Guide to Automated Customer Service

Businesses are now growing rapidly and one of their secrets is using automated customer service. This guide will explore how automated customer service works and how it can deliver excellent customer support for any business.

Automation – An Introduction

As the name suggests, automation is generally referred to as getting a job done through the use of technology, with no or less human intervention. The many tasks that were previously performed by humans can now be efficiently carried out by automated technologies and techniques. Automation is used in multiple areas such as manufacturing, transport, utilities, defense, operations, facilities, and information technology, and it doesn’t end there. It is also applied in the customer service industry.

Automation in Customer Service

In this scenario, customer support is carried out without the need for human involvement. It might seem like a counterintuitive that gets people out of the problem-solving equation, but in reality, technology has come a long way in helping humans carry out their duties. Automated customer service is available to provide support to the customer twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and three hundred and sixty-five days a year. These methods are even more cost-effective than when human customer support carries out this job.

Automated customer service assists the customer support team by doing tasks that are repetitive and directing the customers to appropriate departments. That allows the customer support teams to put their focus on customers and concerns that are more pressing and cannot be carried out by automated technology.

Automation in customer service includes the following;

Speed. Customers expect to get speedy responses from the customer support teams. If your customer support team doesn’t respond in a timely manner, your business runs the risk of having a negative impression on them. This is where automated customer service helps out. If the customer support team is limited or not available, automated software, that is programmed to deal with customers’ queries, can take over the job and respond faster.

Convenience. There are multiple communication channels available and customers like the flexibility because it allows them to use their preferred methods to reach out to the brands. For instance, Xfinity customer service has Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter as well as live chat and phone service available for Xfinity subscribers to reach out to the brand for any of their queries and issues.

What do multiple communications channels have to do with automation? Customers also expect to switch between channels without having to repeat their queries all over again. Support teams cannot monitor customers’ conversations across all channels, which is why automated customer service is used to ensure that every customer support rep that interacts with that one customer has a complete history of his conversation with the company.

Autonomy. Automated customer service also allows customers to handle queries on their own. Also, that will make them feel they are listened to and valued without involving any customer support teams.

Delivering Customer Support through Automation

If you explore the following examples, it will give you an idea of how customer support delivered through automation can remove redundancy and complexity.

Self-Service. When any customers have problems that need solving, they expect to have answers now, which is why providing them with a self-serving online library will help to reduce support volume and increase customer satisfaction.

Centralization. Due to the availability of multiple channels of communication, it gets harder for customers to keep up with the brand. However, customers don’t want to access a communication channel that they have a hard time maneuvering through, rather they want to use their own preferred communication channels. With this level of convenience, the automated customer support reps can monitor these preferred platforms and design convenience for customers as per their wishes.

Canned Replies. Instead of receiving an automated email that doesn’t seem personal to the customers, they can get canned replies which are pre-written responses to common questions.

Live Chat & Chatbots. Since customers are looking for faster and simpler helpful service that still seems personal and empathetic, which is what the live chat is for. But for repetitive questions that are asked by too many customers, there are chatbots.

Conclusion

Now that you have an idea about how automation is applied in the customer service industry, it is time for you to give it a shot. Find software programs that are powerful and sophisticated enough to meet your ideal plan of working towards better and happier experiences for your customer.