It’s no surprise that when customers are reaching out to a company, it’s not usually to tell them that everything is going well. Especially for communications service providers (CSP), where competition is high and the cost of switching is low, it’s important t not to give customers another reason to be frustrated when they contact you. Customers are not opposed to choosing another provider after even a single bad experience with their current company.
So how can CSPs bring a positive experience to customers when they have issues? It’s more than simply having enough live agents to handle the call volume, but actually reframing the focus to not only solving customer issues, but the entire experience around it. This simple shift can be represented by the increase of language, such as customer experience, which is replacing more traditional contact center jargon, like contain and deflect. When the focus shifts to experience, it’s no longer just how many issues get solved and how fast, but it also takes into account things like channel preference, brand alignment, and the ease of the conversation.
Where does digital transformation come in?
Digital transformation is a buzzword that’s being used to describe the way companies make this shift toward an all-encompassing experience, versus simply answering a call. It’s taking all the seemingly disjointed aspects of the customer journey, and using technology, like Conversational AI, to create a seamless flow for the customer. Especially in the context of the contact center, digital transformation can also be described as the process of restructuring how and where a business meets its customers in order to fit the needs of the digital first age.
Read on to learn three ways that digital transformation can elevate customer experience in the communication service providers industry.
Building the Brand Voice (with Voice)
Brand is everything for CSPs, as it is an essential way to stand out from competition and build loyalty. But brand often gets left behind when it comes to contact centers. However, voice can re-enter the contact center space through modes such as virtual assistants. A recent article in Forbes states, “With the rapid development of voice-enabled technology, businesses can now harness voice to convey their brand story and connect with consumers unlike ever before.” Upbeat, modern brands, for example, can extend that personality into voice technology to create a less-robotic interaction.
However, it’s important to note that simply infusing virtual assistants with personality and flair isn’t necessarily enough. Make sure the virtual assistant is designed with the right conversation flow and advanced Conversational AI so it can actually deliver an effortless and productive conversation. Otherwise, you’ll just be making your customers more frustrated.
The Power of Simplicity
Complicated processes are so last decade. Make things easy for your customers with personalization and reduced clutter. Have you ever been offered an upgrade on a customer service call that has nothing to do with the services that you currently have? Or had to repeat your account information to two different agents during the same call? It’s annoying, spammy, and takes away from the customer experience.
The solution? Businesses can digitally transform by integrating virtual assistants, powered by Conversational AI, into backend systems to deliver a better, and more straightforward, experience. Instead of offering every customer the same deal, now customer and historical data can be used to predict which deals are most relevant and likely to be preferred by the customer. And, with proper integration and connected systems, this technology can prevent the need for customers to repeat themselves while still upholding the highest security standards.
Quality over Quantity
Last but not least, digital transformation can also affect a seemingly not digital entity: live agents. We’re not so keen to think that there aren’t a few tasks that live agents are simply better for. Some issues are going to need a higher-level of empathy, or there might be an escalated case that needs to break business rules to best serve the customer.
But digital transformation can help agents do their job better. How? By implementing a virtual assistant to focus on data-driven, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks, live agents can spend more quality time on the customers that need them most. Not to mention, with the backend integration, live agents will also have more data at their fingertips to better assist customers.
The sheer quantity of issues with technical troubleshooting, password resets, services, or accounts, whether at fault of the customer or the business, is already the reason that so much technology and money is invested into customer service channels. Make the most of those opportunities with customers reaching out by using technology that supports the entire journey, and keeps customers coming back for more.
