Shared by Contractor In Charge.
Customer service is a crucial part of the customer experience and the success of your business. According to Contractor in Charge, options such as live chat, email, and social media are good ways to connect with customers and address their issues. However, customer service can be challenging for many businesses because there are so many moving parts. How do you know when a customer has had a bad experience? When do you give them an offer or something extra to win them back? And how can you ensure that every customer is being properly served by your company, no matter what department they’re reaching out to? The experts at Contractor in Charge note that’s where artificial intelligence (AI) could be the perfect solution. Let’s look at why AI is such an exciting opportunity, along with some examples of how it can change the game.
Image credit: Tara Winstead
AI in customer service: Why Contractor in Charge pros say now’s the time
It’s a good time to be an entrepreneur. However, according to data collected by Contractor in Charge, the customer experience has never been more important. Companies that make a good first impression and have excellent customer service have a huge advantage in the marketplace.
When it comes to customer service, AI brings lots of exciting opportunities. Companies can use AI to get real-time data about customer sentiment, find new customers, and re-engage old ones. They can also use AI to create fully automated customer service. You don’t have to employ a team of robots to make this happen, but the technology is getting to the point where you can build an entire customer service operation around AI.
AI and chatbots: A perspective from Contractor in Charge
Chatbots are an obvious place to start regarding customer service automation. Entrepreneurs have been experimenting with chatbots for over a decade. But modern AI has made them much more effective.
Companies can now build a chatbot that can understand human language and respond to customers in a way that sounds completely natural. Chatbots can be used in a number of ways. They can be deployed at the front end of your customer service operation to screen for potential issues. Chatbots can be deployed at the back end to close customer service issues or handle dispatching and scheduling. They can even be used to send regular communications to customers, such as newsletters or special offers.
Image credit: Tara Winstead
AI and natural language processing
Natural language processing (NLP) is an increasingly important part of AI. NLP enables computers to understand human language just as well as humans do. When AI is used for customer service, NLP is used to understand sentiment.
This means that an AI agent can know if customers are happy with the service they’re receiving and how long they’ve been waiting on hold.
Systems like these are already in use, according to Contractor in Charge. These tools can build a complete profile of each customer, recommending ways to serve them better and resolving issues before they become a complaint.
AI and sentiment analysis
Sentiment analysis is an aspect of NLP that can be applied to customer service. This technology enables computers to understand whether a customer’s message is positive or negative. If you’re using AI to handle customer service, you can use sentiment analysis to determine if a customer is happy with their service.
For example, a customer might be upset about an order that’s taking too long to ship. An AI customer service agent could identify that sentiment and offer the customer a discount coupon. Every customer has a different expectation, and sentiment analysis can help you meet each person’s needs.
AI and data curation
Beyond sentiment analysis and NLP, AI will be able to be used to curate data. This means that your customer service AI will be able to analyze the data it’s receiving and turn it into useful information for the rest of your company.
Let’s say that you’re using AI for email marketing. Your AI could learn from every email that gets sent and every customer who engages with your emails. It could then use that information to create a better marketing strategy for your business.
The same thing goes for live chat. If a customer submits a certain type of question, your AI can learn from that data and suggest new scripts for your agents. This way, every customer gets the best possible experience, no matter what department they’re reaching out to.
Wrapping up
Artificial intelligence is poised to completely revolutionize the customer service industry. New AI-powered technologies are making it increasingly possible for businesses to automate and streamline their customer service operations.
One of the most exciting developments in the world of AI customer service is the advent of the smart chatbot. This type of AI-powered chatbot is capable of understanding human language and communicating on the same level as a human customer service agent. Ultimately, AI technology is here to make our lives easier. It can help companies eliminate inefficiencies and provide excellent service to every customer, no matter what issue they’re facing.
Image credit: Alex Knight