WO2008035065A1

WO2008035065A1 - Method and apparatus for handling a telephone call

Info

Publication number: WO2008035065A1
Application number: PCT/GB2007/003548
Authority: WO
Inventors: Richard Pickering; Ashley Unitt
Original assignee: New Voice Media Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-09-19
Filing date: 2007-09-18
Publication date: 2008-03-27
Also published as: GB0618430D0; GB2437774A

Abstract

One embodiment of the invention provides a method of handling a telephone call in a computer-telephony system. The method comprises providing a plurality of stored informational audio messages within the computer-telephony system. A telephone call is then received at the computer-telephony system from a caller (200) and information is obtained relating to the caller (210). The computer- telephony system then selects one of the stored informational audio messages (230) based on the obtained information relating to the caller (220) then plays the selected stored informational audio message to the caller (240).

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING A TELEPHONE CALL

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for handling a telephone call.

Background of the invention

Figure 1 is an illustration of a conventional computer-telephony integration

(CTI) system. An incoming call 60 is received by a switch 90. The switch passes information about the call to a CTI server 80. The information passed may include, for example, the calling line identification (CLI), sometimes known as automatic number identification (ANI), and/or the dialled number identification. Switch 90 is also be provided with an interactive voice response (IVR) unit 95 which may be used to obtain additional information from the caller, for example an account number or such like. This additional information may also be passed to CTI server 80. In some implementations, various messages may be played to the caller as part of the initial call handling, for example to allow a caller to specify the type of desired action - e.g. make a new booking, amend a previous booking, or some other query. Caller input in response to this information can then be used subsequently in determining how to handle the call.

The switch 90 routes the call through the telephone network 101 to a telephone 121 belonging to an agent 120. For example, the switch may route a particular incoming call 60 to agent 120B having telephone 121B. The CTI server 80 may instruct the switch 90 which particular agent to forward the incoming call to. In other implementations, the switch 90 may make this decision through some other mechanism, such as agent availability (and notify the CTI server 80 accordingly).

In addition to telephone 121, each agent 120 is also provided with a workstation 122. The CTI server 80 has access to a customer relationship management (CRM) database 70. The CTI server 80 can use information about a particular call provided by switch 90 to look up information relating to the caller in the CRM database 70. For example, this information may represent the name and address of a party associated with a particular calling line identification, as well as any information about previous orders that this person may have made, and so on. The CTI server 80 can then provide this information to the workstation 122 associated with the agent 120 who receives the call in order to assist the agent in handling the caller. For example if the incoming call 60 is to be routed to telephone 12 IB of agent 120B, then the CTI server accesses information about the caller from CRM database 70 and forwards this information to corresponding workstation 122B.

If no agent is free to handle incoming call 60, switch 90 may put the caller in a queue. While the caller is in this queue, the switch may provide the caller with marketing messages, information about queue status, and so on. These messages may be sourced from IVR 95 or switch 90 itself.

In some circumstances, the call may be handled automatically without having to reach an agent 120. For example, a caller may ring to obtain an account balance. The IVR system 95 may be able to obtain the account number from the caller, perform appropriate security checks (e.g. accepting an input PIN), access the account balance from a server 201 via a link (not shown) between IVR 95 and computer network 102, and then play out the relevant balance to the caller.

Call centres having CTI such as shown in Figure 1 have been around for many years. In many cases the system shown in Figure 1 is internal to a particular organisation. In other words, switch 90 represents a PBX and telephone network 101 represents the internal telephone network of the organisation. Likewise computer network 102 represents the internal computer network (e.g. intranet) of the organisation.

It is also very common for organisations to outsource CTI and/or call centre operations to some third party. This strategy may be adopted by very small organisations, which may only have one incoming telephone line, as well as by larger organisations. In such cases in the architecture of Figure 1, the switch 90 may be located within the public switch telephone network (PSTN) - i.e. telephone network 101 may be part of the PSTN. Likewise computer network 102 may be the internet or some other public computer network.

