Automation has changed the world we live in forever. Sectors like hospitality, IT, healthcare, manufacturing, e-commerce, HR, and other industries constantly rely on automation. The evolution of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms has introduced many new automation opportunities.
Today, automating your customer support and saving valuable time and resources on related tasks is possible. However, many business leaders and owners still need to be convinced about automation regarding tasks that rely on real human interaction. But is customer support automation really with it, and how does it work?
Today, we’ll discuss these topics and try to help you understand the power of automation and how it can make customer support easier.
Automated customer support explained
Customer support automation uses various technologies and automation tools to automate customer support flows traditionally done manually. Customer support automation can be on different levels, and it could handle some minor tasks in the background or even some of the most straightforward tasks.
For example, automation could be the first contact point with customers. Organizations use chatbots that give automated answers, gather information, and direct customers to the proper channels or information sources to help them resolve their issues. Other virtual assistants also give valuable answers and can communicate with customers at a high level.
Any business department can benefit from automation – the same is true for customer support. However, it’s essential to remember that you can’t automate the customer support process, and there must still be human involvement.
How it all works
Since we’ve talked about chatbots, let’s explain how they work. Bots use machine learning and AI to learn and understand what customers say and create adequate responses. They usually have pre-written answers, but some can even generate responses accordingly.
On the other hand, some AI-powered email clients like Spike come with AI assistants that can generate notes, help with brainstorming, and generate replies to make customer support assistant’s jobs easier. Some of the available automation for customer support are:
- Email automation AI chatbots;
- Virtual assistants;
- Interactive voice response systems;
- Self-service platforms.
Automation can be outbound or inbound, meaning that it can automate processes internally that help customer support staff, or they can help customers directly.
Customer support automation applications
Here are some of the applications of automated customer support tools.
Contact Resolution
Automation can drastically improve the first contact resolution percentage. Automating channels like IVR, email, and live chat allows you to provide quick answers to some of the most common questions for most contacts.
For example, an automated live agent can be instructed to go to your inventory control system to check if some products are available. You can also use it to track key metrics like how many tickets you’ve resolved successfully.
Ticket routing
Modern ticketing systems use automation to assign tickets based on agent availability, expertise, skills, experience, and knowledge. With these systems, you can always distribute the workload evenly and ensure everyone gets a fair share.
Agents also don’t have to take cases manually. That reduces response times and allows you to resolve tickets more quickly while improving customer satisfaction.
Call management and monitoring
Companies like call centers use call management and monitoring tools to track real-time calls and performance. Managers can get valuable insights from this type of automation and learn about dashboard use, get alerts, track speech patterns, and assess call analytics.
Additionally, these automation tools can gather transcripts and coverage information managers can later review.
Automated voice response
Interactive voice response systems allow call routing based on spoken words and touch-tone input. All the calls are categorized and grouped through an automated menu, and their actions allow them to connect with the right people to resolve their problems quickly.
On the other hand, personalized IVR systems can create a different journey for customers based on their prompts and history.
Live chat conversations
Combining customer data with automated tools allows companies to engage with customers proactively and reactively with live chat conversions. Not only can chatbots communicate with customers and provide insight, but they can also gather information about customers and their interests.
Automated follow-ups
After engaging with customers initially, automation can be used for follow-ups. These tools can notify employees about important follow-up calls or emails they should make. These tools can also send automated emails to customers without human involvement and make employees’ lives easier.
Conclusion
Automation is coming fast, and companies must exploit its capabilities across different departments and workflows. With customer support, creating a quick, personalized, and proactive service is essential to engage customers and improve their overall satisfaction. Modern consumers also love using various tools and AI-powered systems.
