The Power of Intelligent Communications in Retailing
Top retailers around the world rely on Avaya to deliver proven, industry-leading Intelligent Communications solutions to drive sales and enhance service. |
Retailers are on the frontlines of today’s digital, “always-on” consumer revolution. Easy access to product and price comparisons, and the knowledge that a competitive offering is just a click away, empowers consumers with more leverage and resources than ever before.
To succeed, today’s retailer needs to focus on enhancing the quality of every customer interaction and take nothing for granted.
Even having the customer inside the store is no longer the advantage that it once was. A slight delay in in-store communication (e.g., not getting a timely response from a sales associate) can send a customer back on the street and into the arms of a competitor.
Retailers are leaders in IP
That’s why retailers are using the new communications technologies based on IP telephony. Whether the customer is online, on the phone or in the store, IP telephony will provide enhanced communications capabilities that can keep the customer engaged and ready to buy. The power of IP Telephony is in evidence throughout today’s retail environment:
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- It’s at work in contact centers where agents move seamlessly between the phone, instant messaging, live chat and other tools—whether the agent is working inside a traditional contact center or at home.
- It’s there inside the store where customers use strategically placed IP phones to get information, request help or even complete transactions. In turn, the associate can use IP-enabled, in-store wireless devices to communicate with experts who have the right answers.
- IP Telephony is at work making retail executives more productive—enabling them to turn their cell phones or laptops into a desk phone.
- And IP telephony is what makes it possible to embed communications capabilities directly into business processes, such as inventory management, using high level, composite Web services.
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Learn More
Case Studies
Intelligent Communications in Retail
Hosted Voice Solutions
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Enhancing retail processes and customer experiences
Avaya Intelligent Communications solutions provided by Consolidated Technologies, Inc. go beyond basic connectivity and make it possible to use communications to enhance retail processes and customer experiences.
As both a global leader in IP-based Intelligent Communications and a leader in the implementation of retail communications solutions, Avaya is uniquely positioned to deliver these capabilities. Avaya retail solutions at work today for Tiger Online (see the Case Studies) and many other retailers and wholesalers provide powerful demonstrations of the advanced capabilities that Avaya can deliver right now to enhance the customer experience.
The new, IP-based sales and service center
Handling sales and service requests quickly, accurately and cost-effectively is critical to building a better customer experience. Avaya delivers intelligent call routing capabilities that minimize hold times, quickly delivering the right call to the agent best equipped to handle it, regardless of where the agent is located.
A variety of databases can be integrated with agent desktops so agents are equipped with real-time access to customer buying history, current inventory, product comparisons and other information to make them better able to build sales, cross-sell and deliver faster service.
Web and voice portal self-service systems can be integrated into the contact center, so inquiries and transactions begun via the Web or a voice portal can be resumed by a live agent, right where the customer left off.
Agents can work from any location and still be centrally managed—providing stores with cost-effective options for providing 24/7 sales and service capabilities. Separate contact center facilities can be integrated into a single virtual operation, pooling agents to minimize customer wait time and routing the caller to the facility and agent best able to address the call—based upon not only the customer need, but also upon the retailer’s segmentation of that customer.
Transforming the in-store experience
A fully integrated Avaya Intelligent Communications solution provided by CTI offers numerous opportunities to transform the in-store customer experience.
Surveys show that customers will actually abandon a sale when they can’t find the right help. Retailers are leveraging their IP phones and wireless devices to provide customers with product, price and inventory information. Customers can request assistance from store or remote associates and initiate communication when appropriate. They can even use their credit cards to complete transactions without waiting on check-out lines.
Wireless-enabled mobile workers
Because most retail employees are mobile, intelligent communications capabilities can greatly increase productivity.
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OVERVIEW
Online, on the phone or in the store, CTI and Avaya
deliver the Intelligent
Communications
capabilities retailers need:
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Wireless phones for sales associates to handle their communications from anywhere on the sales floor.
Mobility solutions that keep managers in touch—using their cell phone as their office phone and putting softphone capabilities on their laptop.
Customer applications that work on wired or wireless IP phones and devices.
Advanced call routing and multimedia contact center capabilities so customers are treated right at every touch point.
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- Store managers can use any phone and simple speech commands to manage messages and perform communication functions, such as conferencing, directory access and calendar management, regardless of their location. They can also set their cellular phones to ring simultaneously when their office extensions are dialed, resulting in fewer missed calls and faster customer service.
- Sales associates equipped with wireless phones and other communication-enabled wireless devices can work with customers, never leaving their side while they communicate with others to fulfill the customer’s needs and answer questions. Help requests from call boxes can be received by associates as they move throughout the store.
- Avaya Intelligent Communications solutions also support more effective prioritization/management of communications—customers can directly call specific store associates who are best able to serve them. Other calls can be routed to an IVR or centralized support group for optimal service.
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Responding to changing sales conditions
Retailing is a fast-moving industry—being unable to respond to a surge in customer demand for a hot product is not a place retailers want to be. Monitoring the supply chain and averting stock-outs call for real-time communication capabilities. That’s why Avaya and CTI provide a way for retailers to integrate communications capabilities into business processes through customizable Web services. Retailers can use Avaya Communications Enabled Business Processes (CEBP) to add event-driven, intelligent communications capabilities directly to inventory (and other) applications. When a potential stock-out in a particular store or warehouse is recognized through a bar code, POS or RFID system, it can trigger an automated replenishment message or automatically initiate live conversation if that is the most expedient way to handle a situation. Managers can monitor the progress of responses towards resolution.
Avaya IP Phones
Avaya/CTI retail solutions take advantage of the latest Avaya IP Telephones. With a large color display and sleek, contemporary look, the Avaya phones are both visually impressive and able to support sales associates, managers and customers in handling a wide array of transactions.
Deploy quickly, scale easily, manage effectively
Avaya and CTI give you the tools to rapidly deploy communications to new store locations, without the need for highly trained, on-site personnel. Special Avaya deployment features include: |
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- A streamlined ordering process that integrates preinstallation configuration and production to deliver a virtually ready-to-use platform directly to your store location.
- Simple ways to create pre-configured profiles, including a powerful Web-based Profile Assistant, simplifying and speeding system setup.
- Program Management and staging implementation services help ensure store communication systems are available on time and with the highest level of quality.
- Centralized management tools can lower your total cost of ownership. Stores can make changes once and apply them to hundreds or even thousands of locations, for example, when store hours change during the holiday season.
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Security and flexibility
Shoppers need the assurance that their communications are private and protected. Any breach that would allow confidential customer information to be divulged would be devastating to a retailer. The Avaya architecture is designed to help provide secure, encrypted communications between all endpoints and throughout the system without sacrificing performance.
Avaya enhances the flexibility of retail communications through its embrace of open standards and multivendor interoperability. For example, Avaya’s use of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) allows you to easily take advantage of greater flexibility in development of communication-related applications/systems, leveraging Web services and SOA.
Over 4,000 DevConnect partners worldwide enable Avaya to incorporate the latest innovations in emerging technologies to provide you a retail solution that uniquely supports your company, employees and customers.
To find out how CTI can help your retail organization enhance and protect your vital communications, or to schedule a FREE, no obligation evaluation of your current communications system, please contact your CTI Retailing Team at 914-935-6086.
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