Unified view of short message service (SMS) interaction history with other channel messages based on case identifier in a customer relationship management (CRM) application
A method to provide a unified and integrated view of the SMS Interaction history with other channel messages (irrespective of the Interaction channel) based on Case ID (Case Identifier) in a CRM application. The method parses the incoming SMS message text for the Case Identifier. The Interaction Thread belonging to the same Case ID is retrieved from the CRM application database and the incoming SMS message is added to that Interaction Thread. The whole interaction history pertaining to the same Case ID is displayed on the CRM application user interface at one place along with latest received massage via SMS along with various other channels of communication in order to enable proper management of the customer interaction. In case there is no Interaction Thread having same Case ID, a new Interaction Thread is created and all subsequent messages are threaded to the new Interaction Thread.
1. A method to provide a unified view of short message service (SMS) interaction history in a customer relationship management (CRM) application, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving an incoming SMS message in a CRM application;
extracting a Case ID embedded inside said incoming SMS message;
locating a pre-existing interaction thread of SMS messages responsive to one another in a database for the CRM application, the pre-existing interaction thread being associated with the extracted Case ID;
retrieving the located interaction thread from the database;
threading said incoming SMS message into the located interaction thread; and,
displaying said located interaction thread with the threaded incoming SMS message in an interaction history panel of the CRM application.
2. The method as in claim 1 wherein said incoming SMS message includes a unique Case ID embedded inside said message text.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said Case ID comprises: a keyword comprised of one or more letters and; a substring comprised of one or more numeric characters.
4. The method as in claim 3 wherein the step of extracting a Case ID includes the following steps:
searching for said keyword and said substring inside said incoming SMS message text;
matching said keyword and said substring with a corresponding keyword and substring in a pre-existing Case ID associated with saved messages in said database;
resolving an exact Case ID from said matched keyword and said substring.
5. The method as in claim 1 wherein said interaction thread comprises both incoming and also outgoing messages exchanged via at least one of a plurality of communication channels selected from the group consisting of e-mail communication, telephony based voice communication, internet based chat communication, and telephone line based fax.
6. The method as in claim 1 wherein a new interaction thread is created upon receiving a new SMS message responsive to no matching Case ID being found in the step of extracting the Case ID.
7. The method as in claim 1 wherein all subsequent incoming SMS messages with a same Case ID are threaded to said pre-existing interaction thread.
8. The method as in claim 1 wherein said interaction history panel comprises:
all saved messages received or sent via e-mail communication, telephony based voice communication, internet based chat communication, or telephone line based fax;
a Case ID associated with said saved messages;
a communication channel through which the saved messages had been exchanged;
a date and time of receiving or sending said saved messages with
said messages being sorted by date and time of receiving or sending.
9. The method as in claim 1 wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
saving incoming SMS messages to the database with a Case ID attached to each of said SMS messages; and,
upon request of a user, retrieving said SMS messages from said application database and displaying the SMS messages on a user interface of said CRM application.
10. The method as in claim 9 further includes updating said CRM database to reflect latest messages received or sent through said CRM application.