Answer Engine and Dialog Rules for Remote SME Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional customer service systems face challenges in efficiently utilizing subject matter experts (SMEs) in retail and business establishments for providing support services, as they are often not leveraged for remote customer support, leading to suboptimal customer service experiences and increased costs due to reliance on outsourced agents who may not fully understand customer issues.
Innovation Solution
A service center system that enables SMEs to provide remote support services via a mobile application, utilizing an answer engine and dialog rules to identify relevant questions and provide answers, and initiate live support sessions, allowing them to assist customers through various communication channels while maintaining their in-person roles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional contact centers use outsourced agents to handle customer calls, then the number of available support agents increases, but the quality of customer service deteriorates because outsourced agents do not fully understand customer issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables retail associates to perform dual functions: providing in-person support at the retail location and providing remote support via mobile device. This multi-functionality allows the same personnel to serve both roles, increasing the effective number of support agents while maintaining service quality through the use of subject matter experts who understand the products and customers.
2Reliability
If retail associates are trained by the manufacturer to provide support services, then the quality of support improves, but the cost of training and deployment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables retail associates to independently provide remote support services using their own mobile devices and the support application. They can access customer information, product details, and troubleshooting resources without requiring extensive manufacturer training or deployment, thereby reducing training costs while maintaining support quality through on-demand access to expert information.
3Reliability
If SMEs are leveraged for remote customer support, then customer service quality improves, but the complexity of coordinating in-person and remote roles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile application integrates multiple support functions into a single platform, allowing SMEs to seamlessly switch between in-person and remote support modes. The system automatically manages customer context, product information, and communication channels, reducing the coordination complexity while enabling high-quality service from subject matter experts.
4Adaptability or versatility
If traditional teleconference support is used, then customer service coverage is limited to phone calls, but the versatility of support channels remains insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The support application provides multiple communication channels including voice calls, text messaging, and video conferencing within a single platform. This multi-channel capability increases service coverage and versatility, allowing customers to choose their preferred communication method while maintaining comprehensive support availability.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, a self-service system is to provide self-support knowledgebase (KB) information to allow users to navigate the self-support KB. A monitor is to track user interaction with the self-support KB while a user navigates through the self-support KB. An answer engine is to receive a query from the user to ask a question and in response to the query, to identify a predefined response to the query in view of a set of dialog rules. The answer engine is to transmit one or more related questions that the user will likely ask based on the dialog rules and the user interaction. The answer engine further transmits an invitation to allow the user to initiate a live support session after a predetermined condition has been satisfied.