofchats an organization may have with its customers.

Pricing models




buyer





36

FIGurE 6 profile of two crm Suite customer Service vendors (cont.)

Customer UI Includes, but not limited to: Con�gurable chat buttons and invitations (slide,fade, custom animation, etc.) with con�gurable invitation criteria (seconds ona page, number of page views etc.). Chat buttons can be automaticallyturned on and off based on agent availability. Also includes multilingualsupport, pre- and post-chat forms. Compatible with any website, portal orcommunity and is fully brandable.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: Uni�ed desktop view with a uni�ed toolsetsuch as knowledge base, previous case history, and access to internalexperts and external systems. Also supports canned messages, criticalmessage alerts and cues (audio and visual reminders on open chats),transfer and conferencing of other agents, �le transfer. Also includesintegration to CRM which provides customer and case history acrossall channels. Manager features include con�gurable routing rules based onskill, assigning to least active or most available agent, re-routing if chat isnot accepted after certain amount of time, and rerouting if requests aredeclined. Supervisors can monitor queues and agent chats, send privatemessages (whisper), and sneak peak agent responses.


Highlights include:• Knowledge integration: ability to access and share knowledge from

the chat box.• Rules-based proactive and split testing of proactive chat scenarios.• Support for �eld masking and secure chat sessions and PCI compliance.• Post-chat customer surveys and robust real-time and historical reports

that can be extended with applications on the AppExchange.

Companydescription


Salesforce’s Service Cloud provides omnichannel customer service and supportcapabilities. The Service Cloud is a key component of Salesforce’s CRM solution.

Salesforce Live Agent is a web and mobile communication channel that is bundled withother capabilities of the Service Cloud.

Salesforce6-2

Mobilecapabilities

Includes responsive design, fully white-labeled for multiple brands. Supportsa range of devices and OS including windows, mac, iOS, Android, andWindows Mobile.

Chat can be bundled with the following channel capabilities: phone, SMS, knowledgemanagement, agent console, social pro�les, SOS 1:1 video conferencing, and interactionhistory.

Contact Center, Technology Management

Salesforce supports a per-agent/per-month pricing model. Requires ServiceCloud License.

Pricing models




buyer





37

unified routing And Queuing Solutions Standardize Operations Across Media Types

contact center interaction management vendors have historically optimized voice call routing and queuing but now extend their capabilities to unified routing of voice, digital and social interactions. these vendors offer a unified agent desktop to support the blended agent model, which allows contact center agents to process all inbound and outbound interaction types. they also offer unified reporting across channels, as well as agent scheduling and forecasting across channels.

Buyers of these solutions are predominantly contact center organizations that have operational management responsibility for all communication channels and are focused on supporting customer service and technical support usage scenarios. these buyers primarily focus on the voice channel, with a small subset of interactions occurring over the digital channels. they rely on the unified cross-channel reporting to optimize agent resourcing. Aspect, Avaya, cisco, Genesys, interactive intelligence, and Liveops are representative vendors for this solution category (see Figure 7).





38

FIGurE 7 profile of Six contact center interaction management vendors

Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: ability to customize the UI, typing, of�ineindicators, pre-chat forms, ability to print and email transcripts. TheCustomer UI also support attention retainers in the form of text messagesor a series of Web pages that can be presented to the customer while theywait to be serviced by the next available agent.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: HTML formatting of outgoing chats, use ofprede�ned responses that can be pushed to visitors,con�gurable greetingsand salutations, keyboard shortcuts, autosuggestions, support for plug-ins,chat transfers to other agents. Agent screen actions can be captured andrecorded, and agent-to-agent chat via Microsoft Lync is supported. Thesupervisor UI supports silent monitoring, whisper, barge-in capabilities, andcustomer management capabilities.


Highlights include:• Uni�ed queuing and routing for all media types.• Chat prioritization for high value customers, chat over�ow routing to

alternate agent queues, chat rerouting to available agents.• Security features include secure chat session and support for PCI

compliance. Also includes chat routing for quality monitoring.• Reporting is uni�ed across all media types.

Companydescription


Aspect provides contact center, workforce optimization, and back-of�ce applications.

Chat is part of Aspect’s contact center solution.

Aspect7-1

Mobilecapabilities

Aspect chat widgets can be embedded in mobile websites or apps toallow agent communication from within the app.

Chat can be deployed as a standalone channel, but to date it is always bundled withthe contact center supporting voice and email.

Contact Center

Aspect supports both per-agent/per-month and perpetual license pricing models.Pricing models




buyer





39

FIGurE 7 profile of Six contact center interaction management vendors (cont.)

Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: ability to customize the UI, typing, wait timeand of�ine indicators, support to shut down chat in case of emergency,position in queue indicator, pre-chat forms, ability to print, and emailtranscripts. Chat sessions can be automated, where automatic responsesare given based on natural language understanding of incoming questions.Automated chat sessions can be escalated to a live agent upon customerrequest or via rules.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: indicator of number of customers waiting,HTML support for outgoing messages, spellchecking, use of prede�nedresponses, keyboard shortcuts, autosuggestions based on NLP of incomingchats, support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions, customer typingindicator, attachments, etc. The supervisor UI supports silent monitoring,supervisor whisper and barge-in capabilities, as well as agent managementcapabilities such as visibility into number of agents logged in, number ofcustomers waiting and wait times.


Highlights include:• Uni�ed queuing and routing for all media types.• Proactive chat (rules-based and agent-offered), split testing of proactive

chat scenarios.• Support for �eld masking, secure chat sessions, and PCI compliance.

Also includes post-chat customer surveys.• Reporting is robust and uni�ed for all media types.

Companydescription


Avaya offers business collaboration and communications solutions, providing uni�edcommunications, real-time video collaboration, contact center, and networking solutions.

Chat is part of Avaya’s contact center solutions that use the same queuing and routingengine for all media types (voice, digital, and social).

Avaya7-2

Mobilecapabilities

There are no mobile chat capabilities at this time.

Avaya chat can be bundled with the Avaya Elite Solution Stack and Avaya Aura ContactCenter Solution Stack. Each include multichannel capabilities that support voice, email,web chat, IM, SMS, Fax, Call Back, Click to call, Social Media and Video.

Contact Center, Technology Management

Avaya’s multichannel solutions are priced via a perpetual use license (concurrent agentlicense). Avaya’s SaaS based Automated Chat solution is priced per agent seat andper use/session.

Pricing models




buyer





40


Customer UI Includes but not limited to: thin customer interface, with no downloadrequired for chat and basic page sharing. Using scripting, the customermay be sent web pages (announcements, information, advertisements,etc.) while they wait in queue. Transcripts can be printed, or emailed to thecustomer at the end of the chat session. The transcript also includes linksto web pages shared, so that the customer may return to the web site andserve themselves the next time. Also includes the ability to customize thecustomer offering, typing and of�ine indicators, and respond to chat surveys.

Agent/supervisor UI

Cisco offers an open social integrated agent gadget for the Cisco Finessedesktop. It includes, but is not limited to: HTML support for outgoingmessages, spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses, keyboard shortcuts,auto suggestions, support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions,attachments, plug-ins, etc. The supervisor UI supports silent monitoring,as well as customer management capabilities. Agent has the ability topush an activity; and push web pages. Supervisors have access torobust real-time and historical reporting across all channels. They canmonitor KPIs for agent performance, �nding opportunities to coach.


Highlights include:• Uni�ed queuing and routing for all media types.• Proactive chat (rules-based and agent-offered).• Support for secure chat sessions and PCI compliance. Also includes

post-chat customer surveys.• Reporting is robust and uni�ed for all media types.• The easy-to-use multiple-chat console allows agents to handle multiple

chat sessions at the same time.• Facilitates textchat, proactive chat, mobile device chat. Text chat may

be color-coded and include time stamps. Chat transcripts may beemailed to the customer upon completion of the interaction.

• To measure the customer experience, chat surveys are also available.

Companydescription


Cisco provides IP-based networking and business communications andcollaboration products.

Chat is part of the Cisco Uni�ed Web Interaction Manager which offers chat andcollaboration capabilities. The Cisco Uni�ed Web Interaction Manager is available withthe Cisco Uni�ed Contact Center Enterprise solution.

Cisco7-3

Mobilecapabilities

Cisco Uni�ed Web Interaction Manager supports chats originating frommobile devices, including iPad, iPhone, Android, etc. Customers canschedule web call back on their mobile phones.





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Cisco (cont.)7-3

The Cisco Uni�ed Web Interaction Manager can be bundled with Cisco’s Uni�ed ContactCenter Enterprise solution.

Customer Service, Technology Management, Marketing, Sales

Cisco supports a perpetual license pricing model; and a transferable perpetual license,which is sold through a Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) partner.

Pricing models




buyer





42


Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: the ability to customize the UI, typing,wait time and of�ine indicators, pre-chat forms, and the ability to print andemail transcripts, and post chat surveys.

