Summer 2008

Does online selling absolve retailers of the need to have direct contact with customers? No, says contact centre software specialist Talisma, which has launched a new solution specifically for such retailers.

It is called Talisma CIM Solutions for Online Retail, and aims to help e-tailers increase sales and customer satisfaction by assisting customers at the point of need. Its tools include a range of resources such as self-service, chat, email, phone, and VoIP (internet telephony).

Backing up the need for such a system, the company cites the comments of Forrester vice president and principal analyst Chip Gliedman. In a report this year entitled The ROI of Interactive Chat, he is reported as saying: 'Too many companies sit passively by while prospects on the verge of buying abandon their online shopping carts or applications, potentially never to return. Smart organisations are evaluating the merits of adding chat and other interactive functions.'

Talisma reckons there are many possible benefits, including every retailer's basic objective of increased sales – achieved through 'targeted, real-time, and personalised offers'. It says the ability to answer last-minute questions during the buying process greatly reduces abandonment rates.