System and method of intelligent call routing for cross sell offer selection based on optimization parameters or account-level data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9692901-B2
Application number	US-201615078489-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 23, 2016
Priority date	Jul 9, 1999
Publication date	Jun 27, 2017
Grant date	Jun 27, 2017

Abstract

An apparatus and methods for a call routing system is disclosed whereby the call routing service provider is associated with a series of partners. By providing a system supporting not only the main user, but also the partners, efficiencies are gained through cost-spreading. Agents can be qualified to field calls for multiple business entities. Cross-selling and proactive servicing based on caller demographic and profile data can be effectuated. The system employs a centralized or global bank of shared Interactive Voice Response (IVR) units so that unnecessary post-routing and call site interflow are reduced. The system comprises a central server system that interfaces with a long distance provider so that route requests are received, caller data is retrieved from one or more databases, routing and handling strategies are developed, load balancing is effectuated, and calls are appropriately routed to one of a plurality of geographically separated call center systems with queues staffed by agents. Each call center system is designed to support various queues, and agents may be qualified or assigned to various queues based on their skill sets and skill levels.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of routing and handling incoming customer communications in a unified system having a central server, the method comprising:
pre-forming, by at least one first computer processor, at least partially a communication strategy for a customer, in anticipation of at least one incoming real-time communication from the customer, wherein the at least one incoming real-time communication is selected from a group consisting of telephonic calls, web-based communications, voice-over-IP communications, and real-time text interactions, the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy comprising at least one of a routing strategy and a handling strategy determined based on customer-specific behavior or profile data and/or offer information relating to one or more products or services;
storing the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy in association with the central server;
receiving, at the central server, information of a customer communication including identification data that identifies the customer for whom the communication strategy has been at least partially pre-formed; and
generating, by at least one second computer processor, a routing control signal for routing or handling the customer communication based at least in part on the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy associated with the customer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said customer-specific behavior or profile data comprises one or more online actions associated with said customer's online account.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said real-time text interactions are selected from a group consisting of a text messaging communications, Internet chat communications, and customer service messaging communications.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identification data are selected from a group consisting of a phone number, an IP address, a device identifier, a user identifier, and a program identifier.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
deciding, based at least in part on a communication probability derived from customer-specific information, whether the customer communication will be routed to one of a plurality of cross-sell presentations.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
deciding, based at least in part on an offer eligibility derived from customer-specific information, whether the customer communication will be routed to one of a plurality of cross-sell presentations.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
forming the communication strategy by applying an optimization algorithm to determine whether to route the at least one incoming real-time communication to one of a plurality of cross-sell presentations.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
presenting the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy to a customer service representative.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
revising or refining the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy based on one or more additional inputs from the customer at or near a time of the customer communication.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the customer communication is routed to a medium or communication channel different from that of the customer communication.

11. A unified system for routing and handling incoming customer communications, the system comprising:
at least one central server;
at least one database accessible by the at least one central server; and
communication interfaces for communicating with customers via one or more channels selected from a group consisting of: telephonic calls, web-based communications, voice-over-IP communications, and real-time text interactions;
wherein the at least one central server is configured to:
pre-form at least partially a communication strategy for a customer, in anticipation of at least one incoming real-time communication from the customer, wherein the at least one incoming real-time communication is selected from a group consisting of telephonic calls, web-based communications, voice-over-IP communications, and real-time text interactions, the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy comprising at least one of a routing strategy and a handling strategy determined based on customer-specific behavior or profile data and/or offer information relating to one or more products or services;
store the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy in the at least database;
receive information of a customer communication including identification data that identifies the customer for whom the communication strategy has been at least partially pre-formed; and
generate a routing control signal for routing or handling the customer communication based at least in part on the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy associated with the customer.

12. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein said customer-specific behavior or profile data comprises one or more online actions associated with said customer's online account.

13. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein said real-time text interactions are selected from a group consisting of a text messaging communications, Internet chat communications, and customer service messaging communications.

14. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein the identification data are selected from a group consisting of a phone number, an IP address, a device identifier, a user identifier, and a program identifier.

15. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one central server is further configured to:
decide, based at least in part on a communication probability derived from customer-specific information, whether the customer communication will be routed to one of a plurality of cross-sell presentations.

16. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one central server is further configured to:
decide, based at least in part on an offer eligibility derived from customer-specific information, whether the customer communication will be routed to one of a plurality of cross-sell presentations.

17. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one central server is further configured to:
form the communication strategy by applying an optimization algorithm to determine whether to route the at least one incoming real-time communication to one of a plurality of cross-sell presentations.

18. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one central server is further configured to:
present the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy to a customer service representative.

19. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one central server is further configured to:
revise or refine the at least partially pre-formed communication strategy based on one or more additional inputs from the customer at or near a time of the customer communication.

20. The unified system of claim 11 , wherein the customer communication is routed to a medium or communication channel different from that of the customer communication.

21. Instructions embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium capable of causing a computer to route and handle in a computer-implemented system incoming customer communications, the instructions embodied in the non-transitory computer readable medium configured to cause the computer to:
pre-form at least partially a communication strategy for a customer, in anticipation of at least one incoming real-time communication from the customer, wherein the at le

Assignees

• Jpmorgan Chase Bank Na
• Jpmorgan Chase Bank Na

Inventors

• Ma Lizhi
• Pederson Shane P
• Khaemba Wilson
• Wang Hui
• Kurubarahalli Guru
• Ulrich Gary
• Dhir Nitin
• Shkreli Djovana

Classifications

• H04M3/5233

  Operator skill based call distribution · CPC title

• H04M3/493 Primary

  Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries {; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals} · CPC title

• H04M3/5183

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

• H04M3/523

  with call distribution or queueing · CPC title

• H04M3/5237

  Interconnection arrangements between ACD systems · CPC title