Agent/supervisor UI

The omnichannel desktop includes, but is not limited to: HTML support foroutgoing messages, spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses, keyboardshortcuts, autosuggestions, support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions,attachments, plug-ins, etc. Agents can push web pages or �les to customersas appropriate. The supervisor UI supports silent monitoring; supervisorwhisper and barge-in capabilities, background coaching using chat, IM,or voice as well as customer management capabilities.


Highlights include:• Uni�ed queuing and routing for all media types.• Rules-based proactive chat and split testing of proactive chat scenarios.• Security features supporting secure chat sessions and PCI compliance.• Post-chat customer surveys.• Uni�ed and normalized robust reporting across all media types.

Companydescription


Genesys offers omnichannel customer experience (CX) and contact center solutions in thecloud and on-premises. Genesys also offers a broad set of industry solutions for insurance,government, healthcare, collections, telecommunications, �nancial services and others.

Chat is part of Genesys Digital Engagement center. It uses use the same queuing androuting engine for all media types (voice, digital, and social). Chats are routed to agentsbased on resource skills and availability as well as the customer’s contact history.

Genesys7-4

Mobilecapabilities

Mobile chat is part of the Genesys Mobile Engagement solution whichprovides push noti�cations, mobile click-to-call, callback, surveys and chat.Genesys Mobile Chat is designed to work in high latency low bandwidthmobile networks, and push noti�cations help recover chat sessions due tonetwork disconnections. Genesys Mobile Engagement supports the use ofbusiness rules, context, conversation history, reporting, locations andpreferences for mobile interactions.

Genesys Chat can be bundled with voice, email, SMS, co-browse, mobile, social, andother products.

Contact Center, Customer Service, eBusiness, Digital, eCommerce

Genesys supports both per-agent/per-month and perpetual pricing models.Pricing models




buyer





43


Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: the ability to customize the UI, typing, waittime and of�ine indicators, pre-chat forms, and the ability to print andemail transcripts.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to: spellchecking, use of prede�ned responses,keyboard shortcuts, autosuggestions, support for multiple simultaneouschat sessions, attachments, etc. The supervisor UI supports silentmonitoring, supervisor whisper and barge-in capabilities, as well ascustomer management capabilities.


Highlights include:• Uni�ed queuing and routing for all media types.• Rules-based and agent-initiated proactive chat and split testing of

proactive chat scenarios.• Support for �eld masking, secure chat sessions, and PCI compliance.

Also includes chat routing for quality monitoring.• Reporting is uni�ed and normalized across all media types.

Companydescription


Interactive Intelligence provides collaboration, communications and customer engagementsoftware solutions and cloud services.

Chat is part of Interactive Intelligence’s multichannel contact center solution. Chats aretreated as a peer to other media types such as phone call and email. Chats can be placedon hold, transferred, and recorded for quality assurance.

Interactive Intelligence7-5

Mobilecapabilities

Interactive Intelligence offers a SDK to incorporate customer service andcommunications functions, such as chat or callback requests, into existingmobile apps.

Chat is part of the Customer Interaction Center solution suite that supports phone,email, chat, SMS, fax.

Contact Center

Interactive Intelligence licenses contact center seats per agent.Pricing models




buyer





44


Customer UI Includes, but is not limited to: UI customization (customizing with their ownbranding, logos, colors, etc., set agent alias based on speci�c customerinteraction), typing, of�ine indicators, pre-chat forms, multilingual support,and the ability to print and email transcripts.

Agent/supervisor UI

Includes, but is not limited to, spell checking, complete view of all previouschat sessions and all other channel interactions, use of prede�nedresponses that can be pushed to visitors, keyboard shortcuts, autosuggestions, support for multiple simultaneous chat sessions (up to 10),attachments, the ability to push ad hoc and precon�gured website links,full archive of chat transcripts with time and date stamping, CRM integrationfor agent screenpop, etc. The system can be con�gured to prioritize deliveryof incoming chats over other channels. The supervisor UI supports customermanagement capabilities.


Highlights include:• Uni�ed queuing and routing for all media types.• Rules-based proactive chat and split testing of proactive chat scenarios.• Security features include secure chat sessions, �eld masking, and

support for PCI compliance. Also includes chat routing forquality monitoring.

• Reporting is uni�ed across all media types. Includes real-timedashboarding for supervisors to monitor key KPIs such asaverage chat length.

Companydescription


LiveOps provides a cloud-based multichannel contact center platform, contact centerapplications (voice, email, web chat, Twitter, Facebook, SMS), and agents on-demand,all of which can be separately purchased.

LiveOps Chat is part of the LiveOps Engage multichannel solution that provides agentswith a 360-degree view of customer interactions across all channels. Chats are routed andqueued using the same engine for all media types. Agents have full visibility into all chathistory, as well as previous call, SMS, email and social media interactions.

