Autumn 2007

A web-based reporting system has been launched by GoResponse to help e-commerce businesses by providing real-time and historical information on telephone-based sales calls and customer service calls generated from an online store. The information can be accessed on any internet-connected computer.

The company says the system, LiveStream, was developed in close collaboration with its e-commerce clients. One of their prime requirement was to have instant information and be able to compare the sales results of the call handling channel against web-based sales. This was the key to understanding how different campaigns and promotions were affecting results.

GoResponse says that despite the widely-documented phenomenon of shopping cart abandonment, many e-retailers avoid considering the telephone as a complimentary channel for sales activity - normally through concerns about costs and loss of control. Yet it says telephone-generated sales tend to be 25 per cent more valuable than online sales - mainly through the extra confidence the telephone generates, plus the up-selling opportunities.