A potential client has just landed on your front page. Unsure of how to proceed, they browse around becoming more and more disoriented until they eventually bounce off the page. Undervaluing customer service can be fatal for your business, but luckily there are new ways to engage customers. Using artificial intelligence (AI) is one of them.
Should you use chatbots to streamline your customer service?
The idea that AI may one day become so clever that robots take over the world is an old notion, and while it’s not so farfetched, we’re a long way off this ever happening. However, you probably encounter AI several times a day without even knowing it. For example, when you land on a website you may often be greeted by a bot of sorts, who is pretending to be human. A chat box may appear with a question:
“How may I help you?” This is most likely AI.
While having a team of customer service agents might be vital for some businesses, many are finding that chatbots save time and money. For many, it’s not about doing a complete switch, but using chatbots as an initial funnel, by which those who need the most help get transferred by the chatbot to an actual customer service agent. And let’s not forget, chatbots don’t need breaks, unlike humans. They can run 24/7, with no complaints.
Why isn’t everyone using chatbots?
If chatbots save time and money, why isn’t everyone already using them? Well, although they might be a great investment, the initial fee and installation for such technology isn’t cheap. In a perfect world, chatbots would be a great investment for new businesses that can’t afford a customer service team, but the cost still scares many away. And as businesses might not be able to afford them in their early days, more established companies need to do an analysis on the future of their customer service department and dig into the world of modern chatbots. Why, how, and when should you be utilising them?
The strongest closing argument for the chatbot installation fee is not the potential for a better customer service funnel and reduced costs, but the data-crunching powers of AI. Businesses need to know as much as possible about their customers and potential customers – AI bots collect data and become smarter, all the while learning about customer preferences.
How many businesses are actually utilising chatbots today?
Customer service is a vital aspect of a successful business, it can’t be ignored. That is why it shouldn’t come as a surprise that as many as 58% of B2B companies, and 42% of B2C, have already integrated chatbots in some way according to Goboomtown. And as more and more users get used to interacting with these bots, customer service expectations are changing, with more users preferring the quick-fire answers only a chatbot can provide.
