Compromising On Customer Service In A Period Of Uncertainty Is Only Adding Fuel To The Fire

Sustainability Compromising On Customer Service In A Period Of Uncertainty Is Only Adding Fuel To The Fire Mike Hughes Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover digital innovations that drive efficiency and sustainability Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Sep 16, 2022, 05:49am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When did the personal touch become a thing of the past? Focus on customer needs is waning, with 33% of customers stating that their experience has worsened in the past year.

What’s more, only 3% of US businesses are putting customers at the centre of their leadership, strategy, and operations. In the new world of hybrid customer experience, people anticipate online experiences to be at least as good as, or even better than, in-person ones. Yet in tough economic times, with reduced budgets and high attrition, it can be tempting for organisations to push more customers towards self-service and automated channels to reduce the strain.

To add the personal touch and differentiate your organisation in the so-called ‘sea of sameness’, . . .

[+] make co-intelligent customer service your key differentiator and give people the respect they need in times of crisis. getty From the pandemic to the rising cost of living and soaring energy prices, customers are feeling the pinch. In these difficult times, customers are getting in contact more than ever with high-stress, high emotion issues.

They demand more empathy, human connection and personalised experiences, with 76% of customers stating that brands understanding their frustrations and valuing what is important to them as a consumer is of the utmost importance. However, as organisations continue to ramp up investment in tech that redirects customers to slightly less empathetic channels, we are increasingly triaged through frustrating IVR menus, or even worse, getting stuck in the dreaded chatbot conversation loop. 32% of customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after just one bad experience, so why are so many organisations willing to take the risk in this period of uncertainty? Companies turn to tech to reduce the pinch Much like consumers, businesses are also looking for ways to recoup and save money in the current climate.

For some, this will be looking at their workspaces and assessing whether downsizing is an option. For others, it could mean an audit of the technology to see if it is still driving efficiencies or finding solutions that help carry the burden of ever-evolving surges in customer service demand. MORE FOR YOU Is Carbon Capture Another Fossil Fuel Industry Con? Sustainable Fashion Wants Brands To Redefine Business Growth Trouble With Predicting Future Of Transportation Is That Today Gets In The Way Recently, Gartner’s Customer Service and Support Hype Cycle signalled a focus on connected, seamless customer service journeys through investment in intelligent self-service and automation, with chatbots predicted to become the primary customer service channel for a quarter of organisations within five years.

But we are still balancing the scales between human and machine. With Meta’s AI chatbot claiming that Trump won the 2020 presidential election, it’s clear that there is still progress to be made, and that we must work within the limitations of our technology to reap the best results. Well-designed chatbots can offer rapid customer triage, filter out and deal with simple or routine requests autonomously, and route customers to the right channel.

Integrate AI and ML capabilities, and pressure on overstretched customer care teams is reduced even further. However, when companies are under pressure, ramping up automation and compromising on customer service to save costs is only adding to the problem. We still need human interaction One thing that shouldn’t be compromised in times of crisis is customer service.

We are living through an extremely challenging time, and this has pushed customer service demands to an all-time high. 74% of global consumers demand more human interaction, yet when contact centres are experiencing high volumes, consumers suffer long wait times and inefficient self-service solutions. With tension bubbling over, human agents bear the brunt of built-up frustration from poorly integrated automation and repeated dead ends.

People want to talk to human agents about sensitive subjects such as energy bills, late payments and credit card debts, but this isn’t always the case. When a customer makes contact, they have typically exhausted all other options and are in desperate need of a quick solution and sympathetic ear, not a link to an FAQ. Effective integration of automation, AI and chatbots into customer contact channels can drive frictionless customer experiences if done correctly, ensuring that those customers who crave human interaction are put through to the right agent.

At the end of the day – customers will only remain loyal depending on the experience they receive. Drive co-intelligent customer experience It’s clear that the technology exists to make customer experience better, but organisations are failing to find the right balance between human and machine. Automation works to support, streamline and augment the work of human agents, not work as a total replacement.

Staff must co-exist in harmony with AI and use it to its advantage, combining rapid and scalable automation with much-needed human judgement and empathy. It’s simple, empowered agents give better customer service. Use automated and self-service channels to remove the mundane, routine enquiries that make workdays monotonous and draining, and direct urgent or high-emotion cases to human agents.

Have your AI solution take the initial contextual details and verify the customer’s identity, giving human agents all the information they need in real-time to address complex customer issues quickly and with compassion. This co-intelligence is the enabler of more authentic and efficient customer service, helping organisations to maintain the human contact needed in this period of great uncertainty, while flexing capacity to deal with more interactions and reduce delays. Harness the skills and experience of your agents to train and optimise AI systems, adding further value to your investment and create a more seamless transition from automated to human agent.

To add the personal touch and differentiate your organisation in the so-called ‘ sea of sameness ’, make co-intelligent customer service your key differentiator and give people the respect they need in times of crisis. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website .

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