As more businesses seek out ‘smart’ solutions, some are concerned about replacing services—like customer support—entirely. There are many benefits to automating some key tasks, including higher levels of output, more consistency across teams, better quality, and fewer errors. With that said, customer support automation isn’t foolproof.
There are ways to include automated steps that improve support that your clients receive, where automation can work in tandem with your current team. New AI-driven software like chatbots, combined with the rise of remote work, have also changed the way we approach providing support. When 93% of consumers are more likely to return for service from companies with exceptional customer service, you have to make sure you’re making the right decisions to nurture your customer relationships and ensure your clients keep returning for more.
Read on as we share some accelerating trends in customer support automation.
To chatbot or not to chatbot?
50% of consumers no longer care about whether they are speaking with AI or an actual human. What they care about are quick responses. To get responses in real-time, automation will need to intervene.
Businesses that still adhere to old methods must change their ways if they aim to deliver a greater experience to customers at every step of their buyer journey.
Yes, the option to add live chat to your customer support service will enable customers to chat with a human agent. However, if one cannot be available at all times—if you have clients in different time zone or that need a response after regular work hours—a chatbot might be your best bet.
Chatbots can easily be integrated with your website and product pages so they can provide your customers with accurate information at any time. Chatbots can save your team time by answering simple questions, quickly, and at any time, which will free up time for your team to be able to take on the more complex queries.
There is also a third option, a hybrid chatbot, which combines the best of both worlds—a live chat option and autonomous chatbot technology. A chatbot takes on the simple, automatic responses and a human agent intervenes when necessary.
Better customer support = engaged customers
While chatbots and live chats are an integral part of your client support process, there are also many automated solutions that will help improve your customer experience. At Wrk, we offer an array of tailored Wrkflows, designed to streamline your customer support operations and improve the customer experience, as well as their engagement with your team members.
The goal of every customer interaction is to make sure that all parties involved are satisfied. Happy interaction equals client satisfaction.
There’s no denying that a happy customer will become a loyal customer. Automated customer support prevents oversights and errors, wasted time spent trouble-shooting common and simple customer inquiries, and inconsistent responses. It also frees up time for you to handle the more complicated and nuanced issues that your team can take on.
For example, automated ticket resolutions can respond to and resolve customer queries and issues quickly to improve customer satisfaction. 88% of customers that submit tickets expect a response from businesses within 60 minutes, but according to research conducted by SuperOffice, the average response time is actually 12 hours and 10 minutes. Wrk’s Automated Ticket Resolution Wrkflows can close tickets faster to increase customer retention.
“Do you know who I am?”
We all have heard this question asked ironically, but did you know that 72% of consumers expect customer service agents to know who they are and their entire history with the company, down to their previous purchases and queries? With small businesses, it might be possible to remember everything about a client, but if you’re expected to know every piece of communication between even prospective clients, you might end up wasting valuable time jogging your memory or chasing information from other team members.
Having a shared database that can show you the information you need is crucial, especially when you’re ready to move from 3 clients, to… well anywhere you’d like to go!
Wrk’s automation solutions will funnel incoming customer requests from various channels all into a single inbox.
This means that any issues, questions, comments, or concerns submitted to your company through your website, comment section, or even social media will be compiled into one location. This will allow you to be prepared if the same problem keeps occurring or even to quickly find your customers' tracking information for them. Any requests that would require the human touch will then automatically be routed to the right member of your team.
In addition, our Review Management & Responding Wrkflows can ensure timely interactions with clients and lead to better customer support. Clients leaving negative feedback may change tact if their issues are resolved quickly, leading a 2-star review to turn into a 4-star review.
Customers still need us
Automation, when done right, is not designed to eliminate the human side, especially when it comes to customer support. It is still a human-to-human connection. There are issues that only humans can handle, from saying “I’m sorry,” all the way to thinking outside the box and showing empathy and compassion.
Humans still need to determine the proper goals, interpret results, or provide common-sense checks for solutions. The hardest activities to automate with currently available technologies are those that involve managing and developing people (9% automation potential) or that apply expertise to decision making, planning, or creative work (18%).
The expansion team
Integrating automation into your customer support strategy will also impact your success and your business’ bottom line. You’re providing your current team with the tools they need to enhance and optimize the customer experience. Time spent answering every single question or looking up important information for each client can now be dedicated to helping customers with complex needs and requests—leave the repetitive tasks to the bots!
Automation will also help take the brunt from a sudden influx in customer activity. If your business is ready to scale or expand into new regions, but you aren’t yet ready to train and set up a new team, automation can bridge that gap and help ease the transition.
Wrk’s hybrid solution for customer support automation
At Wrk, we know how daunting implementing automation may seem, especially with the rising number of options. Our customer support automation solutions are designed for easy implementation, with very little training, and no previous coding experience. We easily integrate directly into your existing support tools and platforms, like Zendesk, Salesforce, and ServiceNow, as well as organizational software like Asana and Basecamp.
We prioritize the user above all and bring many automation elements together into a single platform, which has easily implemented single tasks called Wrk Actions. Set up one or two Wrk Actions and you’ll get our expertly designed and entirely automated Wrkflows.
Think about where automation will have the biggest impact for you and your company. If, for example, you’ve tried the online chat function and it hasn’t proven successful, look into the hybrid version instead. Whatever areas you need to automate, make sure the software you’re choosing is capable of scaling with you so it can keep pace with where you want to be and achieve the ultimate goal—customer satisfaction!
Read more about automating your customer support tasks to save even more time in our White Paper and tell us about your Customer Support goals today!
