When speaking with a non-human agent, customers prefer not to change their way of speaking or writing. Having to type or speak in odd, robotic phrases makes the interaction feel off kilter. Luckily, between automation, conversational AI and natural language processing, companies can create an interaction that feels natural and human. This, in turn, will help make the interaction seamless, simple and natural as possible — ultimately improving a customer’s experience and overall satisfaction with your brand.
While many chatbots are still mostly good for repetitive tasks and conversations. NLP takes that to the next level and allows the bot to understand natural, spoken language (including multiple languages, slang and more) and respond in kind. Through machine learning, computers learn how to comprehend human language and respond, preparing the bot for use within a company. This applies to any type of bot, including voicebots and chatbots on both voice and digital channels. This type of experience can lead to many benefits, including higher CSAT, loyalty and customer lifetime value (CLV).
The pandemic has already seen increased adoption of this type of technology, especially as organizations have to move quickly toward digital transformation to function in this environment. In fact, according to Gartner, the number of interactions handled by conversational agents increased by as much as 250% across industries since the pandemic.
I Don’t Need a Babysitter; I Can Take Care of Myself
Customers ultimately want to have control in their customer service experience. Frustrating instances like sitting through long wait times or bouncing around a phone tree before finally finding the right agent are just a couple things that can make customers feel frustrated and powerless. This can make it more likely that a brand loses the customer.
There’s a lot an organization can do to give customers a greater sense of control. An easily navigable self-service page or site can give people the tools they need to handle a problem on their own instead of contacting an agent — ultimately increasing their sense of autonomy and satisfaction. Helpful types of content include step-by-step guides, an FAQ page and how-to-videos or diagrams. The content team can keep these commonly used resources consistently updated so that customers always have access to fresh information.
Further, some technology allows companies to collect relevant customer data and recommend the self-service tools most relevant to individual customers and their specific needs. Personalization like this can have a great impact on KPIs like customer satisfaction, customer retention and brand reputation.
While some customers may always prefer to contact an agent, what makes this strategy effective is that people get a choice in how they choose to address an issue. People who want to use a self-service tool can do so, and so can people who prefer to shoot a message to a chatbot. Either way, customers get a sense of control, autonomy and choice in how they deal with something.
Move the Customer Experience Needle Forward
With CX expectations growing and with customers having so many alternative options for the product or service they want, improving CX is a must. Tools that enable personalization, tools that provide a natural conversation and tools that enable choice and self-service are just a few ways in which companies can better ingratiate themselves to customers. Interactions, for example, provides the most successful chat experience with conversational AI. Its Intelligent Virtual Assistant lets customers deal with issues more quickly, without the frustrations that come with many other bot interactions.
Learn more about Interactions Intelligent Virtual Assistant here.