LiveOps7-6

Mobilecapabilities

LiveOps Chat is fully compatible with iOS and Android mobile devices.

LiveOps Chat can be purchased standalone or can be bundled with voice, email,SMS, and Facebook and Twitter.

Contact Center, Marketing (especially Web Marketing), Inside Sales, Customer Service

LiveOps supports a per-agent/per-month pricing model for either concurrent orname agents.

Pricing models




buyer





45

recommendations

Build A chat vendor Strategy With A view toward the Future

AD&D pros supporting customer service organizations should consider a chat vendor strategy that will meet today’s demands while also keeping an eye to the future. Specifically, you should:

› Build solid partnerships with the organization that will be using the chat solution. you need to partner with the buyer and user of the chat solution, whether it is the eBusiness, customer experience, ecommerce, or contact center executive, to investigate the vendor landscape, determine the pros and cons of different vendor solutions, and identify the types of integrations that you need to support. you must then work together to map a subset of vendor solutions to your company’s specific requirements, keeping an eye toward future growth and usage.

› recognize that successful chat deployments typically expand. chat deployments will likely begin with one usage scenario funded by one business unit. initial deployments tend to be small and implemented in a standalone manner, but they quickly expand in scope and complexity, including the number of back-end integrations needed.

› Plan to support social, mobile, and other devices. As consumers seek customer support on a growing range of devices and touchpoints, it will be increasingly important to consider the role of social, mobile, and other devices in a chat engagement strategy. chat vendors are already extending their offerings into social, mobile, and other technologies.

› Focus on enabling three key groups: customers, agents, and supervisors. the vendors that we surveyed support a breadth and depth of agent desktop usability requirements. Some are very basic, only allowing an agent to support a single chat session at a time, and don’t offer the agent any productivity tools to help efficiently manage chat conversations. other vendor solutions deliver more intuitive experiences and enable agents and supervisors to collaborate. Demo chat solutions from not one but three perspectives — customer, agent, and supervisor — to ensure a good fit for your requirements.

› recognize that chat agents have fundamentally different skills than voice agents. even if you support a breadth of communication channels in your customer service organization, be cognizant that the skill set of agents handling chat sessions is fundamentally different than the skill set that is needed for voice interaction. make sure that you dedicate your agents to the channels that you support for maximum efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction.





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› Approach pure call displacement business cases with caution. many Forrester clients have reported that their original goal of displacing a certain percentage of phone calls by chat at lower cost have not panned out at the level they expected. customer contact management is not a pure “zero sum” game where customer requests stay constant and simply shift among channels. in a number of instances, overall total customer contacts rose. the important thing to factor in is customer satisfaction by allowing a smooth, contextual escalation from web or mobile self-service to agent assisted chat.

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Supplemental material

Survey Methodology

Forrester conducted the north American technographics customer experience online Survey, Q4 2009 (US) in october 2009 of 4,653 US individuals ages 18 to 88. For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size (n = 4,653), there is 95% confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 1.4% of what they would be if the entire population of US online individuals ages 18 and older had been surveyed. Forrester weighted the data by age, gender, income, broadband adoption, and region to demographically represent the adult US online population. the survey sample size, when weighted, was 4,623. (note: Weighted sample sizes can be different from the actual number of respondents to account for individuals generally underrepresented in online panels.) please note

http://forr.com/1einFan

http://www.forrester.com/Analyst-Advisory/-/E-MPL172





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that this was an online survey. respondents who participate in online surveys have in general more experience with the internet and feel more comfortable transacting online. the data are weighted to be representative for the total online population on the weighting targets mentioned, but this sample bias may produce results that differ from Forrester’s offline benchmark survey. the sample was drawn from members of markettools’ online panel, and respondents were motivated by receiving points that could be redeemed for a reward. the sample provided by markettools is not a random sample. While individuals have been randomly sampled from markettools’ panel for this particular survey, they have previously chosen to take part in the markettools online panel.

Forrester conducted the north American technographics customer experience online Survey, Q4 2012 (US) in november 2012 of 7,506 US individuals ages 18 to 88. For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size (n = 7,506), there is 95% confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 1.13% of what they would be if the entire population of US online individuals ages 18 and older had been surveyed. Forrester weighted the data by age, gender, income, broadband adoption, and region to demographically represent the adult US online population. the survey sample size, when weighted, was 7,440. (note: Weighted sample sizes can be different from the actual number of respondents to account for individuals generally underrepresented in online panels.) please note that this was an online survey. respondents who participate in online surveys have in general more experience with the internet and feel more comfortable transacting online. the data is weighted to be representative for the total online population on the weighting targets mentioned, but this sample bias may produce results that differ from Forrester’s offline benchmark survey. the sample was drawn from members of markettools’ online panel, and respondents were motivated by receiving points that could be redeemed for a reward. the sample provided by markettools is not a random sample. While individuals have been randomly sampled from markettools’ panel for this particular survey, they have previously chosen to take part in the markettools online panel.

