When it comes to customer service, businesses can’t be everywhere at once — and that’s why they use tools to automate their support operations as much as possible. But what exactly does automated customer service mean? In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of integrating automated customer service into your support strategy and how to get started with implementing it in your business.
Definition of Customer Service
The service, guidance, and support you provide to your customers. It’s often called CS for short. Another way of thinking about it is how well you take care of your customers. This can be provided through phone or email or live chat and even social media like Facebook or Twitter. Today I’m going to talk about how automated customer service can improve your support experience for both agents and customers.
First, let’s start with what it means to have automated customer service. As we move into a more digital world, businesses are finding new ways to handle their customer interactions and in many cases, they are turning towards automation as a solution. What does that mean? Well, think about self-checkout at grocery stores. Or think about using an ATM instead of visiting a teller at your bank. In these instances, you are interacting with an automated system to help complete some sort of transaction. You may not realize it but you use automated systems all day long whether on websites, mobile apps, or even when talking to Siri.
Automated Customer Service
There are a lot of benefits to having an automated system to help manage your customer service needs. One big benefit is cost savings. When done right, there’s no need for human intervention which reduces costs significantly.
A second benefit is a scalability. A second benefit is a scalability. By automating parts of your customer service process, you can handle far more customers than before.
And finally, there’s always 24/7 availability. With an automated system in place, you never have to worry about someone being out sick or unavailable due to vacation. So how do we get started building our own automated customer service?
Third Party Integration
Now that we’ve established what automated customer service is, let’s talk about how it works. The first thing to realize is that there are two ways you can have automated customer service in place: either directly on your website or through third-party integration.
In both cases, you set up a series of rules and preferences for handling each type of interaction. When a customer submits an inquiry, your system follows these rules to determine what path to take with each request.
Here’s a simple example: Let’s say someone comes to your site looking for information about pricing. You want them to get pricing information but not be able to purchase anything right away.
Instead, you want them to fill out a form so that someone can follow up with them later if needed. To do that, we would create some sort of rule like If they search for pricing then show them our pricing page but don’t allow them to buy anything yet.
This way, when someone searches for pricing information, they will see your price list but won’t be able to complete their transaction until you’re ready. This is just one example of many different types of interactions you can handle using automation.
As long as you know what kind of experience you want customers to have, it should be pretty easy to come up with rules and preferences that will lead them down a specific path while still allowing agents to pick up where automation leaves off when necessary.
What Does Auto-Service Offer?
All too often, customers get frustrated and abandon their requests because they feel that no one is listening. Auto-service is here to change that. Designed to be super responsive, self-organizing, and highly proactive, it reduces the time you spend on repetitive tasks like checking for relevant information, updating customer records, and alerting various people in your company about a request from a particular customer.
This translates into better support for customers—and happier employees. With auto-service, your team can focus on what really matters: helping customers solve problems.
It’s easy to set up, deploy and manage. And if there’s something more involved or difficult that requires human intervention, auto-service will escalate it automatically so you don’t have to waste time on low-value activities.
It’s a win-win!
The Four Pillars of Efficient Auto-Service
Auto-service can be used to make your current customer service process more efficient. It does not replace human interaction, but can act as a supplement to it, increasing overall service quality and ensuring consistent response times. These four pillars make up automated customer service.
You’ll want to give each one some attention and think about how you might incorporate them into your business if you already aren’t doing so. For example, are you using an auto-responder? Do you have live chat on your website? If not, then it may be time to take advantage of these valuable tools.
Even if they don’t directly improve efficiency in your business today, they could pay off big in future interactions with customers. Read on for tips on incorporating each pillar into your company:
Customer Interaction
1) Use an auto-responder or email tool to handle routine requests An email autoresponder (also known as an autoresponder) is a great way to set expectations with your customers before they even get in touch. It can also help reduce follow-up emails by letting customers know when someone will get back to them and what they should do next while waiting for that response.
2) Have live chat on your website Live chat is another simple way to increase customer satisfaction. Chatting with customers gives you a chance to address their concerns immediately, which means less time spent dealing with complaints and questions after they’ve left your site.
3) Consider integrating voice technology Voice technology has been around for years, but its use has grown significantly over recent years thanks to improved accuracy rates and easier integration options. Many companies now use voice software to answer basic questions like What time is your store open? and Where is your nearest location?
4) Invest in virtual assistants are designed to free up employees from menial tasks so they can focus on higher-level work. They can perform tasks like scheduling appointments, answering calls from existing customers, handling basic troubleshooting requests, and much more. With all of these options available, there’s no reason not to consider implementing at least one of them in your business today. The only thing holding you back is a little bit of research and planning!
Why Should I Implement a Self-Serve Platform?
Implementing a self-serve platform allows customers to help themselves by resolving their own issues. This alleviates your support team’s burden, enabling them to focus on other areas of your business.
Additionally, it provides you with data that can be used to improve your products and services based on customer feedback. Customers who resolve their own problems are likely to feel more satisfied with your company than those who do not have that option. And they are also likely to return in the future because they were able to get answers without having to wait for a response from an agent or customer service representative.
A 2020 study found that companies using self-service had 53% lower cost per query than companies without such capabilities in place. That is just one example of how investing in automation can benefit your business. The bottom line is that if you want to build trust with your customers, then implement a self-serve solution. You won’t regret it!
How Do I Set Up My Own Auto-Service?
There are many different automated customer service tools you can use to make your support better, but what do you pick? As a tech support business, we want to make sure that our clients have access to high-quality customer service.
We’ve found that using an auto-service tool is a great way to provide excellent support without sacrificing quality. Here’s how we set up ours! Your website should be professional and well organized: If you want customers to visit your site, they need to know it’s trustworthy and easy to navigate.
A good web design company will ensure that your site is simple and intuitive so customers can find exactly what they need with ease. They should also help develop a logo for your business that clearly represents who you are as a brand.
Customer Confidence in your Services
This will give customers confidence in your services from day one. Be consistent in communication: It’s important to keep in touch with your customers via email, phone calls, or both. You don’t want them thinking you aren’t available if they need assistance—or worse. Contacting another company for help instead of yours because they don’t think you care about their needs. Make sure you communicate regularly so that your customers always feel like they can reach out to you when needed. Offer 24/7 support:
Customers often need help outside of normal business hours, especially if they run businesses themselves. Make sure your team is prepared to answer questions at any time by setting up an auto-service tool that allows live chat, emails, and phone calls around the clock.
FAQ Section
Consider adding an FAQ section to your website: When you offer more information on your site, customers can easily get answers on their own before needing to contact support.
For example, if someone has a question about why something isn’t working properly on their computer, they might search Google for a computer not responding to windows 10 and find a page on your site that addresses common issues with Windows 10 computers.
The key here is that they didn’t need to call you for help—they were able to solve their problem on their own. Keep track of everything: Once you start offering support through an auto-service tool, it can be tempting to forget about some of your other methods of communication. That’s why it’s important to track all incoming chats, emails, and phone calls through a central system so everyone knows where each conversation stands.
What Is the Best Solution for My Business?
There are a lot of different automated customer service options out there, so it can be hard to decide which is best for your business. Thankfully, we’ve looked into several of them to help you make a decision. Here are five features that automated customer service software should have:
1. Reliability and scalability
2. Tech support
3. Pricing
4. Productivity
5. Integration with other apps
6. Integration with other services
7. User experience
8. Ease of use
9. Customer service capabilities
10. Features
11. Security
12. Community
13. Scalability
14… (you get it)
15. More! So, what do you think? Which ones do you agree with? Which ones don’t apply to your business? Let us know in the comments below!
