Enterprise Instant Message: An Emerging Technology Trend in Customer Service for 2015

One of the earliest internet-based tools for communicating is Instant Messenger, and it is looking like it may become one of the top trends for businesses in 2015. Anonymous and buddy-based chats don't seem like appropriate tools for customer service communications, but enterprise instant messaging offers effective customer service tools that meet the evolving needs of your customers.

Meet Enterprise Instant Messaging

Companies can't have employees using personal IM applications to provide customer support. While these IM apps are efficient and easy to use, they also may expose companies to unnecessary risks. As they are hosted on the public Internet, the potential for theft of sensitive data is high. Because of the risks of using traditional IM applications for customer support, Enterprise Instant Messaging has emerged: IM that can be hosted within a private network.

One of the main reasons Enterprise IM has been somewhat overlooked is simply because companies haven’t realized the benefits.

Benefits of Enterprise Instant Messaging

Speed. Instant Messaging is fast, obviously, and a particularly good tool for real-time communication. Undoubtedly, IM is the quickest, most efficient way to get clarification on an item or ask for assistance with a problem. Instant messaging is immediate and can provide a less intimidating setting for dealing with customer service.

Good Customer Relations. When agents are able to provide quick solutions and prompt responses to inquiries, the customer will be satisfied. Happy customers continue to buy your products, and may even start purchasing other products or services that your company offers.

Traceable. Need to review the communication between your agent and the customer? It’s archived. EIM conversations are stored so managers or agents can refer to them later.

Imagine: your customer service rep is sending e-mails back and forth with a customer about an issue they have. After a good bit of back-and-forth, it is obvious that an instant message conversation would probably be easier. Rather than try to coordinate on a mutually-used IM application, exchange contact information and send friend requests your agent can set up a chat and send the link. Private, easy, and most importantly: traceable.

Votocall's Enterprise instant messaging enables instant messaging with the security, manageability, and reliability required for enterprise communications. OCS 2007 has the capability to log and archive all instant message traffic passing through the server and to create Call Detail Records for conferences and voice.