WO2003030505A2

WO2003030505A2 - Method of contacting a party using multiple media

Info

Publication number: WO2003030505A2
Application number: PCT/US2002/030959
Authority: WO
Inventors: Karl A. Walder
Original assignee: Inventions, Inc.
Priority date: 2001-10-01
Filing date: 2002-09-27
Publication date: 2003-04-10
Also published as: WO2003030505A3; AU2002334724A1

Abstract

A method for using alternative media (sending a letter, a facsimile, an e-mail, placing a telephone call, a short message (SMS)) to establish communication with a party especially when contact with the party must be made as quickly as possible, such as in emergency or possible fraudulent credit card use situations. A first communication is initiated (205) using a first media and if the desired result is not achieved (215) then at least a second communication is initiated (235), preferably using at least one different media. Typically, but not necessarily, the desired result is considered not to have been achieved if contact with the party has not been established within a certain time. A contact strategy is employed to determine the communication methods based upon the type of triggering event and, in some cases, the customer contact preferences. Some types of triggering events are emergency, urgent, routine, and bulk.

Description

METHOD FOR ASSURING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMUNICATION

Priority Claim

This patent application claims the priority of US Patent Application No. 60/326285 filed October 1, 2001.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to communications techniques and, more particularly, to establishing communications when a desired party is not at a primary contact point.

Background of the Invention

It is frequently necessary to contact a party for a variety of reasons. For example, a business may want to contact a customer or potential customer to market goods or services, to respond to a service request from the customer, or to alert the customer of a problem such as suspected fraudulent activity or a medical emergency. However, it is often difficult to establish a communication with a party. It is frequently the case where an attempted communication is unsuccessful and merely attempting again to contact the party will also be unsuccessful because the media used for the attempted communication is temporarily or permanently disabled or because the media used will direct the communication to a particular location and the party is not at that location. For example, mailing a first letter to a party and then a later second letter to the party may fail to establish a communication with the party if the party is not checking his mail or has moved to a new address.

In addition, different methods of communication entail different costs to the party attempting to establish the communication. Costs vary for the notification of a party as well as the processing of the response. Generally, communication by an agent over the telephone is quite expensive as an agent can handle only one customer at a time over the telephone, but communication with a customer by an agent via email is typically less expensive, and of course when a customer needs no agent assistance, the communication is cheapest of all. For example, employing persons to personally contact and communicate with the party via telephone, such as to make collections calls about overdue bills and receive return calls, is typically more expensive than sending a form letter to such a party and allowing the party to send payment via postal mail. Likewise, the value of establishing a communication may vary depending on the purpose and content of the communication. For example, the establishment of a communication with a party who is merely one of a large pool of potential customers, as part of a marketing campaign, may be of relatively small value to the party seeking to establish the communication because the establishment of a single communication is unlikely to lead to a sale. On the other hand, if the communication relates to an emergency situation, such as a medical emergency, suspected fraudulent activity, or a critical safety- related notification or recall, the value of establishing the communication may be relatively high. Thus, the cost of attempting to establish a communication may vary depending upon the particular method used and the value (or cost) of establishing the communication (or failing to establish the communication) depending upon the purpose and content of the cornmunication.

Attempting to establish a communication of high value may justify the use of more expensive communication methods but these methods may not be justified for low value communications. For example, establishing a communication by sending a letter overnight express may be justifiable for an important time-sensitive communication, but not economically justifiable for a relatively unimportant communication that is not time sensitive.

The time sensitive nature of establishing the communication may also vary. For example, in the case of suspected fraud or a medical emergency the establishment of a communication may be very time-sensitive, whereas a communication regarding a future sale as part of a marketing campaign may be less time sensitive.

Systems have been developed which attempt to establish a communication with a party. For example, autodialer machines manned by contact agents have been used for telemarketing or collection purposes. These systems typically automatically dial a party as part of a call list. If the party does not answer, the autodialer calls the party back at a later time. One limitation of such systems is that they typically do not provide for multiple communication channels or allow for the selection of specific communication channels according to the particular situation. For example, most systems will simply attempt to establish communication either by telephone or fax, but not both, and if a cornmunication is not established, they will place another call or send another fax to the party. Thus, such prior art devices do not allow for the establishment of communications which use a plurality of communication methods or provide for different communication methods which change depending on different variables such as the importance of the party, the value of the communication, and the costs associated with different communication methods, such as the costs of notifying the party and providing a response.

Such prior art systems typically provide the contacted party with only a single or a few methods of response. For example, in the collections environment prior art systems use postal dunning letters or outbound dialing campaigns to notify a party of an overdue bill, and the party's responsive communication methods consist of either a payment sent by mail or an inbound call to the agent in which the party promises to pay. However, different parties may desire to receive notification or respond to the notification in different ways. For example, one party may desire to have personal interaction with an agent to discuss the issue, while another party may prefer to have little or no interaction with an agent and prefers a self-help method of responding.

Furthermore, the costs associated with different response communication methods vary widely. For example, the cost of using agents to interact with customers is more expensive than the costs associated with methods which allow a customer to respond with little or no agent supervision ("self-help").

Thus, there is a need for a method which effectively establishes communication with a party by using different communication methods.

There is also a need for a method which initiates communication by different media, channels or methods.

There is also a need for a method of communication which provides a customer with differing levels of assistance.

There is also a need for a method in which a contacting party can determine both the notification rales for notifying a party and the response rules for the response of the party. In other words, there is a need for a method which allows for the selection of communication methods to be used by the contacting party and the contacted party.

