ICMI's Customer Management Insight - January 2008 - (Page 26)

O P E R AT I O N S KM Vendors Here are some of the vendors making an impact on call centers with KM tools: ATG AUTONOMY INQUIRA KANA KNOVA THE BRAIN TECHNOLOGIES RIGHTNOW TECHNOLOGIES www.atg.com www.autonomy.com www.inquira.com www.kana.com www.knova.com www.thebrain.com www.rightnow.com There are many other vendors offering products that provide KM-like capabilities, products that combine CRM and KM, and tools that consolidate desktop applications while providing KM functions. The market is rich with products but not all are full-featured KM. to specific questions. Scripted answers can provide recommended alternatives or content to conduct cross-sell/upsell activities in a contact center. KM can also be used to drive the agent to specific content in scenarios where an organization has multiple product lines. This ability to narrow in on the relevant content can be useful when trying to create larger skill groups and reduce the number of specialized agents. Not only can the question be answered, but the system can present other related information (more context) to drive additional value to the customer. CREATE AND MANAGE KNOWLEDGE An important aspect of KM is capturing and authoring knowledge, also known as “creating solutions. ” In the contact center, an agent can be presented with a challenging question that may not have an answer readily available. In this instance, the problem requires a deeper level of research to find the answer. Finding the answer presicmi’s insight ents the opportunity for others to benefit from the research or the opportunity to formally document the solution, whether from other agents or customers. Many KM systems contain automated workflow tools that allow someone to author a new solution. The system can be designed for agents to complete a template in which they present the original question and the answer or solution identified through the research. The initial draft of the solution can then be assigned to subject-matter experts, or “knowledge managers, ” to validate and edit the solution. Some systems include escalation and expiration settings so items are not left idle in the workflow. The workflow tool can assign multiple points of approval and editing (e.g., legal, corporate communications, marketing, etc.) depending on where the information will be published: internally or externally on a Web site. Most systems include the ability to set variables within the tool to define who has access to the new solution. Best practices include: > When creating solutions, document questions in the context in which the customer presented the question. Use the terminology the customer uses to reflect the way other customers will likely present questions. > Avoid documenting the question in agent vernacular or internal company lingo. It is very easy to pose questions using terms and acronyms the business understands instead of documenting them in language the customer understands. > Many KM systems allow the users to build synonym databases or add vocabulary that improves the search process. For example, a company can build industry specific vocabularies (e.g., automotive, healthcare, or financial). These features make the connection between how a customer poses questions and the way the company uses specific terms and acronyms. The importance of examining customer behavior and the way they ask questions becomes critical when it’s time to consider extending the KM to customers for self-help. M KCS Best Practices and Standards Leaders and interested parties from many large organizations formed the Consortium for Service Innovation (www.serviceinnovation.org) to develop best practices and industry standards focused on KCS. The Web site provides a more complete view of the benefits of implementing KCS. www.icmi.com | JANUARY 2008 26 http://www.atg.com http://www.autonomy.com http://www.inquira.com http://www.kana.com http://www.knova.com http://www.thebrain.com http://www.rightnow.com http://www.serviceinnovation.org http://www.icmi.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ICMI's Customer Management Insight - January 2008

ICMI's Customer Management Insight - January 2008 Contents Customer Care Technologies Ad Index Editor's Page Contact Center Spotlight People: Prehire Tests In The Center Strategy: Video Contact Centers Show Preview Operations: Knowledge Management Industry Research Contact Centers Face Today's Realities: A Case for Consolidation 2.0 Is Your Agent Training Process Evolving with the Role? The Key to Innovation Is Maintaining Your Strengths Becoming Strategic: Using Customer Contact Analytics to Empower the Contact Center's Role

ICMI's Customer Management Insight - January 2008

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