They’re seemingly everywhere. From ordering pizza to trouble-shooting issues with broadband networks, using chatbots is now a normal part of our everyday lives.
Chatbots are no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have for your customer service strategy. Nearly nine out of 10 customers expect your company to provide self-service options, and chatbots are becoming an increasingly popular channel for customer service.
Chatbots can be a powerful tool to create a better tech support experience, improve your net promoter score (NPS) and cut business expenses. Below, we go over a few ways chatbots can enhance your customer service strategy.
What is a chatbot?
Chatbots are computer programs that simulate a conversation with a real human. Companies use chatbots to help resolve customer queries as quickly and efficiently as possible. You might use a chatbot to troubleshoot connecting your Google Pixel phone to your home network or to create a tech support ticket.
How do chatbots work?
In the simplest of terms, chatbots are created using computer programming. Some chatbots even incorporate conversational artificial intelligence (AI).
Generally, chatbots fall into two categories: declarative and predictive. Declarative chatbots are the most common. They might log a tech support request or answer FAQs with a scripted response.
On the other hand, predictive chatbots generally use AI to interact with customers. As they continue interacting with the customer, they learn their preferences and can better anticipate a customer’s needs.
The benefits of chatbots
Chatbots can be a great tool to augment your customer service strategy. Below, we go over a few ways they can benefit your customers and your business.
Customers can access instant support
Customers want to access support faster than ever. And a good chatbot can rise to meet even the most impatient of customers’ expectations. Chatbots never sleep, which provides customers access to the tech support they need 24/7.
And this means there’s no waiting in a long call queue. Customers don’t have to worry about waiting on hold for hours to speak with an agent when chatbots can instantly connect them to the information they need.
Tailor your customer service strategy to the needs of Gen Z
Gen Z is transforming customer service and overall business strategies. Gen Z, sometimes called zoomers or iGen, is defined as those born between 1997 and 2012. They have $360 billion in spending power, making them too powerful of a generation for your telecom or broadband business to ignore.
Therefore, it’s critical to tailor your customer service strategy to meet their expectations, including using chatbots. For example, when it comes to tech support, only 17% of zoomers want to receive support over the phone.
Instead, the generation that grew up in an era of instant everything prefers to use customer self-service options. A third of Gen Zers prefer utilizing a chatbot to avoid waiting on hold and immediately access the tech support they need.
By implementing customer service options via their preferred channels, your business can seize unique opportunities to tap into Gen Z’s disposable income and increase brand loyalty.
Provide the customer self-service experience customers crave
Customers are increasingly turning to self-service as their preferred channel for customer service. In fact, eight out of 10 customers prefer to resolve their tech issues independently before contacting customer support. This is especially true for younger generations. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Zers say they prefer customer self-service.
However, there’s a big gap between the customer service consumers expect and what companies actually deliver. A study by Microsoft found that over half of customers say companies don’t provide enough information to allow them to resolve tech issues on their own.
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This disconnect between company offerings and customer expectations can make customer retention challenging. Customers aren’t willing to give second chances to businesses that fail to meet their expectations. 96% of customers say they will leave a company after just one bad service experience.
Chatbots can help rescue customers from a poor service experience (and rescue your company from hemorrhaging customers). Chatbots can help customers quickly locate the information they need to resolve tech issues on their own. This allows your business to establish trust, decrease call volume at your contact centers and reduce customer churn.
Effectively scale your tech support
When used correctly, the right chatbot solution can help businesses scale customer service, particularly for small businesses. Chatbots can help regional service providers maintain competitive tech support. Because of regional service providers’ small size, getting back to customers in a timely manner can be a challenge.
Unlike large nationwide providers, regional service providers may not have as generous of a budget to hire more contact center agents to deal with the increase in service requests. This can lead to longer service wait times, which can cause higher customer churn rates.
Chatbots help circumvent this problem. A regional service provider can implement chatbots into its customer service strategy to provide customers with instant answers to their tech support issues.
Instead of waiting on hold, customers can receive a link to interactive or video tutorials to help resolve issues with their broadband connection, phones or smart home devices. And in turn, smaller service providers can rapidly scale support without hiring more contact center agents.
Cut unnecessary business costs
Chatbots can also help your company save money, which makes them a great tool for improving customer service on a budget.
As mentioned earlier, chatbots can help businesses of all sizes scale support without breaking the bank. That’s because chatbots guide customers through resolving their tech issues independently instead of calling your contact center, which decreases wait times and business expenses.
You also don’t have to pay chatbots, which can handle many simple customer service requests. Research from the UK has found that using chatbots could save companies up to eight billion dollars each year.
And because using chatbots can reduce contact center call volume, businesses can experience even more significant savings. Research by IBM shows that even a one second reduction in contact center wait times helps companies cut up to one million dollars in service costs. This means that chatbots aren’t just a smart choice for improving customer service but also a smart choice for your budget.
Increase sales
Chatbots can provide a better customer service experience, which can have a huge impact on your bottom line. 89% of customers say they’ll buy again from a company that provides a positive customer service experience. And many business executives say that chatbots have increased sales by 67%.
Chatbots can also help your company with lead generation. Over half of marketers say chatbots have helped them capture better-quality leads. And Juniper Research estimates that chatbots will eventually account for more than $100 million in global sales. This means that if you want to increase your company’s profits, chatbots are a tool you can’t ignore for future growth.
Incorporate chatbots into your tech support toolbox
Chatbots can be a powerful tool in your overall customer service strategy, benefitting both customers and your business. Chatbots can help customers gain access to instant tech support and empower them to resolve their tech issues on their own. And chatbots can help your business build customer loyalty, reduce churn and cut unnecessary business costs. When used correctly, chatbots can be a vital tool to the success of your company.
Are you looking for an easy-to-integrate solution that provides the customer self-service experience your customers crave? Ozmo Self Serve is trusted by Verizon, Appalachian Wireless, Google Fi and more. Discover the future of tech support today!