There is also a need for a method which provides for differing levels of agent interaction. For example, agent interaction for service or revenue generating business such as sales, marketing and distribution may be justifiable, whereas other business processes, as customer service, may not justify the cost of such interaction. Summary Of The Invention

The present invention solves the communication problem by attempting to contact the party using different media. In one embodiment, a first communication is initiated using a first media and if the desired result is not achieved, typically, but not necessarily, establishing the communication with the party within a certain time, then at least a second communication is initiated, preferably using at least one different media. Merely attempting to communicate using a single media may not be successful, especially on a timely basis, because the party may be traveling, or away from the location to where the communication is directed, and thus the party will not be able to receive the first or any subsequent attempted communications using that media. Thus, the present invention provides for using alternative media to establish a timely communication with the party.

Therefore, the present invention provides for establishing contact with a desired party, even under adverse conditions which might normally delay or prevent the establishment of the contact. The present invention also provides for managing the establishment of a communication with a desired party. The establishment of the communication may be in accordance with a customer preference profile, or may be in partial or complete disregard of the preferences stated in that profile.

The present invention therefore provides a method for contacting a party by automatically initiating a first communication to the party using a first communication method, and if the first communication does not achieve a predetermined result then automatically initiating a second communication to the party using a second communication method.

The present invention also provides a method for contacting a party by automatically initiating a first communication to the party using a first communication method, and if the first communication does not achieve a predetermined result then initiating a second communication to the party using a second communication method and even a third communication to the party using a third communication method.

The present invention also provides a method for contacting a party by automatically initiating a plurality of communications to the party using a plurality of communications methods and if a predetermined result is not achieved, initiating a second plurality of communications to the party using a plurality of communication methods. The present invention also provides a method for contacting a party by automatically and simultaneously initiating a plurality of communications to the party using a plurality of communications methods.

More particularly, the present invention provides that the initiating of the first communication includes at least one of the following methods of communication: sending a letter to the party, sending a facsimile to the party, sending an e-mail to the party, placing a telephone call to the party, placing a page to the party, sending a Multi-Media Message Service message to the party, sending cell phone media to the party, sending a short message service (SMS) text message to the party, and sending an instant message to the party. Also, the present invention provides that the initiating of the second communication includes at least one of those methods of communication which was not used to initiate the first communication.

The present invention further provides a method for establishing communication with a party in accordance with the party's preferences. The present invention further provides a method by which a party can provide a response using a plurality of communication methods.

The present invention further provides a method which allows for the selection of different communication methods based upon a contact strategy which may vary depending upon factors such as type of communication, the parties involved, etc. The present invention further provides a method for establishing a communication between a contacting party and a contacted party and providing the contacted party with a plurality of communication methods by which to respond, such as, a URL for a payment or other processing website; an e-mail address to make a promise to pay or notification of payment sent; a toll free telephone number (800, 888) number for use with an IVR application and a return address, etc.

The present invention further provides a method for establishing a communication between a contacting party and a contacted party and providing the contacted party with responsive commumcation methods having different levels of interaction with an agent.

The present invention further provides a method of contacting a party which allows the contacting party to specify the rules for the communication methods used by the contacting party and the rules for responsive communications from the contacted party. The present invention further provides a method for establishing a communication with a party by using a plurality of communication methods which provide to the party to process at least one online responsive communication method.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a typical environment.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a typical communications process of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the step of initiating the first communication. FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the step of initiating a next communication.

FIG. 5 provides the details of one type of END step. FIG. 6 provides the details of another type of END step.

Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention provides for using alternative media and communication methods to establish a timely communication with a party. For example, if a conventional letter is mailed to the party, and the party does not respond within three days, then a second communication attempt is made by at least one of the following methods: sending a facsimile to the party, sending an e-mail to the party, determining if the party is on-line and placing an instant message to the party, placing a paging message to the party, placing a telephone call to the party, sending a short message to the party's cellular telephone or other electronics communication device, sending an SMS text message to the party's SMS text enabled device, or dispatching a letter by courier or messenger to the party, or some other method of commumcation available now or in the future. Thus, a multi-faceted attempt is made to contact the party. If the multi-faceted attempt is unsuccessful within some desired time, then another attempt is made to contact the party, again using one or more of the available media.

As an example of one use of the present invention, if a customer normally uses a credit card only to buy dinner at restaurants in one town, and then suddenly there are requests to approve credit card purchases for a computer, stereo, clothes, and other items in another city or state, there are two possibilities: the customer is traveling; or the card number has been stolen. In the first case the credit card company would want to approve the purchase, if within the customer's credit limit. In the second case the credit card company would want to refuse the transaction and mark the card number as stolen so as to prevent future use of that number. Ideally, one would simply contact the customer and verify that the transaction is valid. However, the customer may not be at a home telephone number because the customer is at the merchant's premises or at work. There may not be an alternate telephone number, or there may be several alternate telephone numbers, and dialing each alternate telephone number in turn and waiting for an answer would take several minutes, which is unacceptable because the merchant and the person (whether customer or thief) are waiting for approval of the transaction. Therefore, rather than dialing each telephone number in sequence, multiple communications are initiated, preferably simultaneously, so as to enhance the likelihood of establishing communication with the customer and determining whether the proposed transaction is valid.

If there is a medical emergency, or an urgent safety-related notice or recall, or an event which warrants quick contact in the view of the contacting party, attempts may be made to contact the party by a simultaneous multi-faceted attempt, such as sending a facsimile to the party, sending an e-mail to the party, placing a paging message to the party, placing a telephone call to the party, sending a short message to the party, sending an SMS text message to the party, dispatching a letter by courier or messenger to the party or even, probably as a last resort, sending a conventional letter to the party. If the multi-faceted attempt is unsuccessful within some desired time then another attempt is made to contact the party, again using one or more of the available media.

