Collaborative browsing or co-browsing allows two or more people to browse various web pages together. It has a high level of involvement in the customer service sector. A contact center agent can access the web browser on the customer or caller’s digital device and guide them to perform a particular action. It improves customer experience as it is a form of hands-on trainingand empowers the customer to solve a similar problem in the future through self-service. It also allows the contact center to gather a vast amount of useful information about the customer.
Co-browsing improves the efficiency of the contact center, has a positive impact on revenue and bottom line of the company and improves the customer satisfaction leading to a healthier relationship. If a customer calls a service contact center asking for troubleshooting tips, the customer service executive can engage the customer better by directly accessing their web browser and showing them directly how their query can be handled.
For example, if you are filling an online application form for buying an insurance policy and you get stuck at a particular field, you can immediately call or text your insurance agent to look at the problem. If you set up a co-browsing session, the agent can tell you what has to be entered into the field and also guide you towards the completion of the form. All this happens remotely and without wastage of any time.
It is a software-based technique which generates a onetime access code and allows the customer executive to see the customer’s computer screen. If necessary, the identity of the customer can be kept completely anonymous. Technology transforms a problem area into an area of opportunity for the company and drives customer engagement. Collaborative browsing also allows the parties to use multiple channels of communication simultaneously and alternatively improving efficiency. They can use communication mediums like voice calls, text, web chat, social media engagement or even use click-to-call or click-to-view functions available on a digital page of a website.
Co-browsing allows both the interacting parties to enjoy a lot of authority without compromising their right to privacy. However, most customers don’t mind giving the contact center access to vital navigational or online purchase information because this allows the contact centers to customize their service to suit the customer or a particular context. This reduces chances of disputes and future need for resolution of a problem.
How to improve effectiveness of co-browsing for better customer engagement?
A problem solving session through collaborative browsing will only be successful if the company has the right technology to carry out the session and personnel with the right skills to solve the problem. While the company will have to upgrade its technologies that give it the leverage to carry out joint browsing sessions with customers, it will also need to a proper framework in place so that the problems are routed to the right person with the knowledge and skills to solve this problem. That is the only way that collaborative browsing would be effective.
Not only this, a knowledge portal or repository will have to be maintained at all times which can be accessed by the agent in case they find a problem, to which they have no answer. The company also needs to have the foresight to envision problems that can arise from utilization of its products and services and have the ability to solve them. These solutions will have to be fed into the knowledge management system to keep it up to date.
Customer needs as well as the technology used for co-browsing will continue to change and evolve with time. It is the responsibility of the company management to provide proper training to its agents so that they are equipped to solve customer problems in a time-bound manner. Successful rate of resolution is a metric which will give an idea to the company management if its training processes are up to date and adequate.
Advantages of Co-browsing in Call Centers:
Contact centers which use co-browsing see a steady increase in revenue and a commensurate decrease in costs. The referrals also grow exponentially as more and more customers are satisfied. They don’t have to waste time in navigating through cumbersome keypad based menus and also don’t need to spend time in call queues. Companies who adopt co-browsing manage to reduce call volumes by almost half.
Productivity of call center agents rises phenomenally as they don’t have to make repeat calls to solve a single problem and communicating is much easier. Average handling time also reduces significantly. That means that they can focus on more revenue generating operations which are more challenging. This boosts their morale. So, it is a win-win for all stakeholders.
If you are worried about the rise in customer complaints, lack of revenue growth or decrease in employee productivity, it is advised that you immediately make your contact center adopt co-browsing as a problem resolution technique. You will see steady improvement in all the performance parameters of your company.
