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When new technology is released into the world there is a temptation to go in headfirst into the latest innovation and incorporate it into all aspects of your company.
In this age that is artificial intelligence (AI), you may consider incorporating chatbots as well as large language models (LLMs) throughout your customer services. We've found that a compromise needs that needs to be struck, say Lauren Gilbert, Eyal Avital and Mau Fournier of the Customer Happiness team.
Particularly when it comes to customer service, AI can be beneficial however it must be used only in conjunction with an actual human expert in customer service. "Many people want to delegate the entirety of their customer support tasks to these new AI devices, however there are always situations where human interaction is required. The idea of delegating all tasks to AI is likely to leave a lot of your customers feeling more annoyed as they were prior to when they wrote them in," starts Mau.
Let's look at the ways and times you might be able to include AI to improve the customer service offerings you offer.
Important qualities needed for a successful customer service staff
First of all, what exactly does the perfect customer service be like? How does it aid a company's clients?
"We strive to be a reflection of the five qualities of the PREACH model in order to keep an approach that is customer-centric," starts Eyal Avital. "We aim to be Proud, Responsible, Empathetic, articulate, concise and human.
We all agree that empathy may be the most significant of these. "Put yourself in the customers in their shoes, and be empathetic to their situation. Tell them that the importance of their business is to those who run the business who help in running it," begins Lauren.
"Empathy is often overlooked" Mau adds. Mau. "You must show empathy to be able to comprehend the client's problem, and you need to demonstrate empathy through your responses in order to let the customer feel heard, which can help lower their defenses if they're upset."
Customers also require help from someone who knows enough about the software to be able offer all the needed information - plus the articulation to explain the product. "When you're dealing with an application that you can count on to run your company, getting assistance immediately from someone who is familiar with the platform inside and out and can explain how to tackle a problem in a way that's easy to understand and actionable, is essential," thinks Lauren.
Customer service is not just an exercise in box-checking: real kindness is vital. "Don't only answer their flims inquiry - discover the reason going on behind it; and then the goal they're trying to achieve," thinks Mau. "Help them to resolve the main issue, and follow up in the future to confirm that they've succeeded in getting what they wanted. It is likely that people will leave content if they can sense someone in the other room truly wants to find ways to aid them," he adds.
Don't forget to consider the importance of timeliness and clarity in your interactions. "You should provide fast aid, and communicate effectively and succinctly," starts Lauren. Eyal says: "You must be timely in your reply to customers. It's possible to provide an A+ rating, but if the response isn't timely in the member's mind, they'll feel ignored and will view your interaction negatively."
Where AI falls short
There is no doubt that AI could be beneficial in the case of busy entrepreneurs and business owners however, it's not always the most effective option. We believe there are a number of elements of great customer service which AI can simply not recreate.
Personalisation
From our observations so far, AI is missing the point of providing solutions that can fulfill the needs of customers. There are a myriad of examples of assist desk software that asks users to reply to a series of questions before getting an automated answer. And, by definition it is true that an automated solution can only resolve a limited amount of problems because it's not a "one size fits all' situation.
"AI is certainly able to demonstrate its competence and provide solutions to your questions. And they are often better at this than humans, although its expertise might not be as up-to-date and aware of your specific area of expertise as humans could be," says Mau. "It could be beneficial in short and simple interactions however it will not take ownership of being helpful and it can't follow up the way a human can but, at the least not right now."
Longevity
Even though LLM (AI) apps have improved their tone when talking to their customers, there's still one way to go. "LLM apps can stick to an appropriate tone of voice however it's far from genuine compassion from a human. Humans are able to feel empathy and relating the resolution of an situation is not possible to duplicate," says Mau.
In the same way, AI is all about the short-term. "LLMs tend to have a shorter attention span, and it's part of the AI technology," he adds. "They will not remember that chat you had just six months ago regarding your client's issues, or how your content serves them, or even the fact they like to go to fishing with their family. Bringing these details back to new discussions will ensure that your customers feel as if you actually care."
AI is a great tool to help
It's not saying that AI isn't beneficial to customer service. There's certainly clear opportunities to automate, as with any other new technological innovation - but it's crucial that you know when to make changes and when to do it.
"We should use AI to work on mundane tasks that could be automated while keeping the option of a human option for those with more unique requests," starts Mau. " LLMs provide a great first draft for replies, however, the most effective result comes from the editing you make to this draft. Bring your own voice into the conversation."
"What used to be the FAQ section of a site can now be dealt with robots or AI that can solve simple questions quickly and 24/7. Any questions that aren't answered by the one-click and one-question options must then be routed to support from a human," Eyal adds. "Otherwise it could cause customers to become frustrated. This is reminiscent of the days of getting stuck and having to repeat numbers in order to reach the correct department via the phone."
The integration of AI is an ongoing process. "There's an evolution (crawl-walk-run) for integrating bots and LLMs," starts Eyal. "New businesses should dedicate an increased amount of time for their communities by providing hands-on assistance. When they become more well-known, they will be able to move away from their recurring concerns and turn to LLM."
"AI can help you scale as your career progresses with more members, which are likely to raise more inquiries," says Mau. "Many of these will be basic queries that AI will take off your to-do list, so that you can focus on the more nuanced issues."
"You might be able to benefit from relying on AI when you're starting out, but I would advise against it. I would recommend the use of more manual assistance when beginning out. The questions you receive in the early stages of your career are an excellent source of feedback which you can utilize to gain insight into your audience and how you can make things better to better serve them."
Conclusion
It appears that the "people-first" approach we're taking at is working well, combining the expertise of a plethora of experts along with the emotion only a human being can provide. Eyal affirms that our way of are working helps us to make ourselves more human Memberul as a brand "a combination of compassion, sharing resources, and making it fun by using emojis and GIFs" keep things fun and beneficial.
Mau has shared some of the comments from a client, who noted that it was great to speak "to an actual person with such an empathetic approach to helping" as well as someone who could give them a personalized answer to their specific query. "That client said that it was the best support they ever had!" smiles Mau.
Lauren recalls one customer who contacted her to express concern over member retention. With her knowledge of her industry, and unique trends in her own business we were able offer recommendations on a pricing plan which ultimately improved her customers life-time value.
"You can certainly utilize AI to assist you in this type of question, but when it comes to decisions that could have a huge impact on your company, I'd venture to say that most people aren't ready to trust AI on its own or any other decision. They shouldn't, in my opinion".