Automation: The Droids You’re Looking For
Discover how automation can improve the quality of your customer service with these eight tips.
The definition of customer service has changed quite a lot in the history of competitive marketplaces. While many of us imagine a warm and friendly human interaction when we think of customer service, the technology age has brought about a new definition of customer service: automation.
An excellent automated customer experience amounts to a customer’s ability to progress through their own business venture at the desired pace to reach the desired goal. From a contact centre’s perspective, automated customer service can not only make for happier customers, but can also decrease your overhead costs by reserving agents for moments that require that irreplaceable human touch. Leave the rest to the bots.
Read on for the top eight automated service tips that every company should be using.
1. Web Guidance Systems
Assisting consumers through to the purchase is a great way of minimizing abandoned shopping carts. Website guidance and engagement systems such as WalkMe can help guide customers through their online venture, helping them meet their objectives and enjoy a smooth user experience.
2. FAQ’s
Every company website should have an FAQ. Keep FAQ’s updated regularly by noting some of the most commonly asked questions over the phones or on other channels of communication. You might be surprised at how many of them could be easily resolved with an updated FAQ.
3. Tutorials
If your website is tricky to navigate or might appear complex to a first-time visitor, consider including a tutorial video on your main page. This can help guide users through your website by explaining how to accomplish some of the most common tasks such as creating an account, checking a balance or confirming a purchase.
4. Bots for Simple Tasks
While there will always be a place for human-to-human interaction in customer service, some customers prefer to deal with an automated system rather than go through a personal interaction. According to a recent Cisco Customer Experience Report, 52 percent of customers prefer self-service simply because it’s quicker. Speed up the process by using automation for tasks like confirming appointments, updating contact information or making simple purchases.
5. Seamless Integration between Channels
No one likes to be passed from one system to another without making any headway. Remember when three different customer service agents asked you for your name and reason for calling three times? It’s just as frustrating with automated systems as it is with actual human beings, if not more so. Seamless integration should be a priority in contact centres to ensure that when a customer is passed from one channel to another, whether automated or not, their acquired data gets passed along with them.
6. Personalization
HubSpot recently found that personalized calls-to-action result in a 42 percent higher conversion rate. Customers today are looking for personalization, and that applies to your automated services. So have your interactive voice response (IVR) greet them by name or ask if they’d like an update on their recent purchase. Send them payment reminders by SMS and check in on their recent customer service experience with an automated email.
7. Combine Human and Automated Interaction
Many contact centres find that some questions get asked repeatedly by customers and could be answered by a simple script walking them through the problem. In these cases, create an automated script to help customers resolve their issue on their own when possible. On the event of a call concerning the problem, once the agent recognizes the issue, they can pass the customer along to the automated script, checking back in when the interaction is complete to make sure the problem has been resolved.
8. Implement the Right Technology for Instant Access to Data
Data mining is a great tactic for contact centre efficiency and personalization. When a customer calls in, his or her call history and other information should be displayed in such a way that agents can easily adapt to the customer’s history. When using automation, the benefits of data mining still apply. Your IVR can adapt to your customer’s history to inquire about their purchase. This means it can recognize whether your customer is calling about past purchases, making a payment, or finalizing a purchase.
These eight golden rules can help your contact centre implement the best-automated customer experience. Remember that contact centres benefit in more ways than one with automation. Happier customers means happier agents, while less agent handling time means lower overhead costs. What’s better than a situation where everyone wins?
For more information on how automation can take your customer service to the next level, download our free white paper.