On the other hand, the purpose for contacting the party may be much less urgent, for example in the case of a marketing campaign. Although the entity running a campaign typically desires to contact the customer in a timely manner, contact need not be immediate and measures may be taken to contact the customer in the most efficient or cost-effective manner. For example, the campaign may be initiated by sending an electronic message to the party and waiting some predetermined amount of time for a response. If no response is received, a telephone call or other alternative media may be used and the process repeated using the same and/or different media until the customer is contacted or the need for contact has passed. The present invention provides a method which employs a contact strategy which defines interaction rules for communication with a party, such as the notification rules for the communications initiated by an agent to the party and response rules to be used by the party to send a responsive communication to the agent. The attempted contacts thus may be made pursuant to a predetermined contact strategy depending upon the characteristics of the attempted communication. For example, where the communication is very time-sensitive and the value of establishing the communication is high, such as the case where there is suspected fraud, the contact strategy may be to contact the party as quickly as possible with less importance paid to the cost of such communications. In that case, multiple media may be employed simultaneously. The likelihood of establishing the communication, as well as the cost of establishing the communication, generally increases with the increase in the number of media used.

The present invention provides for the creation of notification applications which are created for each specified communication method to be used in notifying the party. The notification applications preferably include content templates, such as standard message text. These templates are then combined with customer information, such as customer contact records stored in data bases, data marts, data warehouses, etc. The content templates are combined with contact records to form messages for the communications on the various communication channels, such as email, voice, messaging, SMS text, etc. Preferably an agent workstation is provided with an editor for different communication methods, such as an email editor for editing email messages. After communication has been established and processed, the templates are closed and the record, data marts, etc., are updated.

Response applications are also created for the particular channels for processing the customer response. For example, response channels are created for web-self service applications to allow the party to respond to the notification.

Various contact strategies may be developed based upon different factors such as the purpose of the communication, attempting the notification and the estimated value of establishing the communication, the cost of processing different response methods, etc. Thus, depending upon the circumstances precipitating the need for the communication with the party, when a multi-faceted attempt is used, the attempted communications may be sequential, simultaneous, or a combination. For example, a telephone call could be placed, then a fax, then a page, then an e-mail, then an SMS text message, then a courier; or all of the attempts using all of the various media could be initiated at approximately the same time, or the telephone call and the e-mail could be placed at approximately the same time, followed by the transmission of a fax, a paging message and a short message at approximately the same time, followed by a courier, etc., depending upon the contact strategy employed. The phrase "at approximately the same time" includes simultaneously as well as separated by a brief amount of time.

Thus, the contact strategy may be devised to establish different rules for different situations. Preferably, a plurality of contact strategies are saved and stored in a host or database for retrieval. Each contact strategy may be tailored to a particular triggering event, class of contact, or communication type. For example, different contact strategies may be developed and saved for fraud notification, marketing, customer service, collections, etc. Further, different business entities, even if serviced by the same contact center, may have different contact strategies for the same class of contact. Generally, under the method of the present invention, an attempted communication is made using at least one media or commumcation method and then, if the result is not satisfactory, another attempted communication is made using at least one media. Preferably, but not necessarily, the first attempted communication and the subsequent attempted communication are made using at least one different media. The contact strategy may also include the rules regarding the predetermined result to be achieved. For example, the contact strategy may include the rules when to send a new commumcation after a previous communication has been sent, what result is expected to be achieved, the aging time of the result, whether the result is a response from the party, and response criteria, response rates, etc. The desired result may be, for example and not of limitation, a responsive communication from the party, such as a telephone call, a fax, an e- mail, a notice that an e-mail has been read or deleted, a short message transmitted via an electronics communication device, such as a cellular telephone, a letter, etc., or an action by the party, such as the user completing a page on a website, sending payment, etc.

The time for the desired result may depend upon the nature of the attempted communication. For example, for a debt collection, or a non-urgent safety-related notice or recall, the time to respond to the first communication may be several hours to several days, depending upon the media used. However, for a medical emergency or possible fraudulent activity, the time to respond to the first communication may be several minutes to an hour, or zero. Thus, the present invention attempts to establish a communication with the party and, if unsuccessful, establishes a multi-faceted attempt to establish communication with the party using any and/or all available media. This increases the likelihood that communication with the party will be established in a timely manner. The present invention also attempts to establish a communication with the party by initiating a plurality of communications using a plurality of media at approximately the same time.

The notification rules which may be a part of the contact strategy include the communication methods or "channels" to be used to establish a communication with the party, such as e-mail, voice telephone, postal mail, messaging, SMS text messaging, etc., as well as specific customer addresses to be used for each method such as multiple phone number (home, cell, office, etc.); multiple e-mail addresses (home, office, cell, PDA, etc.); text message addressing (cell, PDA, instant, web portal postings, etc.).

In addition to the notification rules governing the initiation of communications to the party, the contact strategy may include of response rules governing the responsive communications of the contacted party. For example, the communication initiated by the contacting party may include instructions regarding the responses from the contacted party, such as a return email address, phone number, media link, etc. For example, the communications to the party may include a URL/web site address for which the party may connect for web self-service, web chat, web collaboration, or instant messaging, an INR number the party may use to respond via an INR application; an e-mail address for sending an e-mail response, etc.

Thus, the media used for the communications may include any available media, electronic or otherwise. Preferably, but not necessarily, the media used include those media specified in the contact strategy and in a customer sensitivity or customer preference profile, such as the customer profile described in US Patent No. 5,963,635. The desired result of commiu icating with various parties may be managed as a campaign, or one may consider the desired result of communicating with a party to be a campaign in and of itself, and so the desired result of commumcating with the party may be managed as a distinct campaign. In addition to a preferred contact media, the customer preference profile may list the order in which the party prefers that alternative media be employed. For example, the party may specify that the first attempted contact be by e-mail, the second by fax, etc. This customer preference may be followed for normal communications, but may be followed initially, partially followed, or completely ignored for other communications. The attempted or established communications may direct the customer to a web site, which may or may not have a URL customized for that particular party, or may be a program or data for a program which allows the party to provide information or instructions. The attempted or established commumcations may direct the customer to a chat session, which may or may not be customized for that particular party, or may provide a route for the party to be transferred to another chat session.

