Humanizing Customer Support in the Digital Transformation Era
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There’s no doubt about it—thanks to the digital transformation, businesses are leveraging technology and automation tools to streamline operations and enhance customer experiences. However, there is also an increasing demand for tailored experiences and personalization.
So how can businesses balance automation with personalization?
How can technology be used to enhance and strengthen relationships?
We’ve compiled insights from a couple of industry experts and consolidated them in this guide that aims to provide clarity on the discussion about humanizing customer support in the digital transformation era.
Why should brands consider automating their customer support?
FASTER PROCESSES
PERSONALIZATION AT SCALE
PROACTIVE CAMPAIGNS
1. Faster processes for a fast-paced world
In today’s fast-paced world, speed is highly regarded.
Often, when customers want something, they want it right now—as in today, ASAP, at this very moment.
According to Neil Forrest, Senior Strategic Partner Manager EMEA, Gorgias, “One of the best ways to be fast is to automate the things that we can automate.”
Automating customer support allows for speed by automating repetitive tasks like creating an order or asking post-sales questions. These are processes that can be done even without a human touch.
Additionally, automation enables self-service which empowers customers to find information they need without waiting around for human assistance—leading to a superior customer experience.
There are numbers that support this:
- Thanks to AI-powered customer service tools, companies have improved their first-contact resolution by 5% to 7%. They have also reduced handling time by 20% to 30% and reduced new-hire training time by 25% to 40%. (BCG)
- 86% of customers now expect online self-service options to be readily available. (Microsoft)
- More than half (60%) of customers resonate with the phrase (I prefer resolving issues on my own when I’m shopping online.” (Gladly)
- 69% of consumers prefer chatbots due to faster answers to simple questions (CMO Council)
2. Achieve personalization at scale
Here’s a fact: In today’s customer-centric landscape, personalization plays a vital role in delivering exceptional experiences.
Additionally, AJ Chang, COO of Textline, emphasizes that most things are now trust-driven and brand-driven—especially with the customer in the driver’s seat. Now, in a trust-driven and brand-centric environment, establishing a genuine connection with customers is essential. With 71% of consumers preferring personalized interactions with brands, this poses a challenge:
How can businesses deliver customized experiences to their existing and potential customers?
Here are some tips compiled by AJ and Neil, together with GQ Fu, CEO & Co-Founder, LTVplus:
- Be present on the channels that your customers prefer. You don’t need to be on every channel, just the ones that matter.
- Offer the flexibility to choose between automated processes and human interactions.
- Leverage automation to deliver initial reactions or to provide a jump-off point for a more personalized engagement (via calls or video chats) if needed.
- Identify opportunities for interactions based on customer data and behavior
- Encourage your customer support agents to spend time getting to know your customers by studying the data in the CRM
While these tips are definitely helpful, they can be further refined and optimized when there are automation tools available. What does this mean? Here are some examples:
- When your business is present on multiple channels, automation tools can help make communication seamless between different channels.
- Simple questions can be automatically answered and filtered, forwarding only the complicated questions
- Faster data processing and visualization can pinpoint patterns, trends, and opportunities
Key takeaway:
Automation not only enables efficient processes. It also allows brands to achieve personalization at scale.
AJ further explains that texting has actually emerged as a powerful tool that balances automation and personalization. This allows brands to automate some interactions, while still fostering that human touch.
3. Ability to do proactive campaigns
When “automated customer support” is mentioned, people usually think of automatic responses. However, as Neil explains, brands can also leverage automation to reach out to customers who have shown specific interests or behaviors. He also explains that one of his favorite features of Gorgias is the ability to automate proactive campaigns.
Example:
A beauty brand noticed that they were getting a lot of inquiries on how to choose the right shade of lipstick. So they set up a campaign wherein when a customer has been on a product page for a certain amount of time, the brand would proactively reach out via the live chat widget and ask if they needed help choosing the right shade. These messages appeared to come from a real person, so they created a sense of personalization and ultimately resulted in high conversion rates.
Of course, this is just one example. Depending on your objectives and the tools at your disposal, you can come up with different automated proactive campaigns.
In short, automation is so much more than just faster response times. Automation empowers brands to leverage customer data to initiate timely, relevant, and personalized interactions.
Automation acts as a catalyst to uncover opportunities, and once identified, brands can utilize the human touch to convert those opportunities into valuable customer relationships.
Embracing technology to enhance customer support
As customer support evolves in the digital transformation era, brands are turning to advanced tools and platforms to optimize their support processes.
Enhance your customer support with Gorgias
An all-in-one helpdesk platform and Textline, an easy-to-use and secure business SMS platform.
Where does automation end and humanization begin?
Striking a balance is important for all businesses. After all, even with the many automation features now available, there are still some situations that require human intervention.
While Gorgias can automatically filter out and resolve the simpler tickets, the complex ones are passed on to human agents, especially those that require a tailored solution. While initial text greetings can be automated, as well as follow-ups or acknowledgments, conversing with an actual human still hits differently.
For example, LTVplus specializes in providing dedicated customer support teams to help brands provide great customer experiences. These agents are highly-skilled and experienced—not only in providing multi-channel support, but also in implementing and utilizing tools like Gorgias and Textline, enabling them to be efficient and effective in managing brands’ support tickets.
Determining the boundary between automation and humanization in customer support is crucial for maintaining a balance that optimizes efficiency and customer satisfaction. While automation offers speed and scalability, humanization adds a personal touch and emotional connection.
AUTOMATION
- Repetitive tasks (order creation, basic information retrieval)
- Survey and reporting
- Faster response times for simpler queries
- Simultaneous conversations
HUMANIZATION
- Complex and sensitive issues
- Empathetic responses
- Builds trust and loyalty
- Tailored approach
The key is to leverage automation as a tool to enhance the human touch, not replace it entirely. Brands should focus on integrating automation where it adds value, such as proactive campaigns, initial interactions, or routine tasks. This frees up human agents to handle more complex inquiries and deliver personalized support.
To strike the right balance, brands should continually assess customer needs, monitor feedback, and fine-tune their automation strategies. They must identify pain points where human touch is critical and allocate resources accordingly.
Ultimately, the boundary between automation and humanization lies in understanding that while automation streamlines processes, humanization ensures a deeper connection and customer-centric approach.
Provide the best customer experience by combining advanced technologies with the human touch
By combining advanced technologies with a human touch, organizations can build strong customer relationships, foster loyalty, and differentiate themselves in a competitive landscape.
Remember, customers are seeking not just efficient solutions, but also genuine connections and personalized experiences.
Humanizing customer support is the key to meeting those expectations and driving long-term customer satisfaction.
Contributors
- GQ Fu, CEO & Co-Founder, LTVplus
- Neil Forrest, Senior Strategic Partner Manager EMEA, Gorgias
- AJ Chan, Chief Operating Officer, Textline
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