Consumers have access to thousands (millions?) of companies at their fingertips. If you want to stand out from the rest, it’s essential that you deliver an exceptional customer experience. Failing to do so could cost you current customers and future leads.
Automating routine customer service tasks can help you streamline systems that impact your customers directly. This keeps consumers from waiting in long queues and gives your representatives more time to focus on higher-level customer experience tasks.
6 ways to improve your customer experience using automation
Are you curious about how your company can start implementing automation? Keep reading to learn six ways to use automation to improve your customer experience.
1. E-Commerce and Logistics
Whenever there are products that need to be delivered from one place to another, there is potential for errors and delays. For e-commerce businesses, handling product delivery internally typically requires staffing, organization, and storage space. Any shortcomings in those three requirements can result in delayed delivery and decreased customer satisfaction.
For e-commerce companies that wish to contract those processes, there are options from single components to a complete e-commerce solution. In the latter, products are stored, fulfilled, and shipped by an outside vendor. Automations make it possible for customers to place their orders and initiate shipping and update inventory numbers. By retaining specialists and cutting down on the potential for human error, you can give your customers a smoother ordering experience.
2. AI Customer Service Email Support
You may be surprised to learn that one of the most popular channels for customer support requests is still email. In fact, 62% of consumers prefer contacting companies via email when they need assistance. But the downside of this channel for most companies is the time it takes to respond to user queries. This often leaves customers waiting on a response for hours, if they get a response at all.
To ensure every email inquiry gets answered promptly, start using artificial intelligence–powered email support. Many companies use an email AI tool to efficiently analyze customer emails and send them to the appropriate representative. Additionally, AI-powered email support can send automatic responses to let customers know when they can expect to hear from you.
3. SMS Appointment Reminders
In today’s busy world, it’s easy for your clients to forget about an appointment they made months ago. But every missed appointment costs your company money. Reminding customers they have an upcoming appointment can help reduce missed visits. However, calling every client before each visit quickly becomes time-consuming.
Instead, send customers automated appointment reminders through short message service. SMS support can send automatic appointment updates straight to your clients’ phones. This saves your customer service reps time and prevents you from interrupting someone’s hectic day with a call.
4. AI-Powered Chatbots
Not all customers want to call your company or send an email every time they have a question. Providing chat options on your website gives customers another channel of communication. However, your customer service reps can only handle a maximum of three to four chats at a time. This can lead to long chat queues and frustrated customers.
Reduce wait times and improve your customer experience by using AI-powered chatbots. Chatbots are a digital conversation tool that mimics your customer service representatives. They are capable of answering simple questions, nurturing leads, and handling an unlimited amount of conversations at a time. Since chatbots quickly resolve simple queries, your representatives have more time to focus on complex issues.
5. Customer Self-Service Portals
While some customers are happy to reach out for assistance, others find this frustrating. Seventy-three percent of consumers want the option of solving product or service challenges on their own. This is great news for companies looking for ways to reduce queues and save time. When your customers have the ability to answer their own questions, your teams have more opportunities to focus on other CX initiatives.
To empower your customers to find answers to their questions, your site needs a customer self-service portal. This is a platform that houses all the information someone may need to solve common problems. Self-service portals might include FAQ pages, company blogs filled with helpful content, and community forums.
6. Post-Purchase Surveys
If you want to run a successful business, you need to know what’s working and what needs improvement. The best way to glean this information is through customer feedback. However, many organizations lack an efficient means of gathering their customers’ thoughts. Automating the feedback process makes it easier for patrons to describe their experiences quickly.
One simple way to obtain feedback on a customer’s purchasing experience is through incentivized post-purchase surveys. This automated process sends customers an email with a survey link immediately after purchase. Once the customer fills out the survey, they receive a reward for doing so, such as a discount or a free item. Sending automated post-purchase surveys can help you better understand the buyer’s journey and improve customer experience along the way.
Start Implementing Automation Today
Your customers have more purchasing options today than ever before. If you want them to choose your company over your competitors, you must provide a top-notch customer experience. By implementing the automation, you can improve your customer experience, helping to retain clients and grow your business.