In addition, if the party has been directed to a web site or URL and is having difficulty or needs assistance in responding to the communication, assistance may be provided by dynamic help as described in U.S. Patent Application Nos. 60/213378 and 09/885717, now published as US Patent Application Publication No. US2002/0047859A1.

The customer's record is preferably marked to indicate the particulars and results of each attempted communication, such as date, time, media, etc. If attempted commumcations are initiated using multiple media at approximately the same time, then the customer may not know that each communications attempt was for the same purpose, so the customer may respond once when reading an e-mail, and then call again after hearing a voicemail message, respond even again when a conventional mail letter is delivered, etc., thus potentially causing confusion as to whether the issue has been resolved. Therefore, preferably, when a communication is established and the issue resolved, the customer's record is marked to so indicate. In addition, a notation is preferably made for each attempted communication to indicate that the issue has been resolved so that, if the customer responds to an e-mail, and then later responds to a voice mail message, it will be known that the issue may already have been resolved and that there is nothing further to be done. Also, for each media used, a subsequent communication can be sent using each such media to indicate that the issue has been resolved and the previous communication on that media can or should be ignored. Further, the response mechanism may be altered to reflect that the matter has been resolved, such as placing a message on the URL, web site, or Interactive Voice Response (INR) established for that matter indicating it is resolved. Turn now to the figures in which like numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a typical environment. A party 115, with whom the establishment of a communication is desired, has, or has access to, a plurality of communication devices 120A-120Ν which are linked to a plurality of communication channels 110A-110N, for receiving and/or sending communications. As shown in FIG. 1, the communications devices may include a multitude of devices, including but not limited to, a telephone 120A, a mailbox 120B, a PDA 120C, a mobile phone 120D, a fax machine 120E, a computer 120F, an SMS text enabled device 120G, and other commumcation devices 120N, including office and home/personal versions of each. The commumcation channels may include, by way of example and not by way of limitation, postal delivery service 110A, land telephone lines HOB, satellite HOC, wireless communication network HOD, the Internet HOE, and other channels HON. A communication may be established with party 115 using any, some, or all of the media and communication channels. Thus, a communication with party 115 may be established by a variety of means, such as calling the party 115 on the telephone, sending the party an SMS text message which the party can read on an SMS text enabled device 120D, 120G, sending a letter, placing a phone call to a cell phone 120D, etc.

A contact center 180 is used to establish communications with the party 115, most likely a customer or potential customer of the contact center, but can be any party with whom contact is desired or necessary. The contact center includes a plurality of agent stations 105A-N which may be linked with party 115 by the various communication channels 110. Although multiple agents and agent stations are shown in FIG. 1, the current invention contemplates both a single agent and multiple agents, and also contemplates a single customer or multiple customers. One example of a single agent and single customer function is a babysitter (agent) who urgently needs to contact a parent (customer) because of an emergency condition of a child. Thus, the present invention also contemplates a personal or home-based contact center.

The communication media may include a variety of media delivered via the various communication channels, such as a letter, telephone voice, facsimile, email, SMS text, instant messaging, URL Website, web site collaboration, etc. The party 115 may be connected to any or all of the communication channels and receive communication in any or all of the media. For example, the party 115 may have a postal mail box for receiving a letter by mail, home and office telephones for receiving voice calls, home and office fax machines for receiving facsimiles, home and office email addresses for receiving email, a PDA email address for receiving email on a PDA, an SMS text enabled device for receiving text messages, a computer and Internet connection for accessing URL addresses and websites, etc.

A controller 135 is used in conjunction with communication devices/servers 145A-N to control the communications between one or more agents, at agent stations 105, and the party 115. For example, the controller may direct a facsimile server to send a facsimile, an email server to send an email, etc. The controller obtains a contact strategy and templates and customer record from host 100 and/or from other sources and/or media. The customer records and contact strategy may also be obtained by other means, such as magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and other media. The customer record and templates are combined, and the controller initiates commumcation with the party in accordance with the contact strategy, including assigning one or more agents to the campaign. The agent workstations 105A-105N, the switch 130, the controller 135, and the host

100 are interconnected via a network. The type and details of such a network are not critical as the network need only be fast enough to accommodate the transfer of information, such as customer account records, between the components at a speed which prevents unacceptable delays in operation. The details of operation of the agent workstations system is generally as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,791. The present invention further provides for multiple servers such as a facsimile server 145 A, a modem server 145B for electronic mail transmissions, a text server 145C for SMS text messaging, other servers 145N for other communication media, and one or more printers 145D for printing out correspondence which is to be mailed or couriered to the customer. The plurality of agent workstations 105A-N allow agents (not shown) to communicate with the party 115, and enter results of the communication. The switch 130 is controlled by the controller 135 and selectively connects the communications (inbound and outbound) to the agent workstations 120A- 120N. When a triggering event occurs, the controller retrieves the customer record and the contact strategy, including templates for the communications. The contact strategy determines the communication rales including the rales regarding the method of communication to be used as well as the rules regarding the predetermined result.

Controller 135 begins initiation of communication with the party in accordance with the contact strategy, rnitiating a first communication to the customer using at least a first communication method. The controller may also use the customer preferences of the party, or both the methods in the contact strategy and the user preferences. After initiating the first communication the controller monitors for a predetermined result. If the predetermined result is achieved, then the campaign may be discontinued with the predetermined result being recorded by the controller. If the predetermined result is not achieved, then a second communication is initiated, using at least a second communication method. For example, the first communication method may be an email to the party and the predetermined result may be a responsive email from the customer. If an email is received from the customer, the controller records the email response. If there is no return email, then a second communication in accordance with the contact strategy, such as a SMS text message, is sent to the party. The customer record can then be updated and stored in host 100.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a typical commumcations process of the present invention. For convenience, the method will be described for the case where a single party will be contacted although it will be appreciated that the same process applies for multiple parties. A situation arises where it is necessary or desirable to contact the party 115. A first communication is initiated 205 to the party 115 using a first set of communication methods. The first set of communication methods includes at least one, and may include more than one, of the available communication methods. However, as this is a sequential communications process, it implies that each subsequent attempt preferably, but not necessarily, uses at least one media not used before, so the first communication preferably should not use all available methods of commumcation.

