SearchCRM.com today has several industry analysts making predictions for 2007. In the piece, John Ragsdale, formerly of Forrester, now of the SSPA, says “ATG’s acquisition of click-to-call specialist eStara … provide online self-service with a new channel. This seamless transition from unassisted to assisted service provides an incredible customer experience. SSPA expects both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) companies to begin adopting this technology in 2007 for high-value customers, both pre- and post-sale.”

Two points are noteworthy: First, he is right about the growth. We definitely see very rapid growth in this area. Second, the note about “both pre- and post-sale” is perhaps understated. We find that our customers are generally much more interested in the upside potential of higher revenue volume through higher conversion rates than in the cost savings on call time. Call times are reduced when the context the customer is experiencing is given to the agent – what page or product they’re looking at, their prior purchase or service history, etc. Conversion rates are increased (sometimes as much as 50% or more) when the site notices the shopper’s confusion or indecision (hovering on the checkout page, for example) or when high ticket items are researched or placed in the cart. Providing a little live personal attention at just the right time proves to have a huge payoff.