Call centres have therefore become a very significant (if not major) customer interface for many organisations, and it is important to obtain the maximum possible benefit out of this interface.

Summary of the Invention

The inventions defined in the appended claims.

In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of handling a telephone call in a computer-telephony system. The method comprises providing a plurality of stored informational audio messages within the computer-telephony system; receiving a telephone call at the computer-telephony system from a caller; obtaining information relating to the caller by obtaining a caller identification and using the caller identification to access caller information from a customer relationship management database; selecting by the computer-telephony system one of said stored informational audio messages based on the obtained information relating to the caller; and playing by the computer-telephony system the selected stored informational audio message to the caller.

Such a system can be used to play a caller-specific marketing message. For example, if a caller telephones a bank, the system may check the balance of the current account for the caller. If the caller has a large positive balance, the caller may be played a promotional message about a savings account offered by the bank which provides a higher rate of interest. Note that the information obtained about the caller is used here to select the audio message to be played, rather than the obtained information directly forming the audio message itself (as per systems which, for example, play back to the caller their current balance).

In one embodiment, the method further comprises determining whether or not to select one of said stored informational audio messages. This determination may be made based on the queue status for an incoming caller. For example, if there is an agent available to answer the caller directly, then the informational audio message is not played. Rather, the audio message is only played if the caller would otherwise be held in the queue. This then allows advertising or promotional messages that are played to callers in a queue to be targeted at individual callers.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises proceeding with handling the call after playing the selected stored informational audio message without providing an opportunity for customer input in direct response to playing the selected stored informational audio message. In other words, in this embodiment, the promotional message is for information only, rather than being part of the call- handling script or logic flow of the application. The audio message is therefore played independently of the path that the caller follows through the application logic. Indeed, in many cases, the audio message is played directly on receipt of the call, before the caller has made any logic selection for how the call should be handled (but might also be played at a later stage in call processing, for example after various caller menu choices have resulted in the caller entering a queue).

The invention also provides a computer system and a computer program for implementing such an invention, as well as a computer program medium containing such a program.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail by way of example only with reference to the following drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a CTI system; •

Figure 2 is a flowchart of a method for operating the CTI system of Figure 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 3 is a flowchart of a method for operating the CTI system of Figure 1 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Figure 2 illustrates a method for handling a call in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. This method may be implemented using the computer telephony system shown in Figure 1 or any other appropriate system. The method commences with receiving an incoming call from a caller (200) and obtaining caller identification (210). The caller identification may, for example, comprise a calling line identifier (CLI), also known as automatic number identification (ANI). Another possibility is that IVR system 95 is used to obtain information identifying the caller, such as an account number.

The caller identification can now be used to access information about the caller (220). For example, an account number or a telephone number may be used to identify a customer record in customer relationship management (CRM) database 70. Once the appropriate customer record has been identified, the system can now retrieve information from this record about the customer making a call. For example, this information may comprise further personal details, such as an address, along with financial and other data, such as credit rating, previous purchasing history, next renewal date for a particular subscription or service, etc.

The system now determines a message to play to the caller based on the caller information (230). This message may comprise marketing information of specific relevance to the caller. For example: a) if a caller is calling into a financial institution to check an account balance, and it is known that the caller has insurance due for renewal shortly, the customer may be played a message about some special offer that is currently available regarding this form of insurance. b) a caller may be calling the telephone sales department of a chain of stores and may be played a message to inform the caller that a new branch of the store is now open in the vicinity of the caller. c) the information from the CRM database may indicate that a caller has previously purchased a particular product, and the marketing message may inform the caller that a new accessory for that product is now available.

In certain cases, it may be possible to use the caller identification directly as the caller information, without having to access any further details from the CRM database 70. For example, in the above example of a new store being opened, the customer location might be based on the area code of the caller telephone number, without accessing the CRM database to obtain a complete address. Another example would be where the system has obtained an account or membership number using the IVR 95 and where the system can determine automatically from this number certain properties of the account. For example, the account number may indicate that the caller has standard membership. The system might therefore decide to play the caller a message about upgrading to a higher level of membership.

