Chatbots — The New Customer Service Rep
A couple of years ago the only way you could reach a customer service rep from your home was through the phone. Technology is constantly changing the way we do things and in turn improving a company’s services. Today, we can reach customer service agents via phone, email, and online chat. Chatbots are the latest addition to this mix.
Why Are Chatbots Interesting?
Many companies struggle with post-purchase customer service. The increase in consumers and online purchases have made many companies overwhelmed and outnumbered with regard to customer service agents. Companies have realized that one of the most important things customers are looking for is customer service and are therefore investing more on that. In my opinion, chatbots have revolutionized customer service. Younger generations are used to getting answers automatically without having to speak with someone physically or dial a number, a solution chatbots provide. It is intriguing to know that these bots feed off of knowledge. Therefore, the longer they have been part of the company’s website and algorithm, the smarter they will be and can help answer more questions.
What’s innovative About Them?
Chatbots are innovative because they have revolutionized the customer service process. Most people now start off by trying to solve a problem with a chatbot and then call a customer service center. Smart companies have combined bots with actual agents. This gives customers the best of both worlds. Online chats are able to solve customer problems within minutes with no phone call needed. A chatbot calls in a representative when it is no longer of assistance to the customer, gaining more knowledge off of that it was not able to answer and maximizing the efficiency of agents.
How Can Chatbots Help Sales?
Chatbots are key in customer retention and sales. They can please customers by giving them the answers they need immediately and accurately. A chatbot knows how many items are in stock or exactly what you ordered. These bots can also retain all customer data that can assist lead generation. Bots can persuade an individual before making a purchase and can feed them content or send info along based on the person’s past interactions with the company.
What Are The Pros & Cons?
Chatbots can help a company better understand their consumer. Based on the data bots collect, they are able to assist marketers. Identifying those people that are most likely to make a purchase or qualified as a lead. Bots can also help companies by putting their customer service employees to good use. Having agents kick in when questions require more critical thinking. They allow a company to serve more people quicker, at a rate only an army of customer service employees would be able to.
On the other hand, chatbots can be annoying. Sometimes they tend to ask repetitive questions. Some bots miss the point in which they should connect people with an actual representative. Getting the combination of bots and actual representatives right can be tricky. Bots also lack empathy, causing companies to lack humanization which is something some people look for in companies.
Are Chatbots A Trend Or Fad?
I think this trend will be around for years to come. It is a trend that is just beginning, and many companies have yet to adopt it. I would recommend any e-commerce company to adopt this trend in order to make their customer service division more efficient and therefore retain more customers. Chatbots are developing and have yet to become smarter. As they do, they will be able to answer more questions and require less human assistance. I think future chatbots will become smarter and will adopt some human characteristics. However, I do think a combination between bots and human representatives is the ideal combination and something companies should consider keeping despite bots getting smarter.
Chatbots in a Post-COVID-19 world?
I predict that post-COVID-19 people are going to be used to doing things at home and will be looking at non-human interaction alternatives. Even though most people already handle customer service issues remotely and not at a store, I think that chatbot usage for customer service will increase. This will be a good opportunity for bots to get smarter and for companies to master the integration of human representatives and bots.
