TOPICS: Chatbot for Support   Chatbot for Service    Chatbot Optimization   

Customer Service Chatbot – How Bots Are Changing Customer Service

Businesses of all scales sharing key concerns of customer service are discovering the benefits of the customer service chatbot at a faster pace than ever before. Startups that do not weave high-quality customer support into their initial strategies, may lose out to seasoned players in their field. Inadequate attention to customer service even affects established medium- to large-scale businesses in the long run. In recent years, businesses have been on a quest for cost-effective customer service strategies. The most recent and promising of these is the use of customer service chatbots.

The sections that follow will outline the benefits of customer service chat bots, in the context of the changing cost considerations of the companies that implement them, as well as the changing expectations of their customers.

The diminishing presence of phone service centers:

A decade ago, dialing a customer helpline number on one’s phone was the default method of getting support. Today, however, more and more customers are joining the move towards seeking support through instant messaging platforms. A general lack of free time, and a rapid growth in the availability and functionality of online services, are responsible for this shift. In the near future, this trend may even render phone service centers redundant.

In other words, companies that make an early transition to customer service chatbots, stand to secure a strong and future-proof footing for themselves in the customer support department. Building chat bots for customer service is a definitive step in the direction of efficient and consistent customer interactions. In addition to being on the job at all times, the chatbots are also able to help the company’s human staff by catering to micro-tasks that can be addressed via automated replies.

User experience as the core focus of customer service:

Consumers of any product or service have grown to expect instant, on-demand help with their issues. This is a direct result of the mobile era, in which online services have empowered people with the ability to find information and answers to their questions within seconds. Starting and growing a business in this day and age, thus requires due emphasis on instant and round-the-clock customer support.

But on-demand availability alone is inadequate in the competitive climate that most modern businesses exist and function within. Customer support must also have the capability to provide each customer with the specific assistance and information they seek. In the light of these requirements, it becomes imperative for modern businesses to create a chatbot for customer service. The best customer service chatbots are able to provide customers with a blend of tailored answers and instant assistance that essentially equates to a positive user experience in the present-day context.

Low development costs of customer service chatbots:

Building customer service chatbots benefits not just the users who interact with them, but also the businesses that commission them. The most direct advantage that online chatbots bring to these businesses, takes the shape of reduced costs. Given the breadth of users they are able to reach and interact with, and the efficiency with which they function at all times, customer service chatbots have near-negligible costs, especially with reference to the costs of maintaining a comparable fleet of human support staff.

To further minimize chatbot development costs, businesses can also opt for simple, easy-to-use server-side applications like VirtualSpirits. These applications allow for the development of sophisticated chatbots at low costs and in quick time, using the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and other technologies.

Achieving efficient and effective connections with customers:

One of the most important markers of customer support quality, lies in the support agent’s ability to connect with each customer on a human level, identify their pain points, states of mind, and expectations through specific inflections in their voice, and adapt their stance accordingly. The same parameters hold true for customer service chatbots as well.

Chatbot development has started focusing more and more on a nuanced, personalized user experience. The best chatbots for customer service are carefully programmed to be able to connect with the people that converse with them, and present them with information and answers in an empathetic manner. Modern businesses that create a chatbot for customer support, can thus forge lasting connections with their users – connections that only improve with time, as the chatbots learn from every successive customer interaction.