In some implementations, rather than using the caller identification to access a CRM database 70, the caller identification may be used as the input to a search engine. The search engine can then look for data relating to the caller, for example across one or more computers belonging to the organisation receiving the call. The search results can then be used to determine customer information for use in determining which marketing message (if any) to play to the caller. For example, the search may locate a file for a particular mailshot recently sent to the caller; this can then lead to a marketing message being played to the caller in relation to that mailshot.

It will be appreciated that the approach set out above ensures that the customer (caller) receives targeted and relevant marketing messages. This firstly increases the likely response rate for the marketing messages, and secondly avoids delaying or frustrating callers with irrelevant marketing messages. In particular, callers do not have to suffer messages that are of little or no relevance to them, for example because the product or service on offer does not match their interests or particular needs.

In some embodiments, the marketing message is targeted in that only certain customers (callers) receive the message. For example, the marketing message might only be played to those customers whose insurance renewal date falls within a particular range, or who live in a certain area, or who have previously bought a particular product (as per examples a, b, and c above, respectively). No marketing message is played to callers who do not meet the relevant condition(s), based on the caller information. Alternatively, it may be that a targeted marketing message is provided for all callers, but that different messages are played to different callers (based again on the caller information). For example, a tourist attraction might play a marketing message regarding a special train fare to the attraction from station "X", wherein station "X" is chosen from a database or table to be a railway station close to the caller's address.

In general, a marketing message is informational rather than part of the overall logical flow for handling the incoming call (i.e. passive rather than active). Thus the message is not provided in direct response to a particular request from the caller (e.g. for an account balance), but rather can be regarded as an extraneous insertion into the overall call handling flow. One implication of this is that a determination may be made as to whether or not to play a message to a caller based on the current status of the system. For example, if there are many calls waiting in a queue, it may be decided to play one or perhaps multiple marketing messages to the caller while they are on hold. Alternatively, if there is no queue at present in the computer-telephony system, it may be decided to proceed to connect the caller directly to an agent without first playing any marketing message.

Furthermore, the message is generally passive, in that there is no opportunity for a caller to respond directly to the message. In other words, in many circumstances the caller is unable to provide any input during or immediately after the message itself, such as pressing a DTMF button to change the call handling flow at that particular point. In some implementations, the message may contain information for the caller about how to access the advertised service or product at a later stage in the call handling procedure. For example, the message may instruct the caller to subsequently select or ask for sales to obtain access to the service or product described in the marketing message. Another possibility is that in some implementations the caller may be able to respond directly to the marketing message, for example by pressing a particular DTMF key or by stating some particular word. The IVR system (or other call handling apparatus) can then receive this input and handle the call accordingly, for example by transferring the caller to an agent who is selling the service described in the marketing message that has just been played.

In some implementations, the information provided onto the screen 122 of an agent 120 who eventually receives the call may include an indication or details of any caller-specific marketing message played to the caller. For example, if the caller has been played a marketing message about a particular service or promotion, such as insurance, the CTI system may prompt (script) the agent to ask the caller if they are interested in pursuing the insurance offer that they have just heard. Another possibility is that the agent is provided with data indicating which caller-specific marketing message was played to the caller, so that the agent will be aware of the situation in case the caller asks about a product or service described in the marketing message.

Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating call handling in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. The first three steps (receive call, obtain caller ID, and access caller information, 200, 210 and 220 respectively), are the same as for Figure 2, and are shown in an initial single combined block in Figure 3. A determination is now made as to whether the caller is to be placed on hold (225). If there is an agent currently available to speak to the caller, the system proceeds directly with this further handling of the call (250).

