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Technology: Re-imagine Customer Service Solutions like Never Before

In this customer first era, brands do not determine how customer-centric their services are, the customers do. Customer Service is the need of the hour.

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PCQ Bureau
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Contributed By:

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Prashant Gupta, Head of Solutions – India and South East Asia, Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Prashant Gupta - Verizon Enterprise Solutions, India

 The 21st century has almost become synonymous with the adjective ‘instant’. Instant coffee, instant messaging, instant payment and more. While living in this instant world, don’t you find it frustrating when the customer service agency puts you on hold? The instrumental music which is played when you are in ‘queue’ or the recorded message “please be on the line, your call is important to us” contribute little in making the overall experience less annoying.

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In this customer-first era, brands do not determine how customer-centric their services are, the customers do. It is a no-brainer that great customer service boosts loyalty, satisfaction and revenues, and in today’s digital world, customers demand information, gratification and an instant solution at just the click of a button. The critical question to be asked is, how can technology help a brand improve its customer service experience further?

Technology advances are significantly changing the contact centre game by reinventing the experience for a consumer population, that by and large prefers digital self-serve features - accessible through a mobile app for example - but still sometimes needs to take the contact centre route.

In order to reinvent itself to cater to the customers, the contact centre industry can adopt the following four trends, which will create an everlasting impact on the industry:

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  • Artificial Intelligence(AI)has reached a critical juncture wherein consumers are now accustomed to interacting with robots on the phone and chatbots online. Natural language recognition technology, for example, has now matured, allowing consumers to speak more casually and still be understood, which is helping to build acceptance.Globally, technology titans have built chatbots and are working towards virtual assistants, which can further improve the overall experience by reducing the time taken to resolve the query. AI technology can help the company in storing and analysing mammoth data, all in an easily accessible format.
  • Contextual customer experience (or Contextual CX) involves leveraging data to deliver a more personalized experience that helps in shortening the customer service interaction and building customer loyalty. A person contacting their insurance company, for example, will benefit if the agent is already aware, through geolocation data, that the caller is on the road in bad weather, which can potentially allow the agent to anticipate the call might be related to an accident so that it gets prioritized in the queue. Contextual CX then allows an enterprise to tailor service appropriately, which can be a brand differentiator and positive reflection.
  • Mobile Customer Experience is allowing consumers to more easily and securely using their smartphones for customer service. Organizations have recognized how much time consumers spend using their mobile apps and are making them user-friendly by designing features with a ‘mobile first’ mindset from the ground up rather than as an afterthought. Moving away from cumbersome password entry to simple and secure thumb recognition when tapping on an app is one such outcome that is improving customer experience.
  • Brand globalization or expansion into other countries is creating the need for seamless and personalized customer service experiences that transcend geographic boundaries and devices. An organization’s customer service program is a critical link to maintaining a brand image on a global scale. For example, once a customer becomes accustomed to a certain level of service with a hospitality company, consistency is expected whether they are in the U.S or travelling in China. Similarly, this consumer should expect to use the same methods when communicating with the travel company– if texting for dinner reservations while in New York is preferred, the experience should be the same when in India. Ultimately, a company equipped with the right technology can deliver these consistent experiences to customers and earn their brand loyalty.

As the word seamless implies, communication should be uninterrupted. The same applies to customer service. With the customers changing their preference of the channel, companies providing customer service should ensure that the conversation conducted on one channel is flawlessly integrated with the next channel.

A Broken or fragmented conversation between different channels can cause greater customer dissatisfaction than not having that channel live for customers. Omni-channel communication would also mean tailored services for the customers. In order to be innovative and proactive, businesses need to be forthcoming with their communication channels and provide multiple options to customers which are tailored to their needs.

Companies should leverage next-generation solutions to cater their customers with undivided attention and customized assistance. Businesses will also gain a competitive advantage by enhancing customer loyalty and reducing the customer service costs.

By providing quicker, simpler and more efficient access to information through omnichannel solutions, businesses can reimagine customer service solutions like never before. The time to build a whole new era of contact centres is now.

ai technology customer-centric contextual-cx
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