Contact Center Instant Message Routing via Presence Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional contact centers face inefficiencies in managing instant messaging communications, as customers can directly view agent presence and availability, leading to suboptimal resource utilization and increased costs due to repeated unsuccessful contact attempts through other media.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method that includes providing instant message addresses to customers, using presence notification agents to determine and share presence information, and routing instant messages to selected agents for a predetermined period, allowing for proactive customer contact based on availability and reducing unnecessary expenses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If customers directly view agent presence and availability through instant messaging, then customers can initiate contact conveniently, but contact center resource utilization deteriorates and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an instant message director as an intermediary component that sits between customers and agents. This director receives instant messages from customers, determines appropriate routing based on business rules and agent availability, and forwards messages to suitable agents. This mediator prevents direct customer-to-agent connections that would bypass resource management, thereby maintaining ease of customer contact while improving overall resource utilization and reducing costs
2Speed
If conventional contact centers use real-time agent presence detection, then immediate problem resolution is enabled, but repeated unsuccessful contact attempts through multiple media increase expenses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having the instant message director proactively determine agent availability and route messages before customers attempt multiple contact methods. The system pre-assesses agent presence and skill matching, queues messages appropriately, and delivers them when suitable agents are available. This preliminary routing action prevents the need for repeated unsuccessful contact attempts across multiple communication media, reducing energy loss and expenses while maintaining fast problem resolution
3Adaptability or versatility
If customers add contact center instant message addresses to their buddy lists, then direct communication is enabled, but unmanaged message volume overwhelms agent resources
Solution Approach 1:
The instant message director serves as a mediator that receives all incoming messages from customers who have added contact center addresses to their buddy lists. Instead of allowing direct unmanaged connections to agents, the director intercepts messages, applies business rules for routing decisions, and distributes messages to appropriate agents based on current availability and skill matching. This intermediary layer maintains the adaptability of direct communication while preventing agent resource overload through intelligent message management
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides various contact center embodiments for interacting with customers using instant messaging. In one embodiment, the contact center is configured to receive instant message notifications from a customer when the customer is available for contact by instant messaging. In another embodiment, the contact center is configured to route sessionless instant messages only to a selected agent for a specified period of time. In another embodiment, the contact center is configured to provide to customers presence information for administered instant message addresses before the customers contact the contact center. In another embodiment, the contact center is configured to perform an outbound instant messaging campaign or alert with customers.