Decision 215 tests whether a predetermined or desired result has been achieved within a specified time period of the initiation of the notifications, such as a response from the party within 30 minutes. The predetermined result may be any of various events. For example the predetermined result may be a responsive communication from the party 115, such as a return telephone call, fax, email, a notice that the email to the party has been received, read, or deleted, a short message transmitted via an electronics communications device, such as a cellular phone, etc. Although it is preferred that the customer reply using one of the same media as by which contact was initiated, the customer may reply using any supported media, including using the Internet to connect to a general or a personalized web site. For example, the email notification, instant message notification and SMS text messaging notification include the URL address for the web site on which the questionnaire is posted, i addition, the communications preferably include a toll free telephone number (800, 888) number for placing a call to an agent, a return email address for sending a response email, and a postal address for sending a responsive letter. The customer information is then added to the templates, and then the communications are initiated. For example, the name and address of the customer, and/or the type of credit card, are inserted into the template. If the desired result is achieved, the process may be ended 220. If the predetermined result is not achieved, then decision 225 tests whether the time for receiving a meaningful response has passed. If so, then the process can be ended 220.

If the time has not passed, then a next communication is initiated 235 using a next set of communication methods. This next set of communication methods includes at least one, and may include more than one, of the available communication methods, and preferably includes at least one communication method that has not been used in a previous communication.

The process then returns to decision 215 to test whether the predetermined result has been achieved. The process is repeated until the predetermined result has been achieved or the time for a meaningful response has passed.

As a first example, the first communication may be a letter sent by post to the home of the party 115, the second communication may be a facsimile sent to the party 115, the third communication may be an email sent to the home email address of the party 115, etc. As another example, the first communication may be a letter sent by courier to the home of the party and a facsimile sent to the home number of the party, the second communication may be a facsimile sent to the home number of the party, an email to the personal email address of the party, and a telephone call to the home telephone number of the party, the third communication may be a facsimile sent to both the home and business numbers of the party, an email to both the business and personal email addresses of the party, and a pager notification, etc. Fourth and subsequent communications may use new media and/or new combinations of previous used media.

As still another example, in one manner of handling a possible fraudulent use of a credit card, the first communication may be telephone calls to both the home, business and mobile telephone numbers of the party, a pager notification, and an SMS test message. The second communication may be another set of telephone calls to the home, business and mobile telephone numbers of the party, another pager notification, another SMS test message, and a set of fax messages to home and business numbers.

As still another example, in one manner of handling a home emergency where a babysitter must contact a parent, the first communication may be a telephone call to the office and mobile telephone numbers of the party, an SMS text message, and a pager notification. The second communication may be all of these again, and also a telephone call to a restaurant where the party is expected to be.

Different classes of commumcations may be established, for example, emergency, urgent, routine, bulk. Different commumcations methods would then be used for each class.

For example, emergency situations would preferably use "instantaneous" forms of communication, such as, but not limited to, telephone calls to home, office and mobile telephone numbers, facsimile messages to home and office numbers, emails to home and personal email addresses, SMS text messages, and pager notification, but would generally not include a letter, bulk mailing, or even an overnight courier.

Thus, the commumcation methods used for each communication can be adjusted to be as many, or as few, and of the particular type, as is indicated by the particular situation. For example, an emergency situation and a fraudulent credit card activity situation indicate that more methods should be used earlier so as to quickly achieve contact because contact, and not cost, is the primary object. However, in a debt collection situation, a non-urgent product safety recall notice, and an offer to upgrade a product or service, both cost and contact are objects of concern and indicate that lower cost methods should generally be used for the first communication, with more expensive methods being for the second and subsequent communications, hi some cases, the most expensive methods of commumcation may not be warranted at all. For example, an overnight courier would probably not be used to deliver a letter advertising a low mortgage interest rate.

Thus, each subsequent attempt to contact the party preferably uses at least one media which has not been used in a previous attempt. However, there are situations, such as emergency situations, where all available and reasonable media may be used on each attempt.

In most, but not all, situations, there will be a point where establishing contact is no longer meaningful, or is of lesser importance. In some cases that will mean that attempts to contact the party are simply terminated. For example, if the special promotion has ended the campaign may be terminated. In other cases that will mean that attempts to contact the party are continued, but on a less frequent basis, and using lower cost media. For example, in an emergency situation or a possible fraudulent credit card situation, the child may already have been treated at the hospital, or the credit card transaction may have been approved, but it would still be desirable to contact the party to advise of the condition of the child, or to thwart further fraudulent credit card activity. Thus, the "end" step 230 may mean that all attempts to contact the party are terminated or may mean, in some situations, as discussed herein, that attempts to contact the party are continued, but on a less urgent and/or frequent basis. FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the step of initiating 205 the first commumcation. The event requiring the contact is determined, the contact strategy for that type of event is retrieved, the templates for that event and contact strategy are retrieved, the customer record is retrieved, the appropriate first set of commumcation methods is determined based on the contract strategy, event classification, and customer record. Then, the templates and the customer record are combined using the contact strategy, and the first commumcation is initiated using the first set of communication methods, which may or may not be consistent with the customer preference profile. Different contact strategies may be used for different situations and/or different parties. If multiple strategies are available, the specific contact strategy appropriate for the particular triggering event and particular target party is determined, selected and loaded. The contact strategy may also provide whether customer contact preferences, generally but not necessarily in the customer record, should be followed, ignored, or partly followed. The contact strategy includes rules for the communication methods to be used. Depending upon the contact strategy for the particular event, a single party or multiple parties may be contacted. For example, if the triggering event is suspected fraud of a single customer's credit card, then a single party, such as the owner of the credit card, may need to be contacted and the campaign may involve a single party. On the other hand, if the triggering event relates to a marketing campaign or a product recall campaign, then a list of multiple parties may be obtained and the campaign may include multiple parties.

