How to Choose a Co-Browsing Solution for Your Contact Center?

Do you want to know how to choose a co-browsing solution for a contact center? If yes, then you’ve come to the right place.

Serving customers and taking proper care of them is a must to succeed in the contact center industry. However, customer requests are difficult to handle daily; sometimes, they can take longer to resolve. As a result, customers have to wait for ages, which negatively affects their experience.

A co-browsing solution is handy when it comes to quickly resolving customer requests. It allows agents to access the customer’s screen to resolve issues in real-time. Today, we’ll show you how to pick the right co-browsing technology for your contact center.

Introduction to Co-Browsing Solutions

Co-browsing is a short form of collaborative browsing. This technology allows agents to access a customer’s browser and view their screen in real time.

This technology allows agents to see customers’ views on their screens to improve the customer journey. All in all, co-browsing gives the contact center agents full authority to join alongside customers in their browsing sessions in real-time. Here are some of its benefits:

• As agents can see what customers view on the screen, it results in quicker resolutions, fewer wait times, and boost customer retention.
• It ultimately improves first-contact resolution rates, which enhances customer satisfaction. 
• Co-browsing can be used as a medium to guide customers throughout the buying process. Thus, it leads to an increase in conversion rates.
• Agents can only view a specific browser window, not the whole desktop; thereby, it’s much more secure than traditional screen sharing. 
• Co-browsing becomes a valuable tool when it comes to training newly hired employees or the onboarding process. 

Moreover, picking the right co-browsing solution is essential to leveraging this technology’s full potential. When choosing a co-browsing provider, look for factors like cost, security, features, etc.

The ideal solution can bring the best experience for both parties, agents and customers.

Understanding Your Contact Center Needs

Before diving into other things, you must determine your cloud contact center needs. Here are the steps that help you understand what your contact center requires:

1) Clarifying business goals and objectives for implementing co-browsing

Before creating a full-fledged contact center, you must identify the business goals or reasons for implementing co-browsing. The search for the answer begins by asking specific questions like:

• Is customer satisfaction your main priority?
• Are you looking to increase sales conversions through the contact center?
• Do you aim to reduce operational costs? 

The goals may be different for each individual. Based on that, you can target specific functionalities needed in a contact center. 

2) Digging deep into technology needs

Aside from business goals and priorities, you must also be sure of the technological needs. Start by asking yourself questions like:

• Do you want a cloud-based or on-premise solution?
• What type of reporting and analytics features are vital?
• Is your chosen system integrated with your CRM?

3) Assessing Your Current Contact Center Operations

Assessing your contact center operations is crucial for a more competitive edge. 

• Go through the call recordings to recognize areas for improvement where agents can put in more effort. 
• Monitor the agent’s performance through metrics like Average Handle Time, First Contact Resolution (FCR), and call abandonment rates.
• Monitor metrics like cost-per-call and cost-per-resolution to smoothen the operational efficiency.
• Analyze call volume and contact center agent availability to understand the staffing needs and identify scheduling gaps.
• Invest in self-service options like FAQs, related articles, and, most importantly, chatbots for more personalized service.

4) Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping is a way to get insights into the customer’s experience when interacting with your business. By implementing this strategy, you can get to know customer sentiments and feelings from a closer angle.

Not only that, but customer satisfaction can also be tracked in all the touchpoints from start to end. All the elements of a customer journey map are as follows:

1.Timeline: It reveals various stages a customer progresses through one by one.

2. Touchpoints: Touchpoints refer to all customer communication with the brand. It can be website visits, social media interactions, phone calls, etc.

3. Actions: The customer takes a specific action at each touchpoint.

4. Thoughts & Feelings: Thoughts or feelings a customer may experience at each stage.

5. Pain Points & Improvements: Recognizing the pain points of the customer where you can improve their experience.

 

Key Features to Look for in a Co-Browsing Solution

There are several features of a co-browsing solution that you can use to make call center operations more efficient. Here are some of those:

1. Real-time collaboration capabilities

Real-time collaboration capabilities ensure that agents and customers work together cohesively. The co-browsing solution includes synchronized browsing, through which agents and customers can view the same webpage. 

A specific ‘co-annotation’ functionality allows both parties to put highlighted marks like cursors, arrows, or text boxes. Highlighting particular areas means the communication can be straightforward. 

Furthermore, files can be shared securely on the co-browsing sessions. It also provides the option to record co-browsing sessions, which can be helpful for training. 

2. Compatibility with existing systems and platforms

First and foremost, the co-browsing session implements encryption protocols like AES-256 to safeguard data during co-browsing sessions. To maintain privacy, it masks sensitive information such as credit card numbers or passwords on the customer’s screen.

Customers have complete control over what the agents can view and do inside the customer’s browser window. Most importantly, the co-browsing solution adheres to relevant data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.

3. Security and compliance measures

A co-browsing solution integrates with existing CRM (e.g., Salesforce, Zendesk) and helps desk software smooth agents’ workflows. This makes information sharing easy between platforms, eliminating the requirement of manual data entry.

Integrations are also helpful from the agent’s perspective as they don’t have to switch between several platforms during co-browsing sessions. As a result, they can put all their attention into serving customers better.

The co-browsing solution works seamlessly with all major web browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc. It prevents co-browsing sessions from continuing without any disruptions. It even supports multiple devices, such as desktops, laptops, smartphones, etc.

