As the world goes mobile, more companies are taking advantage of multimodal customer care that lets customers use their cell phones or other mobile devices to access the full range of multichannel service options. In this new, faster-paced era of care, customers can switch back and forth between applications on the fly, depending on their preferences or specific needs at that moment in time, and all within a single session. 

The drivers of this phenomenon are simple and compelling. 

Businesses that offer multimodal service can better manage the customer experience, delivering a sophisticated, personalized, yet lower-cost level of care that boosts customer satisfaction and loyalty. When coupled with customer analytics and intelligent decisioning solutions that can leverage customer profile data in real time within interactions, multimodal applications open up new opportunities to improve the customer experience. These improvements can range from offering products and services that precisely match customers' hot buttons and improve the odds of a new sale, enhancing the service experience, or improving loyalty through effective retention actions. In today’s economy, no business objective is more important than keeping customers happy, on board, and buying more. 

If there are any doubters who think mobility and its long-term impact on customer care are just a passing fad, consider the following eye-opening statistics:

• Momentum. The number of wireless subscribers now exceeds 4 billion worldwide. This number represents 60 percent of the entire global population today, and it is double the percentage in 2005.
  
• Communications Transformation. According to research by the Federal Communications Commission, one out of every six telephone users in the U.S. has disconnected his or her wireline phone and is now entirely reliant on a mobile device for voice communications. The numbers are even higher in Europe and growing worldwide.
  
• Ubiquity. In some countries, mobile phones provide the only means of instant connectivity and, thus, have a dramatic impact on economic and social fortunes of their users. In a few other countries, mobiles are so ubiquitous that the penetration is at 100 percent or more of all potential users.
  
• More than Just a Phone. More than 70 percent of the cell phones sold support data services and Web browsing. Experts predict further proliferation of such capabilities fueled by the success of iPhone and other smartphones. 
  

Advanced Wireless Networks Open the Door to Improved Care

Most new, high-speed wireless networks and their compatible phones either provide support for simultaneous voice and data connections now, or are quickly moving in that direction. With simultaneous voice/data, a Web browser or other data transfer means can be used during a voice call. 

At this time, only the 3G GSM (or 3.5G) networks can provide those capabilities. Since globally almost 90 percent of subscribers use GSM-based networks, simultaneous voice and data capabilities are becoming available when the networks are upgraded to the 3G level. In the U.S., wireless companies that still use CDMA technology have long-term plans for new technologies, including 3GPP LTE and WiMAX, that should provide similar connectivity capabilities to GSM.

Simultaneous voice and data connections enable multimodal interactions and make multimodal self-service applications a reality. Such applications are highly diverse and can provide a gateway to multiple interactions from the simple starting point of a help-desk self-service interaction. For example, the customer can fill in a problem ticket or get voice and visual instructions, switch to m-commerce for product specification information, get voice upselling presented in response to voice search or navigation, and then engage workforce automation, such as repairman reports, instructions, and sales tools.

Multimodal applications must allow the user to respond through the interface most suitable to the step and the context of the interaction. Consider an application that has voice as well as screen and keyboard interfaces. Customers will usually favor the most effective interface for the step. For example, they might make a voice request to avoid excessive typing. Then they might click on a list or map on the screen instead of listening to long descriptions of the available options.

The context of the interaction might dramatically influence the choice of interfaces. Customers might be reluctant to make voice requests while in a crowded place and typing might be an appreciated alternative. On the other hand, it is usually difficult to focus on a screen while walking. When driving, the use of a keypad might be unlawful and should generally be avoided, so a voice request is the better choice.

Making Multimodal Work 

The key to making multimodal work is the effective synchronization of supported modalities. To achieve this synchronization, a multimodal application must incorporate a server-side logic that is analogous to a Web server, accepting inputs from all modalities and taking necessary actions to refresh corresponding presentations such as voice prompts and dynamic Web capabilities. Equally important, the application must maintain the integrity of the multimodal interaction during and within the session, no matter how many times the customer changes its context.