The contact strategy to be followed may be developed based upon the reason for contacting the customer. For example, if it is believed that a customer is the victim of fraud, such as when there are unusual charges to the customer's credit card, a contact strategy may be employed to contact the card owner as soon as possible. In that case, the contact strategy may provide for initiating a multitude of communications simultaneously using a variety of media. On the other hand, if it is desired to communicate with the party as part of customer service, such as a recall or new product campaign, the contact strategy may provide for a contact strategy which provides the party with responsive communication channels so that the party may respond at a time and/or in a manner which is less burdensome on the party and/or the agents. For example, the contact strategy may provide the user with a URL by which the customer may pursue self-assistance.

The contact strategies are preferably created and saved as files that can be opened, executed, modified, and saved under different file names. As indicated, the particular contact strategy and related templates may be determined by the nature of the event and the party being contacted.

As discussed in US Patent No. 5,963,635, the customer record may contain a customer preference profile which lists the commumcation preferences of the party, such as the time of day and the telephone number at which the customer prefers to be called, the communication method(s) the party prefers, the language(s) in which the party prefers to communicate, a multitude of addresses for different media, home, work and mobile telephone numbers, the address at which the customer prefers to receive mail (which address may vary from time-to-time on a regular or irregular basis), whether the customer prefers to receive correspondence by mail, by facsimile, or by electronic mail, whether the customer prefers most or all contacts to be by voice or correspondence, etc. Other factors may also be developed for the customer sensitivity profile such as where, when, or how the customer wants to be contacted. For example, the party may prefer to be contacted between the hours of 10:00 AM and 1 :00 PM by telephone, in English. Whether the customer preferences profile will be followed may depend on the situation. For example, in a non-emergency product recall the customer preferences might be fully respected. However, in an emergency situation the contact strategy may direct that the customer's preferences be ignored. As an example, the event may be possible fraudulent credit card activity, and this requires the use of "instantaneous" methods of commumcation. The templates for those methods of communications will be applied to the appropriate outgoing communications. For example, a "notification of possible fraudulent credit card use" fax template will be used for a facsimile, a corresponding text message template will be used for text messaging, a corresponding agent screen template will be used for voice messages, etc. A template preferably includes sample text for the communication. For example, a template for a suspected fraudulent situation may have sample text for an email notification to the party. Preferably each communication includes a fraud questionnaire regarding the suspected fraud. For example, the questionnaire may ask if the party is currently attempting to use a credit card, or the last place the party used a credit card, and whether the recent use of the credit card is authorized, whether the party has lost the card, etc. In addition, a fraud questionnaire may be activated on a web site.

By incorporating the customer preference profile the initiated communications may be in accordance with the preferences of the customer so that when a commumcation is initiated, the customer will most likely be in a frame of mind to give a positive response to the call. For example, not all customers want to be interrupted by a telephone call. Some may prefer to be contacted by mail, and others may wish to be contacted by facsimile, by electronic mail, be instant messaging or by SMS text messaging. The present invention accommodates a plurality of different communications media so that the system may contact a customer in a manner desirable to the customer.

The order of the decisions and steps in the program is, for the most part, not critical. For example, the order of the loading of the contact strategy, customer record and templates may be interchanged as desired. Therefore, variations in the order of the decisions and steps, and different types of decisions and steps, which accomplish the same purpose, will suggest themselves to one of skill in the art and are considered as being within the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the step of initiating 235 a next communication. The appropriate next set of conrmunication methods is determined based on the contract strategy, event classification, and customer record. Then, the templates and the customer record are combined using the contact strategy, and the next communication is initiated using the next set of communication methods.

FIG. 5 provides the details of one type of END step 220. In this situation, the predetermined response has been obtained. Thus, the customer record is updated to indicate the response and/or that the response has been obtained, the merchant or contacting party is notified in those situations where the merchant or contacting party has not communicated directly with the party, a confirmation of the response is preferably, but not necessarily, sent to the customer/party 115, and the customer record is closed. For example, if the predetermined response is a reply email from the party 115, then the reply email is received by the agent and processed. Multiple communications using different communication methods may be sent to the party to notify the party that the communication is closed. For example, a communication could be sent by each commumcation method used in the attempt to establish the commumcation. The particular communication methods are used to notify the party of the completion of the communication are preferably, but not necessarily, stored as part of the contact strategy. Online assistance or self-help may also be available.

FIG. 6 provides the details of another type of END step 230. In this situation, a response has not been obtained, and the period for obtaining a timely response has passed. Decision 605 tests whether contact is still desired. For example, even though the credit card transaction has now been approved, it may still be desirable to contact the party in advance of the next credit card transaction. As another example, it may still be desirable to contact the party to indicate that the child has been taken to a hospital for treatment. If contact is no longer desired, then step 220 is executed.

If contact is still desired, then step 610 is executed. The customer record is updated to indicate that a response was not received and/or the methods, dates and times of attempted contact. The merchant or contacting party is notified that contact was not made. In the case of a merchant, the notification may be that the credit card transaction has or has not been approved, or that the merchant should ask for further identification, or take some other appropriate action. In the case of a babysitter, the babysitter may be advised that contact was not made so that the babysitter can decide what action to take. The appropriate next set of communication methods is determined based on the contract strategy, event classification, and customer record. The templates and the customer record are combined using the contact strategy, and the next communication, using the next set of communication methods, is scheduled. Then step 235 is executed.

