NetByTel`s Order Status Voice Commerce Module Uses Speech Recognition to Track Web and Catalog Orders
NetByTel`s Speech Recognition-based Voice Commerce Application Saves
Customers Such as the Mark Group From Fielding Numerous Routine
Requests
BOCA RATON, Fla.--May 2, 2001--NetByTel, the first company to extend voice commerce technology to Web sites, today announced NetByTel Connected(TM) Order Status, a voice commerce application that slashes call center costs by automating routine information requests using speech recognition.
NetByTel`s Order Status Voice Commerce Module gives callers instant access to the status of any order placed by live operator, by Web or catalog by talking to the Web over the phone. The module uses speech recognition to process the requests and interact with client Web-based IT systems and also offers the option of speaking with a live operator. In contrast to cumbersome touch-tone interactive voice response systems, callers interact with Order Status simply by speaking into the phone as if they were speaking to a live call center representative.
In addition to providing a new customer self-service option for clients` customers, Order Status saves personnel from fielding numerous "where`s my order ..." requests each day so they can focus on more important tasks. Such calls cost between $3 and $5 each for a call center agent to field, and even more when a floor salesperson has to take the call. The Mark Group is riding the crest of a new wave of interest in speech recognition for voice commerce. A Cahners In-Stat Group report links the trend toward speech recognition to the "explosive growth in contact centers and ever increasing demand for CRM applications." The report, "Speech Recognition: Listen to the Market Explode," predicts that by 2005, sales of speech recognition software engines will reach $2.7 billion.
NetByTel outfits The Mark Group with Order Status
The NetByTel Connected(TM) Order Status Module offers customers of The Mark Group, of Boca Raton, Florida, for example, an additional way of checking on the shipping status of their orders. The Mark Group is the $119 million parent company of three catalogs, Mark, Fore & Strike, Boston Proper and Charles Keath, selling high-end women`s clothing and fine home furnishings. The Mark Group`s customers call a toll-free number unique to each of its brands to connect to NetByTel`s voice commerce module, which automatically queries the Mark Group`s real-time based customer service system. The application provides the caller with an accurate answer without waiting on hold. Callers simply speak to the application via any telephone, without the need to enter touchtone numbers or suffer through lengthy menus.
"We`re excited to be partnering with NetByTel because their speech recognition has more personality and natural conversational flow than anything else out there," said Scott Bryant, The Mark Group`s vice president of operations. "It creates the impression that you`re speaking with a person rather than listening to a machine."
NetByTel Connected(TM) Order Status seamlessly interacts with other NetByTel Voice Commerce Modules to provide additional customer services when stores or offices are closed. For example, Order Status may offer the option to order products or check pricing and availability. NetByTel`s Voice Commerce Modules utilize speech technology from SpeechWorks International (Nasdaq: SPWX ) and telephony hardware from Dialogic, an Intel Company (Nasdaq: INTC).
"NetByTel Connected(TM) Order Status combines advanced tracking and inventory technology with industry-leading speech recognition, typically without changing any code or IT infrastructure of our clients," said Paul Robinson, NetByTel president and co-founder. "We`re providing call centers with the first truly economical, easy-to-implement speech-recognition solution for handling customers` routine questions about their orders in a way that maximizes IT investment value."
The NetByTel Order Status Module is available immediately. NetByTel offers this and other Voice Commerce Modules within a service provider model, rapidly deploying complex software that pays for itself on a fee-per-transaction model without significant up-front costs.
About The Mark Group
A multi-brand, multi-channel, direct-to-consumer marketer of apparel and home accessories, The Mark Group, Inc., consists of three dynamic brands: Boston Proper, Charles Keath and Mark, Fore & Strike. The company, founded in 1951, is headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., and mails more than 60 million catalogs annually. Additionally, the company operates 18 retail and outlet stores along the eastern seaboard of the United States and three e-commerce Web sites.
About NetByTel
NetByTel makes the World Wide Web wider than ever with voice commerce solutions that connect online e-commerce systems and telephones using speech recognition as the interface. The NetByTel Voice Commerce Platform gives click and mortar companies the ability to offer quality self-service to millions of customers and employees who use their voice to conduct Web-based transactions, such as product ordering and customer service inquires, freeing up personnel and lowering inbound customer call costs by as much as 87 percent. NetByTel`s plug-and-play voice commerce modules take advantage of current e-commerce infrastructure, making implementation fast, easy and cost-effective. NetByTel`s solutions have won several awards including the 2001 Call Center and CRM Solutions Best Speech Product as well as Frost and Sullivan`s 2001 Business Development Strategy Award for Voice Commerce. NetByTel partners with world-class organizations such as SpeechWorks (Nasdaq: SPWX), and Dialogic, an Intel Company (Nasdaq: INTC). For more information about NetByTel, visit the company`s Web site at www.netbytel.com.
CONTACT:
Beaupre & Co. Public Relations
Tim Munroe, 603-559-5820
tmunroe@beaupre.com
NetByTel, Inc.
Steve Avalone, 561-237-0950
savalone@netbytel.com
Back...
