Customer experience can make or break a business. It remains a priority for enterprises and will continue to be so. Unlike yesteryear, customer experience isn’t limited to answering customer queries, managing calls, and responding to customer’s complaints. Enterprises are moving beyond it and exceeding customers’ expectations to deliver valuable customer experience.
Like other spheres of a business – marketing, sales, and others, customer experience too is supported and propelled by technology and artificial intelligence is at the center of it. According to a Gartner report, nearly 66 percent of all CX projects will rely on IT solutions. Further, 40% of all data analytics projects will be concerned with CX and customer attitudes. According to the CGS report, nearly 36% of enterprises are looking to increase spending on AI and cognitive computing.
It is no surprise then that BPOs and their clients are in a race to invest in next-generation technologies and artificial intelligence. Monitoring, advanced analytics and next-gen coaching for agents are leading priorities for companies. Clearly, companies are moving towards integrating AI in business processes.
Increasing focus on automating human experience
In an increasingly digitally diverse digital world, customers are interacting at more than one point – whether it’s Snapchat or Slack. Enterprises need to connect with customers at each of these touchpoints. The BPO industry is increasingly looking for tools and technologies that can help them connect with customers at every touchpoint.
To offer delightful customer experience, organizations need solutions that merge the speed of digital with the subtlety and nuance required in customer service. In this case, data-driven automation tools can prove invaluable for large organizations. The CGS report shows companies with over 5,000 employees are increasing their spending on AI technologies and cognitive computing. Imagining the amount of data available from customers from across the globe, makes sense.
How AI tools are helping BPOs
1. Beyond call metrics – Call metrics are no more effective way to measure customer service. AI tools are going beyond it. AI tools can now provide a competitive advantage to achieve strategic goals. Using NLP (Natural Language Processing), semantics analysis and intent analysis, tools can analyze customer behavior and reveal customer disposition. It also has the potential to transform IVR systems which are still debatable in the BPO industry.
2. Conversational AI – Automated IVR where the human voice is replaced with AI-powered service agents makes the process easier. AI-powered chat bots can be programmed to address customer issues easily. Further, AI-enabled chatbots and IVR can be programmed to recognize human emotions such as anger and frustration. In case an issue isn’t resolved at this point, it can be escalated to human agents. Chatbots are available 24/7, even while BPO professionals are asleep.
3. Respond faster – The process of responding to customers is faster with Chabot and other AI-powered tools and relieve human agents to do more cognitively-demanding tasks. For instance, Service Friend, deployed a Chabot on its Facebook Messenger to resolve customer issues. This resulted in increased customer satisfaction and 350% productivity.
4. Reduced response time – There’s no denying that customers hate to hold on the call or spend hours to hear from our end. With AI-powered tools, this is reduced significantly, leading to quick responses and prompt escalation.
5. Brand reputation—Customer service is the best parameter for brand reputation. The better the customer experience you offer; the higher the brand reputation can be achieved. BPO professionals have the responsibility to keep brand reputation growing and delivering the highest quality good customer service is one of them.
The BPO industry has come a long way over the past few years and artificial intelligence is giving it a makeover with a better approach to delivering unmatched customer experience.