Some of these techniques regarding the operation of agent workstations, customer profiles, web sites, collaboration between customers and agents, are discussed briefly below. More details are provided in appendices A through F of the underlying provisional patent application herein, all of which are considered to be a part of this patent application as if fully set forth herein, including US Patent No. 5,963,635 and US Patent Application Publication No. US2002/0047859A1. If contact is made with the party via the voice call, the voice call is processed. For example, the agent asks the customer questions from the questionnaire. If contact is not made with the party by outbound voice call, the outbound voice call may be rescheduled for a later time. Likewise, if responses are received from other media, for example, a responsive email, an SMS text message, etc. the response is processed. If the customer has responded by using a website, the customer may elect to respond using self-service, i.e., with little or no agent assistance. If the customer selects self-service, the customer's self-service communication is processed. For example, if the customer prefers self-service, the customer may connect to the website at the URL which was sent to the customer in one of the commumcation methods and complete the posted fraud questionnaire online. The completed online questionnaire is received and processed. After completing the self-service, the customer may request a callback. If a callback is requested, the customer voice call to the customer is scheduled. The current method provides various levels of assistance to a party that responds to the notifications using the Internet. For example, the party may participate in web collaboration with an agent, engage in a chat session with an agent. In addition, the party may be sent online help by various means. Once the user connects to the website, if the user desires some assistance, instead of completing the communication with no agent interaction, the customer may request web collaboration. If the customer requests web collaboration, then a web collaboration session is established. For example, a mini-application is sent to the customer device, information about the customer's computing device is received by the agent, information from the customer computing device is displayed to the agent, and information and changes are retrieved and sent between the customer computing device and an agent computing device. The customer then collaborates with the agent to complete the fraud questionnaire.

The fraud questionnaire is then processed. For example, the information from the questionnaire is reviewed to determine whether the customer has authorized the recent or suspicious charges on the credit card account. If the customer approves of the charges, the approval is noted and the charges are allowed to be billed to the customer. If the charges are not approved then remedial action can be taken, such as the cancellation of the card, the refusal to honor the credit card, an alert to vendors that the card is being improperly used, etc. If a response is received from the customer the response and the fraud questionnaire are processed. After the questionnaire is processed by any of the responses discussed above, an email confirmation is sent to the user. The email may be sent to one or multiple addressed in the customer profile. In addition, other notifications may be sent via other communication channels. For example, the web site may be updated with the new information.

The customer may also engage in a chat session with an agent. The chat session allows the customer to conduct, via the Internet, a communication with an agent one-on-one in real time and to exchange electronic media. The agent may transfer the customer to another agent by downloading a mini-application to the customer's computer, which automatically establishes a new chat session at a new URL.

Furthermore, if the customer requires additional assistance, dynamic help may be provided by providing a HELP button when the customer needs assistance and the agents can offer assistance, by automatically determining when the customer needs assistance and automatically connecting the customer to an agent. This may be done by receiving a request for a web page from the customer, sending the web page without a HELP option to the customer, automatically determining if the customer should be provided assistance and, if the customer should be provided assistance, sending a HELP option to the customer. The HELP button may be provided by sending the HELP button as an insert into the current web page, resending the current web page with a HELP button inserted, or sending a new web page to the customer that includes a HELP button.

The method of communication from the agent to the customer may include an eEnvelope TM packet that contains various information, such as, but not limited to, e-mail text, audio, video, and other interactive graphical user interfaces ("GUI"). Upon opening the eEnvelope packet, the customer may select a link to a URL/web site. The URL/web site may be personalized for that customer and preferably is password or ID protected.

The eEnvelope packet may alternatively carry an interactive application and its corresponding processor module, such as an executed code module. The eEnvelope packet may include a help request that can be used to obtain assistance. Live assistance may be offered via an agent who joins the customer and pushes URLs or engages in one-on-one chat with the customer. Further, a voice conversation may be added such that the agent speaks to the customer via Voice Over IP (VoIP) connection, or via a phone line over the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The terms "customer" and "party" are used interchangeably herein and mean any person or persons with whom it is desired to establish contact, including, for example, but not limited to: an individual; one, more or all of group of individuals; an organization or business entity; one, more or all of a group of organizations or business entities; and any combination thereof. Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, variations of same will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the above. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the claims below.

Claims

ClaimsI claim:

1. A method for contacting a party, comprising: initiating a first communication to the party using a first set of commumcation methods; and if the first communication does not achieve a predetermined result then initiating a second communication to the party using a second set of communication methods.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of initiating a first communication comprises the step of initiating at least one of the following predetermined methods of communication: sending a letter to the party, sending a facsimile to the party, sending an e- mail to the party, placing a telephone call to the party, placing a short message to the party and sending an SMS text message to the party.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of initiating a second commumcation comprises sending at least one of the predetermined one of the following: sending a letter to the party, sending a facsimile to the party, sending an e-mail to the party, placing a telephone call to the party, placing a short message to the party, and sending an SMS text message to the party.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first communication comprises a notification, the notification including information regarding a media for responding to the notification.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first communication comprises a notification, the notification including a URL address for the party to respond to the notification.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first commumcation comprises a notification, the notification including a toll free number for the party to respond to the notification.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first communication comprises a notification, the notification including a return email address for the party to respond to the notification.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first communication comprises a notification, the notification including a method for online response for the party to respond to the notification.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first communication comprises a notification, the notification including a method for online response for the party to respond to the notification, wherein the method of online response comprises a chat session.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the first commumcation comprises a notification, the notification including a method for online response for the party to respond to the notification, wherein the method of online response comprises a web collaboration session.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the first communication comprises a notification, the notification including a method for online response for the party to respond to the notification, wherein the method of online response comprises a self-help web site.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of retrieving a contact strategy.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of selecting a contact strategy from a plurality of contact strategies, the selection being dependent upon the type of a triggering event.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first cornmunication, the step of retrieving a contact strategy from a plurality of contact strategies, the plurality of contact strategies comprising at least two of the following: a fraud notification contact strategy, a collections contact strategy; a marketing contact strategy, an emergency notification strategy, a product safety recall strategy, a product recall strategy, and a customer service contact strategy.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of selecting a contact strategy from a plurality of contact strategies, the selection being dependent upon the type of a triggering event, and wherein the type of triggering event is unusual credit card activity.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of retrieving a contact strategy, wherein the contact strategy comprises a rule for initiating the first communication.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of retrieving a contact strategy, wherein the contact strategy comprises a rule for initiating the second communication.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of retrieving a contact strategy, and wherein the step of initiating a first communication is in accordance with the contact strategy.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of retrieving a contact strategy, and wherein the step of initiating a second communication is in accordance with the contact strategy.

20. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of retrieving a contact strategy and wherein the step of initiating a first communication to the party using a first communication method is in accordance with the contact strategy and the step of initiating a second communication to the party using a second commumcation method is in accordance with the contact strategy.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first commumcation, the step of retrieving a contact strategy and wherein the predetermined result is in accordance with the contact strategy.

22. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of loading a contact record.

23. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first commumcation, the step of loading a contact record, wherein the contact record comprises contact preferences of the party.

24. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first commumcation, the step of loading a contact record, wherein the contact record comprises contact preferences of the party, and wherein the step of initiating a first communication is in accordance with the contact preferences.

25. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a second communication, the step of loading a contact record, wherein the contact record comprises contact preferences of the party, and wherein the step of initiating a second communication is in accordance with the contact preferences.

26. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of loading a contact record, wherein the contact record comprises contact preferences of the party, and responsive to the type of a triggering event, a determination is made to initiate the first commumcation without regard to the contact preferences.

27. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a second communication, the step of loading a contact record, wherein the contact record comprises contact preferences of the party, and responsive to the type of a triggering event, a determination is made to initiate the second communication without regard to the contact preferences.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined result is a response from the party.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined result is a response from the party within a predetermined time period.

30. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first communication, the step of retrieving a contact template.

31. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a first commumcation, the steps of: retrieving a contact template; retrieving a contact record; and combining the contact template with the contact record to form a message for use with the first communication.

32. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to the step of initiating a second communication, the steps of: retrieving a contact template; retrieving a contact record; and combining the contact template with the contact record to form a message for use with the second communication.

33. The method of claim 1 further comprising, subsequent to the step of initiating a first communication, the steps of: receiving a response from the party; and processing the response to determine whether the response provides the predetermined result.

34. The method of claim 1 and further comprising, subsequent to the step of initiating a first communication, the steps of: receiving a response from the party; processing the response; updating the contact record; and closing the contact record.

35. The method of claim 1 and further comprising, subsequent to the step of initiating a first communication, the steps of: receiving a response from the party; processing the response to determine if the response provides the predetermined result; and if the response provides the predetermined result then updating the contact record to indicate the response.

36. The method of claim 1 and further comprising, subsequent to the step of initiating a first communication, the steps of: determining whether there has been a response from the party within a predetermined time; if there is no response within the predetermined time then deteπnining that the first communication has not achieved the predetermined result.

37. The method of claim 1 and further comprising, subsequent to the step of initiating a second communication, the steps of: determining whether there has been a response from the party within a predetermined time from the initiation of the second communication; if there is no response within the predetermined time then determining that the second communication has not achieved the predetermined result, and initiating a third communication to the party using a third set of commumcation methods.

38. The method of claim 1 wherein the first set of communication methods has only a single communications method.

39. The method of claim 1 wherein the first set of communication methods comprises a plurality of communications methods.

40. The method of claim 1 wherein the second set of communication methods has only a single communications method.

41. The method of claim 1 wherein the second set of commumcation methods comprises a plurality of communications methods.

42. The method of claim 1 wherein the second set of communication methods comprising at least one communication method which is not included in the first set of communication methods.

43. The method of claim 1 wherein the first set of communication methods comprises a plurality of instantaneous commumcation methods and the first communication is initiated using all of the instantaneous communication methods.

44. The method of claim 1 wherein the second set of commumcation methods comprises a plurality of instantaneous communication methods and the second communication is initiated using all of the instantaneous communication methods.

45. The method of claim 1 wherein the first set of commumcation methods does not include instantaneous communications methods and wherein the second set of communication methods comprises a plurality of instantaneous communication methods.

46. The method of claim 1 wherein the first set of communication methods comprises a plurality of communication methods and at least one communication method is selected based upon the type of a triggering event.

47. The method of claim 1 wherein the second set of communication methods comprises a plurality of communication methods and at least one commumcation method is selected based upon the type of a triggering event.

48. A method for contacting a party, comprising: initiating a first communication to the party using a first set of commumcation methods; and if the first communication does not achieve a predetermined result then initiating a second communication to the party using a second set of communication methods; if the second communication does not achieve the predetermined result then initiating a third commumcation to the party using a third set of communications methods.

49. A method for contacting a party in response to a triggering event, comprising: determining whether the triggering event is of a type which requires an immediate response from the party; if the triggering event is of the type which requires an immediate response then initiating a first communication to the party using a first set of communication methods, the first set of communications methods comprising "instantaneous" communications methods, and sending the first communication simultaneously via the instantaneous communications methods.

50. A method for contacting a party in response to a triggering event, comprising: determining whether the triggering event is of a type which warrants a higher communication cost; if the triggering event is not of the type which warrants a higher communication cost then initiating a first communication to the party using a first set of communication methods, the first set of communications methods comprising lower cost communications methods.

51. A method for contacting a party in response to a triggering event, comprising: determining whether the triggering event is of a type which warrants a higher communication cost; if the triggering event is not of the type which warrants a higher communication cost then initiating a first commumcation to the party using a first set of communication methods, the first set of communications methods comprising lower cost commumcations methods; if the first communication does not achieve a predetermined result then initiating a second commumcation to the party using a second set of commumcation methods, at least one commumcation method of the second set being a higher cost communication method than at least of the communication methods in the first set.