Table Of Contents:
Believe it or not, nearly 63% of people today engage with artificial intelligence systems without even realizing it. Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, and other voice-based interactive solutions are quickly becoming a part of our daily life.
But the fundamental question is whether the systems can comprehend human emotions. We know that can happen in the future, but can we rely on it totally in the present?
Businesses are under increasing pressure to automate customer service because customers’ demands are continuously changing and they expect so much from the companies that they cannot afford to hire a large number of agents.
Automation is the only way to handle a large number of customer queries. Automated technologies like chatbots and self-service portals assist companies in providing faster resolution to customer questions.
The only way to handle a huge volume of consumer requests is through automation. Chatbots and self-service portals are examples of automated technology that help businesses provide faster answers to customers.
However, 64% of customers say that businesses have neglected the human element in customer service.
As a result, businesses are once again recruiting support personnel to handle customer complaints.
Which approach is the best one? Technology or human interaction?
Our webinar, “Future of Customer Support: How to Mix Technology with the Human Touch,” offers a few intriguing methods for blending technology with the human aspect of customer service, allowing you to deliver a healthy balance of both for your customers.
To register for the webinar, please go here.
In this blog, we will shed some light on what you will learn from the webinar, as well as how you should strategize your customer service.
The Advantages of Customer Support Automation
Automation in any department or sector is intended to make life easier for people. Automation is a process of technical advancement. It reduces manual labor, lessens the stress on humans, allows for speedier answers, and, most importantly, saves time.
Automation in customer service benefits both businesses and customers. Consider how inconvenient it would be if your customers had to call or contact you for every minor issue, and organizations would have to hire someone to handle every minor issue. It is both time-consuming and expensive.
Customers today would not mind receiving an answer from a machine or a human. All they would want is a quick and clear answer.
Therefore, automation in customer service offers the following advantages to both businesses and customers.
1. Faster resolution
2. Low wait time
3. Reduced tickets
4. Ease of access
5. Improved customer support productivity
6. Higher customer satisfaction
There are other advantages as well. Please read another interesting article to learn about them all, Automation in customer support – Do you need it or not?
Why do customers demand a human touch?
Why do customers still demand human assistance if technology provides so many benefits? Why is it necessary to have a human aspect in customer service?
Customers believe that machines cannot respond to their emotions, which is incorrect. A customer may be dissatisfied with the product, the shipment, or the overall experience. Because they believe it is the only way the problem would be fully resolved, they would like to convey it to a human.
Emotions cannot be communicated to machines. However, certain machine learning technologies and artificial intelligence have developed to the point of identifying the customer’s mood based on tone.
Such advanced technologies, however, cannot be applied in small or medium-sized businesses. The majority of these businesses would employ rule-based or AI-based chatbots to comprehend the question and pass it on to the agents.
When dealing with angry or disgruntled customers, human assistance is required. We do not deny that all businesses require a personal touch. In fact, there are 15 reasons to incorporate the human element in any business.
However, if you structure your service center carefully, you may be able to achieve a good balance of both.
How to make technology and agents work together
The best way to provide excellent service to customers is to combine technology and the human touch in your customer support.
You can provide answers to your customer’s simple questions via a chatbot, knowledge base, or self-service portal. However, if the question is complicated, you can make use of your agents.
Today, advanced chatbots like RoundView are powered by AI-based systems that automatically route complex customer questions to the right support agents in case they do not answer.
In this way, your agents get to answer only the complex questions, your customers get answers to their simple questions by themselves, and companies can run a seamless customer service center that has a mix of both technology and the human touch.
In short, combining technology and the human touch will result in the following advantages.
1. Simple inquiries are answered in a few seconds.
2. Complex questions are rapidly routed to the appropriate agents.
3. Customers who need answers quickly can find them on their own and save time.
4. Customers who believe they wish to be heard can simply contact the support team.
5. Companies do not need to hire a large number of agents and can make better use of the ones they already have.
6. Your customer service center will appear contemporary.
7. Above all, companies can convert their customer support center into a profit center.
Join our webinar to find more interesting ways to blend both the technology and the human touch in your customer support.
Final Thoughts
The future of customer service will be quite fascinating. There will undoubtedly be many organizations that invest in automated solutions, and there will be a few that prefer humans.
The correct approach, however, is to answer the following question.
What do we as companies, stand for in the eyes of our customers?
If you believe that investing in modern technologies would help your business, go ahead and do it. If you believe your company requires human support, hire talented employees and watch your company flourish.
The decision is yours, but the future is certain.
If you are looking for professional help in automating customer service feel free to contact our customer support experts, we are happy to help and would like to learn from you too!
Subscribe to our newsletter if you enjoyed this blog and want to read more interesting content!