Companies can choose from among a range of platforms. Those most suitable for multimodal applications usually provide server-side logic execution, abilities to render dynamic voice markups in recognized standards including CCXML and VoiceXML, and integration with dynamic Web page technologies such as those based on AJAX. SCXML (State Chart XML), an emerging standard, can also be used to synchronize the data and voice networks during a multimodal interaction. SCXML permits an elegant separation of the user interface from back-end business logic and network connectivity. Service providers can retain selected current applications, rewrite others as needed, and leverage those resources as they gradually evolve their businesses. The use of SCXML also enables third-party applications providers to rapidly and easily integrate new solutions into this IP-capable platform. 

What if your mobile operator’s service isn’t on a 3G or advanced network yet? You can still offer customers a multichannel experience. An alternative approach is to leverage multiple modalities without trying to apply them simultaneously. This is a viable answer for networks and phones without support for simultaneous voice and data connectivity. It is also a practical graceful “degradation strategy” for multimodal applications that have to react to the loss of a 3G signal or one of the modalities. 

Text messaging (SMS) is a classic example of multimodality handled one step at a time. Most of the current mobile phones and networks support SMS. Despite being limited to simple capping at approximately 160 characters, text messaging enjoys wide popularity and is frequently offered in economical packages such as flat fee unlimited messaging. 

SMS text messaging is replacing voice calls and voicemail in some segments of the population. According to Nielsen Mobile’s research, U.S. teens ages 13–17 now send or receive 1,742 text messages per month on average (compared to making or receiving 231 mobile phone calls). It is safe to assume that their current texting preference will shape the future of personal communications. SMS is also a foundation of various commercial and social interactions, such as voting for your favorite celebrity on reality TV shows or interacting with political campaigns.

In self-service applications, a text message can bridge modalities and provide interaction continuity. For example, a speech-enabled travel reservation application can offer to send an SMS with an itinerary URL at the conclusion of the voice call. The user can then click on the URL in the SMS to access a Web page with the itinerary.

Let’s now assume that after the initial reservation call, the system monitors all open itineraries for flight cancellations or delays. When an itinerary impact is detected, an SMS-based notification can alert the customer and provide an agent phone number to call to make necessary adjustments. Many mobile handsets recognize URLs and phone numbers in SMS messages, and provide a one-click hot link to use them.

Finally, a self-service application can use text messaging alone to accept user requests and conduct additional interactions, without any voice or other modalities. This is the premise of some of the m-government or commercial applications. In some cases, such applications greatly improve the usability by leveraging Web-based self-provisioning to define the abbreviations later exchanged in text messages. For example, a food delivery order can depend on user-directed names such as “football party”, or more likely “fbpt,” that correspond to the actual order details specified previously through the Web self-provisioning interface.

Look to the Future

Although some companies might feel reluctant to adopt new technologies during the current economic environment, they could miss a major growth opportunity if they ignore the momentum of multimodal applications. The catalyst behind multimodal care is the rising generation of “Millennial” customers, younger customers numbering some 80 million in the U.S. alone.

Similar to the way Baby Boomers grew up in the television era, Millennials were born into the age of the Web and the wireless device. Millennials are the driving force behind the rising popularity of customer care that is available anywhere, any time, and in any format.  Companies that leverage the rapid convergence of IP technologies and wireless ubiquity to deliver multimodal customer care will hold the keys to attracting, retaining, and optimizing this fast growing niche, which one day soon will be the world’s largest and most lucrative body of customers. 

Bogdan Blaszczak is director of product management in Convergys’ Relationship Technology Management (RTM) line of business. He became a part of Convergys via the Intervoice acquisition. He joined Intervoice in 1988 and was the creator of the IQTalk application engine still used in legacy Intervoice IVRs. He has worked as a key developer and product management lead on a variety of contact center solutions, including the first release of the VoiceXML browser for the Intervoice Voice Portal. Before joining Intervoice, Bogdan developed medical software, compilers, and computer games. 

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