Web-Based Click-To-Contact Screen-Pop for Merchant CTI
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Small and medium-sized businesses cannot afford or implement computer telephone integration (CTI) systems due to their high cost and requirement for dedicated agents, making it impractical for them to provide personalized customer service.
Innovation Solution
A third-party hosted, Internet-based method that allows customers to initiate contact with merchant agents through a 'click-to-contact' link, where customer information is entered and sent to a third-party server, which then communicates with the merchant's instant messaging client to facilitate interactive communications, including phone calls, using ANI or caller-ID information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a CTI system is implemented to provide personalized customer service through screen-pop functionality, then customer service quality is improved, but system cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a third-party hosted service as an intermediary between the customer's web browser and the merchant's CTI system. This service receives customer information via web forms, performs screen-pop lookups, and initiates calls through the merchant's existing telephony system, thereby eliminating the need for merchants to deploy complex CTI infrastructure while maintaining personalized service capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified web-based interface that replicates the functionality of traditional CTI screen-pop systems. Instead of requiring merchants to implement complex hardware and software, the solution uses web forms and HTML interfaces that mimic the customer information collection and display capabilities of conventional CTI systems, making the technology accessible to small and medium-sized businesses
2Productivity
If a CTI system with dedicated agents is deployed to handle customer calls, then customer service capability is improved, but operational cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables customers to initiate and control the interaction process themselves by filling out web forms and providing contact information. The system automatically routes calls based on customer preferences and availability, reducing the need for large teams of dedicated agents while maintaining service capability
Solution Approach 2:
The third-party hosted service provides a universal platform that can serve multiple merchants and customers through a single infrastructure. Instead of each merchant requiring dedicated agents and systems, the shared service handles multiple clients, distributing operational costs across a broader base and reducing per-merchant expenses
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method establish interactive communications between a merchant and a customer via a third party. A merchant computer provides a link to a customer computer via a computer network for accessing a data entry element on the customer computer. The data entry element facilitates entry of customer information for sending to a third-party server at a contact time to initiate merchant communications. The merchant computer receives from the third party server, generally at the contact time, customer information comprising at least one of calling history, the customer information entered into the data entry element, customer information from a data source, and demographic information. The merchant computer accesses the customer information for determining whether to engage in interactive communications with the customer generally at the contact time. The merchant engages in interactive communications with the customer generally at the contact time when it is determined to do so.