How to Use Customer Experience Automation in 2021

Hilee Avrahami at KMS Lighthouse explains that customer experience automation in 2021 looks a lot different than it did even two or three years ago.

From improved chatbots and virtual assistants to call centre knowledge management, today’s automated customer experiences deliver services that are fast, personalized, and effective—everything consumers say they value in the companies they do business with.

Is it truly possible to improve customer service with automation while still maintaining a human touch? Yes, and here’s how.

How AI Can Improve Customer Experience

Faster response times, reduced customer friction, and expanded service hours and channels are just a few of the advantages of AI-powered customer service. Another significant benefit is the better understanding you get of your customers.

AI and machine learning (ML) allow you to gather and analyse a customer’s historical, social, and behavioural data to gain a much more accurate understanding of who they are and what they’re looking for.

Unlike traditional data analytics software, AI solutions continuously learn and improve from the analysed data so you’re better able to anticipate customer behaviour and provide personalized, highly relevant content to enhance each customer’s journey. And when you connect with your customers on a more personal level, you increase loyalty and trust.

Lastly, AI makes customer experience measurement tracking much easier and faster, so you always know if your customer experience strategies are paying off.

How to Use Automation to Improve the Customer Experience in 2021

Colin Shaw, Founder and CEO at Beyond Philosophy, believes AI-driven personalization can facilitate a more consistent and enjoyable contact centre customer experience. He thinks many businesses don’t utilize AI in their customer experience strategy because they assume “it’s inexplicable as magic.” But, he says, “AI has concepts accessible to us all.”

Here are some of the easiest ways your organization can use automation to improve the customer experience while simplifying your business processes, too.

Use chatbots and virtual assistants to resolve problems immediately. They quickly resolve common support inquiries without sacrificing personalization or the human touch.
Automatically route support tickets based on topic, importance, and priority. When customers have an urgent need for problem resolution, AI can quickly guide them to the right solution.
Automate customer satisfaction surveys. It might be a simple use of AI, but it’s also an extremely valuable one. The easiest way to improve the customer experience is to ask your customers how they feel about what you offer and how they view your call centre support services. A mix of multiple-choice and descriptive surveys ensures you get the in-depth information you need to meet customer expectations.
A self-service portal enables customers to find information, request services, and solve problems without live assistance. As over 80 percent of consumers say they prefer this approach, you’re able to keep customers happy and give your agents the time they need to deal with higher-priority tasks.
To consolidate your data, connect your CRM to your help desk and ticketing software. A centralized database is typically the first place your agents turn, but you should also keep your other tools in sync with it.

AI helps improve your business processes, too.

No one understands your customers’ struggles like your support team does. Automated employee surveys and feedback forms identify areas for improvement on both sides of the interaction.
Automating your onboarding process guarantees customers have a good impression of your business. For instance, you can create notifications to remind team members of tasks due and automatically reach out to customers to inform them of next steps.
You can also use automation in conjunction with your CRM to remind you to follow up or check in with customers. This feature also helps reduce churn due to customer frustration or dissatisfaction.
Dashboards and reports help you identify weaknesses in your current business processes and let you see where customers are getting stuck, such as in the sales pipeline, onboarding pipeline, or ticket resolution process.