Managing interactive communications campaigns with reduced customer-to-agent connection latency

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9680993-B2
Application number	US-201615089143-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 1, 2016
Priority date	Jan 8, 2009
Publication date	Jun 13, 2017
Grant date	Jun 13, 2017

Abstract

A web-based hosted solution through which business entities create and manage communications campaigns is described. To reduce latency of customer-to-agent connections, the system implements an agent stay-on-line function by which a persistent telephony connection is established and maintained between the system infrastructure and an available agent. In this manner, the agent may handle multiple customers while avoiding an ACD hold queue. In addition, preferably a service-side hold queue also is established and maintained on the service-side of the infrastructure. This hold queue maintains calls that are waiting to be connected to available agents. It ensures that any customer abandons do not impair the connections being established and maintained to the agents.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for managing interactive communications campaigns, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
establish a persistent telephony connection to an agent device accessible to an agent;
connect a first customer to the agent over the persistent telephony connection;
determine whether the communication with the first customer has been terminated while maintaining the persistent telephony connection with the agent device;
determine whether the agent is prepared to receive a next communication; and
in response to determining that the agent is prepared to receive the next communication, connect a second customer to the agent over the persistent telephony connection.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein a state of the agent is set to a busy state in response to connecting the first customer to the agent.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the state of the agent is changed from the busy state to an after-call-work (ACW) state in response to the communication with the first customer being terminated.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the state of the agent is changed from the ACW state to an available state when the agent is prepared to receive the next communication.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the agent is prepared to receive the next communication comprises instructions that cause the processor to receive data indicating that the state of the agent is the available state.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to provide the agent information about the first customer.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the information about the first customer is provided over a whisper connection.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the information about the first customer is provided programmatically via an application programming interface (API).

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
determine whether the first customer should be connected to the agent based on whether the first customer has indicated a direct connect request.

10. A method for managing interactive communications campaigns, comprising:
establishing, by a processor, a persistent telephony connection to an agent device accessible to an agent;
connecting, by the processor, a first customer to the agent over the persistent telephony connection;
determining, by the processor, whether the communication with the first customer has been terminated while maintaining the persistent telephony connection with the agent device;
determining, by the processor, whether the agent is prepared to receive a next communication; and
in response to determining that the agent is prepared to receive the next communication, connecting, by the processor, a second customer to the agent over the persistent telephony connection.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein a state of the agent is set to a busy state in response to connecting the first customer to the agent.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the state of the agent is changed from the busy state to an after-call-work (ACW) state in response to the communication with the first customer being terminated.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the state of the agent is changed from the ACW state to an available state when the agent is prepared to receive the next communication.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the determining of whether the agent is prepared to receive the next communication comprises:
receiving, by the processor, data indicating that the state of the agent is the available state.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
providing, by the processor, to the agent, information about the first customer.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the information about the first customer is provided over a whisper connection.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the information about the first customer is provided programmatically via an application programming interface (API).

18. The method of claim 10 , further comprising: determining, by the processor, whether the first customer should be connected to the agent based on whether the first customer has indicated a direct connect request.

Assignees

• Soundbite Communications Inc
• Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc

Inventors

• Segall Timothy R
• Weinstein Damon

Classifications

• H04M3/5191

  interacting with the Internet · CPC title

• H04M3/5183

  Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements · CPC title

• H04M3/5158 Primary

  in combination with automated outdialling systems (devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26) · CPC title

• H04M3/51

  Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention {, e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing} · CPC title

• H04M3/42365 Primary

  Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity · CPC title