SOFTWARE ‘LEARNS’ FROM CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR

Faced with a confusing Web site or an unanswered question, Web users are more likely to abandon the site than call a help desk or e-mail a customer service department. In an effort to put an end to that potentially costly trend, San Diego, Calif.-based customer assistance software vendor eHelp Corporation has unveiled DynaHelp 1.5 eBusiness self-assistance software. The software promises to actually ‘learn’ from customer behaviour to improve Web site usability. According to eHelp, the software features an integrated self-assistance centre that customers can use to pinpoint information or find answers to their questions, without requiring intervention by a live customer service agent. In addition to anticipating customer questions and generating FAQs, DynaHelp also provides customer behaviour analysis to help an organization improve its Web site, products and services.

DIGITAL POSTCARDS BECOME MARKETING TOOLS

An Indianapolis, Ind.-based company is turning the classic ‘Wish-you-were-here’ postcard sentiment into a valuable marketing service for event sponsors. Wishoo uses digital photography to capture the smiles of participants at sporting events, business conventions and entertainment attractions. After the photo is taken (at no cost to the consumer), the participant is given a unique identification number, which they can use to view the photo on Wishoo’s Web site. Consumers can then turn the photo into a customized electronic greeting card and send it to friends and family around the world. In order to access a Wishoo photo, the consumer gives his name, zip code and e-mail address, and is given the opportunity to opt-in to receive further information on future events, or special offers. The permission-based information is then provided to event sponsors and their merchant partners.

SOFTWARE ALLOWS BANKS TO INTEGRATE E-COMMERCE, CRM

Thanks to a partnership between two Vancouver companies, banks and other financial services companies will soon be able to consolidate massive volumes of fragmented customer information into one unified repository. The partnership, between Pivotal Corp. and Datawest Solutions, promises make possible enterprise-wide intelligence to allow for more personalized marketing, sales and services. The companies say the hosted solutions will enable financial services companies to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty and increase revenue-generating opportunities by creating personalized interactions across all distribution channels – including the Internet, ATMs and call centres.

ENGINE ALLOWS WIRELESS CONTENT TO BE VIEWED ON ANY DEVICE

A Toronto company has developed a wireless enabling engine that promises to deliver Internet content and applications to any wireless device – including the RIM Blackberry, Ericsson WAP phones and Palm wireless devices. OceanLake Commerce’s mScope engine eliminates the need to write device-specific content, meaning Web sites can be deployed for the wireless market in as little as two weeks.