On the other hand, if no agent is currently available, the system makes a determination of a caller-specific message (230), based on the caller ID and/or caller information as described above. It is now tested whether any such caller-specific message is to be played (232), and if so, this message is played (240). A determination is now made as to whether there is any general message for all callers in the queue (236), and if so, this general message is played (242). Processing now returns to step 225. If the caller is still on hold, further general and/or caller-specific messages may be played to the caller.

It will be appreciated that there are many possible variations on the flowchart of Figure 3. For example, a general message for all callers may be played before any specific messages. In addition, a caller-specific message might only be played once, even if the caller is on hold for a long time. Many further possible variations will be apparent to the skilled person.

In some implementations, the various marketing messages may be stored as complete audio files (recordings), for example in IVR 95. In other cases, the various marketing messages may be stored as a single audio message with various caller- specific inserts available. For example, in the railway application above, the system may store pre-recorded inserts of stations and numbers (for the various train fares). Note that the inserts may be stored in the system as audio files, or may be stored as text files and then converted as required into an audio signal using a text to speech system (now shown).

The skilled person will be aware of a range of possible modifications of the various embodiments described above. Accordingly, the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method of handling a telephone call in a computer-telephony system, the method comprising: providing a plurality of stored informational audio messages within the computer-telephony system; receiving a telephone call at the computer-telephony system from a caller; obtaining information relating to the caller by obtaining a caller identification and using the caller identification to access caller information from a customer relationship management database; selecting by the computer-telephony system one of said stored informational audio messages based on the obtained information relating to the caller; and playing by the computer-telephony system the selected stored informational audio message to the caller.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising proceeding with handling the call after playing the selected stored informational audio message without providing an opportunity for customer input in direct response to playing the selected stored informational audio message.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein said informational audio message comprises a marketing message.

4. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the caller identification comprises a calling line identification.

5. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the caller identification comprises an account number obtained using an interactive voice response system.

6. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising determining whether or not to select one of said stored informational audio messages.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said determination is based on a queue status for incoming callers.

8. The method of any preceding claim, wherein it may be determined from the caller information that there is no stored informational audio message to play to the caller.

9. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of stored informational audio messages comprises a single message having a plurality of inserts available, and wherein said selecting comprises selecting one or more inserts appropriate to the caller.

10. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising: after playing the selected stored informational audio message to the caller, connecting the caller to an agent; and providing the agent with an indication of the selected stored informational audio message played to the caller.

11. A computer-telephony system for handling a telephone call, the system comprising: a plurality of stored informational audio messages within the computer- telephony system; a telephony interface for receiving a telephone call at the computer-telephony system from a caller; and a link to a customer relationship management database for obtaining information relating to the caller by obtaining a caller identification and using the caller identification to access caller information from the customer relationship management database; wherein said system is operable to select, based on the obtained information relating to the caller, one of said stored informational audio messages for playing to the caller.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said system is operable to proceed with handling the call after playing the selected stored informational audio message

I l without providing an opportunity for customer input in direct response to playing the selected stored informational audio message.

13. The system of claim 11 or 12, wherein said informational audio message comprises a marketing message.

14. The system of any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the caller identification comprises a calling line identification.

15. The system of any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the caller identification comprises an account number obtained using an interactive voice response system.

16. The system of any of claims 11 to 15, wherein the system is operable to determine whether or not to select one of said stored informational audio messages for playing to the caller.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said determination is based on a queue status for incoming callers.

18. The system of any of claims 11 to 17, wherein it may be determined from the caller information that there is no stored informational audio message to play to the caller.

19. The system of any of claims 11 to 18, wherein the plurality of stored informational audio messages comprises a single message having a plurality of inserts available, and wherein selecting a stored audio message comprises selecting one or more inserts appropriate to the caller.

20. The system of any of claims 11 to 19, wherein the system is operable, after playing the selected stored informational audio message to the caller, to connect the caller to an agent and to provide the agent with an indication of the selected stored informational audio message played to the caller.

21. A method of operating a computer-telephony system substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

22. A computer-telephony system substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.