It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that consumers want companies to value their time. Interactions that save time will give a better customer experience and leave them feeling good about your organisation. If you have a business with a customer service element, automated customer service could be your new best friend. It's an excellent way for organisations to delight their customers while improving operations.
Can automated customer service work for you?
Customer service automation can be the first contact with customers experiencing a problem. It can address tasks including greeting and confirming receipt of their message, collecting data, verifying accounts, prompts for resetting passwords, assessing problems and offering simple solutions or allocating the appropriate channel for a more detailed response.
Your requirements will depend on different factors, including the size of your company and the nature of your business. There is an array of methods that can vary in complexity, such as a searchable knowledge base or FAQ page, an email with a canned response, prepared responses to popular customer questions, interactive voice response (IVR) and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.
The advantages of automated customer service
Implementing automated customer service can allow customers to find solutions to problems without involving people from your company. Right off the bat, there is the advantage that automated support can be available at any time of the day, any day of the year. They are cheaper and can take on simple tasks such as allocating enquiries to the right department. And this means that customer service representatives can free up their time and attention for those who really require human support.
- In a fast-paced business environment, getting back to a customer in good time could mean the difference between keeping them or seeing them take their business to a competitor. Ensure that your response times make the right impression and the memory of a good experience.
- Another benefit of automated customer service is that it can be used on different platforms. Customers appreciate the convenience of using their preferred media, whether that is a phone call, social media channels or email. A full omnichannel experience will also allow them to switch between platforms without having to explain themselves again. The best-automated customer care services can monitor every channel and update information on your system so that your customer service team will be informed.
- Probably the biggest reason that customers seek customer service automation is that they would like to attempt to solve their problems themselves. And when customers can fix minor issues without help, it's also a win for your company which can redirect these resources that would have been used.
Ultimately, customer service aims to address every issue as quickly as possible and support customers through their problems. Using customer service automation can mean that customers are not only supported quickly and consistently but also that simpler issues are dealt with by automation so that your customer service representatives can spend their time on the more complex enquiries. And then your customer will really feel like a king or queen.
Our buyer's guide to choosing the right CRM will help you find the software that best fits your organisation's needs (including being able to add customer service automation software). We have compiled these helpful tips and recommendations to inform your purchasing decisions and set your team up for success. Download it here.
