BEDFORD, Mass., Dec. 8, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SoundBite Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:SDBT), a leading provider of on-demand, multi-channel proactive customer communications, today announced the release of its Contact Center Text Messaging Solution. This is the first solution to enable an organization to communicate with consumers using a seamless combination of automated and agent-assisted interactive text messaging. The solution leverages SoundBite's Dialog Engine and Agent Text Portal, unique features available on the Q4 2009 release of SoundBite Engage, the new version of SoundBite's multi-channel communications platform also announced on December 8, 2009.
The mobile phone and text messaging have forever altered how consumers communicate. Text messaging has emerged as a preferred communications channel for millions of consumers due to its convenience and the ubiquity of the mobile phone. Still, many organizations have yet to align their contact center infrastructure with this emerging consumer communications preference.
SoundBite's Contact Center Text Messaging Solution empowers organizations to engage with consumers using the mobile device and the increasingly popular text messaging channel. With SoundBite's Contact Center Text Messaging Solution, an organization can reduce its customer support and telephony costs while increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction. Unlike traditional voice-based support, text messaging enables agents to simultaneously support multiple consumer interactions, which increases agent productivity. Texting also frees consumers from long hold times waiting to speak with an agent. Consumers simply send a private text message and look forward to a quick response.
"SoundBite Contact Center Text Messaging Solution is a potent new tool for organizations that understand the importance of leveraging consumers' communications preferences and the ubiquity of the mobile phone," said George Peabody, Director of Mercator Advisory Group's Emerging Technologies Advisory Service. "With text-savvy consumers growing across all age groups, the ability to create a relevant and interactive text messaging dialog with consumers is a home run for organizations looking to attract and retain valued customers. Reducing long hold times and expensive agent interactions works for the consumer as well as the organization."
SoundBite's Contact Center Text Messaging Solution enables mobile consumers to initiate or respond to important messages from a business via a text message. Rather than calling a customer support center, a consumer has the option to send a text message using a keyword and five digit telephone number, known as a short code. When the consumer sends a text message, the SoundBite Dialog Engine reviews the message using a set of predefined business rules. Based on the results, the solution automatically responds with a personalized text message which results in greater contact center productivity.
If the consumer's text message warrants special attention, then the message will be routed to a customer support agent who can access the entire message history and respond accordingly using the SoundBite Agent Text Portal. The entire text message conversation can transition seamlessly from agent to automation and vice-versa, depending on the consumer's most recent response.
"The ubiquity of the mobile phone and consumers' growing preferences for text messaging have created a global phenomenon. Yet businesses have not fully leveraged this channel to address customer service issues and communicate with their customers," said Alan Berrey, SoundBite's Vice President of Market Development for Text and Mobile Messaging. "SoundBite's Contact Center Text Messaging Solution allows companies to answer important customer questions more efficiently, manage multiple conversations, reduce hold times for consumers, and most importantly, decrease costs."
To view a multi-media demonstration of SoundBite's Contact Center Text Messaging Solution, visit http://www.soundbite.com/solutions/text-messaging/contact-center-text-messaging?pr.
About SoundBite Communications
SoundBite Communications is a leading provider of on-demand, multi-channel proactive customer communications solutions designed to transform the way organizations communicate throughout the customer lifecycle to build trusted, lifelong and profitable relationships. Clients can leverage SoundBite's Proactive Customer Communications Offering and expertise in designing, executing and optimizing communications strategies to engage in relevant customer interactions that deliver long-term business value. Visit SoundBite.com for more information.
SoundBite is a registered service mark, and SoundBite Engage, SoundBite Dialog Engine and SoundBite Agent Text Portal are service marks, of SoundBite Communications, Inc.
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