Forrester conducted the north American technographics customer experience Survey, 2013 in october 2013 of 7,538 US individuals ages 18 to 88. For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size (n = 7,538), there is 95% confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 1.13% of what they would be if the entire population of US online individuals ages 18 and older had been surveyed. Forrester weighted the data by age, gender, income, broadband adoption, and region to demographically represent the adult US online population. the survey sample size, when weighted, was 7,522. (note: Weighted sample sizes can be different from the actual number of respondents to account for individuals generally underrepresented in online panels.) please note that this was an online survey. respondents who participate in online surveys have in general more experience with the internet and feel more comfortable transacting online. the data is weighted to be representative for the total online population on the weighting targets mentioned, but this sample bias may produce results that differ from Forrester’s offline benchmark survey. the sample was drawn from members of an online panel managed by markettools, and respondents were motivated by receiving points that could be redeemed for a reward. the sample provided by markettools is not a random sample. While individuals have been randomly sampled from markettools’ panel for this particular survey, they have previously chosen to take part in the markettools online panel.





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Forrester conducted the north American consumer technographics customer Life cycle Survey 2, 2014 in August 2014 of 4,546 US individuals ages 18 to 86. For results based on a randomly chosen sample of this size, there is 95% confidence that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 1.5% of what they would be if the entire population of US online adults (defined as those online weekly or more often) had been surveyed. Forrester weighted the data by age, gender, income, broadband adoption, and region to demographically represent the adult US online population. the survey sample size, when weighted, was 4,509. (note: Weighted sample sizes can be different from the actual number of respondents to account for individuals generally underrepresented in online panels.) please note that respondents who participate in online surveys generally have more experience with the internet and feel more comfortable transacting online.

Companies Interviewed For This Document

[24]7

Aspect

Avaya

cisco

eGain

Genesys

interactive intelligence

Liveops

Liveperson

Logmein

microsoft parature

moxie

needle

netop

olark

oracle (rightnow)

Salesforce

touchcommerce

velaro

verint

Zendesk

endnotes1 Source: Forrester’s north American technographics customer experience Survey, 2013.

For more information on understanding how to improve your customer service strategy, see the “channel management: core to your customer Service Strategy” Forrester report.

2 of US online adults who have used the phone channel for customer service, 76% report they were satisfied with the experience — the highest proportion satisfied compared to all other channels asked about in Forrester’s north American consumer technographics customer Life cycle Survey 2, 2014. the chat channel ranked fourth with 67% of respondents reporting a satisfying experience. See the “channel management: core to your customer Service Strategy” Forrester report.

3 For example, in a survey of 78 eBusiness and channel strategy professionals, when asked what functions their teams were responsible for, 42% said that they were responsible for digital customer service. See the “Build A Digitally Savvy organization” Forrester report.











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4 proactive chat — triggering of chat invitations based on a predefined set of visitor behavior metrics — achieves quantitative business goals such as increasing conversion rates and revenue per order as well as shortening sales cycles. other goals for industries such as insurance and banking include improving quote or application form completion rates. While reactive chat is more typically applied to customer support goals, proactive chat may also be useful for improving service or offering segmented service to high-value customers. See the “the Six Key elements of proactive chat” Forrester report.

5 verint acquired ciboodle in July 2012, and it has been deeply integrating product lines since this acquisition. Source: Kate Leggett, “more market consolidation As KAnA Software Buys Sword ciboodle. it’s A Sound Strategy, But the proof Will Be in the execution,” Kate Leggett’s Blog, July 10, 2012 (http://blogs.forrester.com/kate_leggett/12-07-10-more_market_consolidation_as_kana_software_buys_sword_ciboodle_its_a_sound_strategy_but_the_proof_wil).

6 to assess the state of the crm suite solutions and see how the vendors stack up against each other, Forrester recently evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of 9 enterprise vendors and 10 midmarket using the Forrester Wave methodology. See the “the Forrester Wave™: crm Suites For Large organizations, Q1 2015” Forrester report and see the “the Forrester Wave™: crm Suites For midsize organizations, Q1 2015” Forrester report.





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