The customer care model is evolving towards an omni-channel, personalized, always accessible service.
Technologies such as Conversational AI facilitate the use of the service in self-care mode, but also the building of a relationship with the user and the development of brand loyalty, functional to cost optimization.
TOWARDS A CUSTOMER CARE AS A SERVICE
As early as the mid-1960s, Marshall McLuhan anticipated today’s debate on the media. According to the Canadian philosopher and sociologist, it is the very presence of the means of communication that creates our need to communicate. In this sense, the medium assumes more importance than the message.
The medium is the message
Marshall McLuhan
With the evolution of means and methods of communication, the customer care model is therefore destined for continuous evolution.
Investments in the contact center are driven by the increased use of digital channels and the need to automate the volume of requests coming from multiple touchpoints.
In the 2022 Customer Service Hype Cycle, Gartner identifies technologies that aim to improve customer service, create a smoother user journey, and drive future contact center scenarios.
The direction is that of the CcaaS – Contact Center as a Service platforms, where conversational AI chatbots and the Cloud play the role of enabling technologies for a “customer self-care” service.
Creating a “seamless” customer journey through self-service support channels is the top priority for industry leaders, driven by the adoption of cloud-based CCaaS – Customer Care as a service platforms.
“Automating interactions across the enterprise has a huge business impact that cannot be underestimated”
Gartner
In particular, chatbots, or virtual customer assistants (VCAs), are expected to become the primary customer service channel for a quarter of organizations globally within the next five years.
IMPROVE SERVICE TO CUT COSTS
The emergence of sophisticated vocal AI capabilities (voicebots) has made large-scale call center automation viable, with enormous potential for savings and positive effects on the customer experience.
Automation, artificial intelligence and other technologies have opened up new possibilities for companies, which benefit from faster, more flexible and available 24/7 customer service, improving both quality and productivity.
According to the consulting firm Bain & Company there is a correlation between customer loyalty and cost reduction, so much so that customers loyal to the brand would contribute to the generation of profits year on year.
In the financial industry, for example, Bain & Company notes that for a 5% increase in terms of customer retention, an increase in annual profit of 25% is produced.
How?
Customers who maintain their loyalty to the brand tend to buy more over time, helping to reduce operational costs of service for the individual customer.
Furthermore, loyal customers tend to generate referrals, recommend the product to other customers and are inclined to sustain an increase in the cost of the product or service, rather than switching suppliers.
conversational ai for customer retention
As part of an omnichannel customer care strategy, conversational AI contributes to building the bond with its customers, guaranteeing an always accessible and personalized service, thanks to the use of data (conversational insights) and the ability to profile the user, which allows you to return messages in line with the personality of the interlocutor.
On the other hand, consumers are now more than ever willing to interact with brands in a self-service mode, if this means receiving the information they need when they ask for it.
This trend is destined to accelerate further, as technologies become increasingly sophisticated and qualified in designing ever more personalized automation experiences, to the advantage of the user experience and brand loyalty.
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