TECHNOLOGY
“WITH CHATBOTS , CUSTOMERS CAN AVOID MEANINGLESS CHIT-CHAT AND ARRIVE AT A RESOLUTION TO THEIR QUERY FAR FASTER ”
NOAM FINE VONAGE
Chatbots are ideal for offering instant solutions , giving customers everything they need to make their purchase , whilst also freeing up support staff to focus on the most complex tasks , says Crowley . “ The old adage that it takes months to win a customer and seconds to lose them has never been more true in the digital age , where customers expect instant gratification and fast responses .”
Great things come in threes for chatbots There are three main reasons for a company to use a chatbot , says Raffaele Ferrara , Product Marketing Manager , Odigo . “ Firstly , improving customer satisfaction : chatbots can reduce – and , in some cases , eliminate – wait times , offer support 24 / 7 and simplify interactions , so customers have a smoother , faster customer experience .”
Chatbots also improve agent satisfaction by supporting simpler tasks through automation , enabling agents to interact with higher-added value . “ Also , specialised agents can focus their time on supporting customers with specific requests ,” says Ferrara .
“ Finally , chatbots improve enterprise operational efficiency . Through lower contact drop-out rates and increased agent efficiency , organisations can deliver a modern and innovative customer experience ,” he says . “ This enables them to remain ahead of the competition and increase customer retention and attraction .”
A common myth is that customers only want to talk to real-life human beings and would prefer to avoid interacting with a chatbot , but this simply isn ’ t true , explains Noam Fine , Head of AI , Vonage . “ The majority of people reaching out to customer support want to solve a problem as efficiently as possible . With chatbots , customers can avoid meaningless chit-chat and arrive at a resolution to their query far faster than with a customer service agent .” Chatbots are well suited to repetitive tasks , says Fine . “ Whether this is on a purely customer service level or not , they do not suffer the wear and tear of the 9-5 day as humans do . Even within different vertical sectors that may require human interaction – such as sales – the retention of attention span is indefinite , instead of a human , who tires and gets frustrated .”