4. Customization and scalability options

Even if the number of agents or the business grows, the co-browsing solution can handle the capacity. You can select a plan that allows you to add more agents as your team expands.

The right solution can also effortlessly support a high volume of sessions without hampering performance. It even offers loads of customization options, so you can easily change the look and feel of the co-browsing interface. 

Also, it lets you customize branding elements like logos and greetings in the co-browsing window. You can personalize welcome messages and texts, which get displayed to customers. 

5. User interface and ease of integration

The co-browsing interface for both parties is clear and straightforward. Most importantly, it is uncluttered. No technical knowledge is required as all the elements are easy to understand.

It also allows you to change the appearance or customize the elements like the company logo and color scheme. The co-browsing solution offers codeless integration so that the installation process on your website can be quick and hassle-free.

How to choose a co-browsing solution for a contact center?

You need to know a few things when choosing the right co-browsing solution. It revolves around addressing technical needs and the user experience you want to build. Here’s what you need to follow:

A. Identify your Needs and Goals

First and foremost, you need to figure out areas where co-browsing can be handy in serving customers. It can be complex forms, website navigation, product demos, or anywhere you like. 

Also, you must consider how co-browsing combines with your existing agent workflows. And how they cope with the new technology. 

Apart from that, you need to determine the level of data security and privacy compliance based on your industry. It may be GDPR, CCPA, etc. 

B. Consider Features and Functionality

The co-browsing solution you’re investing in should include basic features like secure connections, real-time collaboration tools, and data masking.

Depending on your specific needs, it should include extra features like agent-controlled navigation, file sharing, or mobile app co-browsing. Furthermore, it should be easy to use for both agents and customers. 

C. Research and Compare Solutions

You need to do comprehensive research before deciding on a co-browsing solution provider. You can even use free trials or demo sessions provided by the service providers to understand the system and its functionalities properly.

When researching co-browsing solution providers, you must look for a few factors. Those are pricing, features, user-friendliness, testimonials, and reviews. 

D. Integration and Compatibility

Ensure that the co-browsing solution you’ve picked integrates with your current contact center software and CRM systems. 

Performance monitoring or call monitoring is crucial for any organization to thrive. You can regularly monitor metrics like session success rates, customer satisfaction, and agent efficiency. This way, you’ll have a broad idea of which area is doing well and which is lacking.

E. Training and Proper Knowledge   

There is no benefit to a contact center if agents are not well-equipped to use the co-browsing solution and its features. Therefore, proper, comprehensive training on using the solution should be provided to agents.

Also, they should be knowledgeable and up to date with the best practices for customer interactions.

Co-browsing and Screen-sharing: Differences

One common trait between co-browsing and screen-sharing is that they are both remote collaboration tools. However, there are some differences, and we’ll discuss that here.

Feature	Co-browsing	Screen Sharing
Definition	Agents can access the customer’s browser in real time with the ability to make changes	Sharing access to a computer screen without being able to make changes
Shared information	In co-browsing, a specific web page or application tab is shared	Here, an entire desktop screen is shared
Security and Privacy	Since it offers a limited view, it is more secure	An entire screen is visible, which makes it less secure
Control	Customer and agent can control things	Users have the full control here
Application	Customer support on websites	Presentations, software demos, desktop app support

Critical Considerations for Co-Browsing Solutions

Going for a co-browsing solution needs to be a thoughtful process, as it can impact the overall efficiency of the contact center. Here are the key things to keep in mind:

Security and Privacy

• Depending on your target audience, ensure it adheres to relevant data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. 
• Make sure it uses robust encryption protocols similar to AES 256.
• User privacy should be protected by masking sensitive customer data.
• Customers should have the ability to control the initiation of sessions.

User Friendliness

• The customer and agent interface should be simple and easy to use.
• You should be able to customize the UI with ease.

Functionalities and Features

• Real-time co-browsing should be supported to improve customer experience. 
• Co-annotation and highlighting tools allow agents to highlight specific areas, draw arrows, etc, for effective communication.
• For conducting training sessions, you should be able to record co-browsing sessions.
• The use of mobile devices is growing; hence, the co-browsing solution should work smoothly on smartphones and tablets.
• Look for a solution that integrates with tools like CRM or ticketing systems. 
• Users should get access to past co-browsing session info and reports to understand customer behavior and patterns.

Conclusion

And that’s a wrap! In this article, we’ve demonstrated how to choose a co-browsing solution for your contact center. We hope it helps you. 

Co-browsing is great for real-time collaboration between a customer and an agent. In co-browsing, both parties can browse together on a website, just like sitting next to each other.

Suppose a customer goes through any sort of problem. This technology becomes handy in that case as the agents can visually see what is wrong. Hence, it leads to faster resolution of issues no matter how big they are.

FAQs

How do I choose a contact center solution?

When choosing a contact center solution, you should understand your organizational needs first. Then, consider what kind of features you want and, based on that, perform comprehensive research. 

How do you implement co-browsing?

To implement co-browsing, you should pick a co-browsing solution, perform the setup process, and provide training to agents. 

Is it safe to use co-browsing?

A reputable co-browsing solution allows agents to view only a specific webpage or application. Aside from that, it includes data masking and session initiation control, which promotes security. Hence, it is safe to use.

What is a co-browsing code?

A co-browsing code is a unique identifier helpful in securing a co-browsing session between the agents and customers.

What is the purpose of co-browsing?

The primary job of co-browsing is to establish a real-time collaboration between a customer and an agent on a specific web page or application.