1) The analytics vendor [24]7 announced a new product called [24]7 Assist which combines its real-time analytics capabilities with proactive web chat. 2) [24]7 Assist allows companies to better understand customer needs and determine the most suitable time to initiate a web chat using existing customer data. 3) Ovum predicts that web chat will rapidly become one of the top choices for customer support alongside email and phone.

1. [24]7 Combines Realtime
Analytics with Web Chat
An Ovum Report

2. [24]7 combines realtime
analytics with web chat
Reference Code: TE007-000657
Publication Date: 29 Jan 2013
Author: Aphrodite Brinsmead
OVUM VIEW
Summary
In January 2013 the analytics vendor [24]7 announced a new product, [24]7 Assist, which combines its
realtime analytics capabilities with proactive web chat. The product enables contact centers to better
understand customer needs and determine the most suitable time to initiate a web chat. The vendor
believes that by using existing data to initiate a web chat contact centers will be able to improve the
likelihood of a sale or help a customer with a support issue. It believes that analytics should be the
basis for all customer support interactions, as it can create a personalized and generally better
customer experience. Ovum predicts that web chat will rapidly become one of the top choices for
support, alongside email and phone, and believes that agents will need better guidance for handling
communications across text-based channels. Overall, [24]7 Assist is a timely addition to the vendor’s
predictive multichannel contact center platform.
Web chat is gaining prevalence as a support channel
Customers already begin many of their interactions on the Web or via a smart device, and web chat is a
logical support channel; it offers minimal disruption to their online experience and yet they are able to
obtain personalized, relevant information. Ovum predicts that over the next two to three years web chat
will gain mainstream adoption for support among customers and service centers. Ovum’s market
forecast data suggests that enterprise spending on chat will grow from $271m in 2012 to $325m in
2013, at a rate of 20% in North America and Western Europe. While social media is also taking hold as
a customer support channel, web chat offers a more familiar environment for customers and an easily
manageable platform for agents, who can handle two or three chats simultaneously. It is also easily
integrated with social media, voice, and knowledge articles.
24[7] combines realtime analytics with web chat (TE007-000657) 29 Jan 2013
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3. [24]7 Assist allows customers and agents to connect at the most opportune
times
As [24]7’s Assist solution combines web chat with predictive analytics it can pinpoint the most profitable
or useful point to begin a web chat. Enterprises can track customer behavior on a website before they
engage in a web chat in order to link behavior to questions or to predict the nature of an interaction. By
using existing customer data to assist agents, contact centers can improve customer satisfaction across
any channel. They can route interactions more effectively and provide agents with relevant information,
and help them to determine whether an interaction will be sales support or a technical website issue.
Communications are kept within the enterprise walls, and it is therefore easy to record conversations,
analyze information after the interaction, and ask customers for quick feedback or resolution
satisfaction.
Enterprises will still need to determine how to balance inbound and proactive chat sessions. For
example, they need to decide whether to offer inbound chat to all customers all of the time, or to use
analytics solutions to provide the chat option for particular customers. The addition of realtime analytics
to customer service in general makes it easier to predict customer intentions and offer support when
needed. This will help boost sales and customer satisfaction by giving customers proactive assistance
without bombarding them with requests to chat.
Chat should also be integrated with knowledge management and phone
support
Web chat needs to be linked with existing online channels and enterprise information in order to ensure
a cohesive customer experience. Enterprises should integrate chat with knowledge management, as
well as core routing and phone support. By integrating web chat more fully with customer service,
agents can offer assistance around online technicalities, create cobrowsing sessions to assist with form
completion, and connect to a voice call where appropriate. Chat should ultimately make it easier for
customers to remain in their channel of choice and get support with minimal disruption to their web or
mobile session. However, the customer experience is affected by many different interactions with an
organization. Realtime analytics should be part of a cross-channel contact center strategy rather than
used to improve siloed channel interactions.
APPENDIX
Author
Aphrodite Brinsmead, Senior Analyst, Customer Experience and Interaction
aphrodite.brinsmead@ovum.com
24[7] combines realtime analytics with web chat (TE007-000657) 29 Jan 2013
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4. Further reading
Leveraging Web Chat to Optimize the Customer Experience (January 2013)
2013 Trends to Watch: Customer Experience and Interaction (October 2012)
Disclaimer
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Please note that the findings, conclusions, and recommendations that Ovum delivers will be based on
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