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As new technologies are released in the world there is a temptation to go headlong into the new innovation and incorporate it into every aspects of your business.
With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), you may be drawn to include chatbots and large language models (LLMs) within your customer service offering. We've found that a compromise needs that needs to be struck, say Lauren Gilbert, Eyal Avital and Mau Fournier, from the Customer Happiness team.
Particularly in the realm of customer service, AI can be beneficial but should be used with caution when compared to a true, human, customer service professional. "Many users want to hand over 100% of customer support responsibilities to these shiny new AI instruments, but there will be instances that require actual human interaction. Delegating everything to AI is likely to leave a lot of your customers more frustrated that they were when they submitted their feedback," starts Mau.
Let's take a look at the ways and times you could incorporate AI in your service to customers.
The most important qualities to have for a customer service staff
First of all, what exactly does the perfect customer service look in the form of perfect customer service? How does it aid a company's clients?
"We attempt to live five of the qualities that comprise PREACH to ensure an approach to customer service," starts Eyal Avital. "We strive to be proud responsible, compassionate, Articulate, Concise and Human.
Everyone agrees that empathy might be one of the most crucial aspects. "Put yourself in your customer's position and demonstrate empathy for their circumstances. Tell them they are important to the people behind the business who help to manage it." begins Lauren.
"Empathy is often a neglected skill," says Mau. "You have to show empathy to be able to comprehend the customer's issue, and you need to display empathy in your response to make the customer feel accepted, and also to lower their defenses when they're angry."
In addition, customers need assistance from someone who is knowledgeable enough about the product to provide all of the information needed - and the ability to articulate it. "When you're dealing with an application that you can count on for running your business, getting help quickly from someone who knows the platform inside and out and can help you solve a problem in a way that's easy to understand and actionable, is essential," thinks Lauren.
Customer service isn't just an exercise in box-checking: real assistance is crucial. "Don't simply answer a superficial question -- try to determine the motivation driving the query and the goal they're trying to achieve," thinks Mau. "Help them with the core problem, then follow-up afterward to ensure they were able to get the job done. People will leave the interaction happy if they feel that the person who is on the other end of the spectrum is genuinely trying to find solutions to assist," he adds.
Lastly, don't overlook the importance of timeliness and clarity in your interactions. "You should provide fast assistance, communicating in a concise and clear manner," starts Lauren. Eyal adds: "You must be timely with your responses to clients. You may offer A+ service, but if it's too late for the customer to think about it the member will feel disregarded and view it negatively."
The areas where AI isn't quite enough
It is clear that AI could be beneficial, especially for busy entrepreneurs and business owners, but it's not always the ideal choice. We believe there are a handful of aspects of great customer service which AI can simply not recreate.
Personalisation
Based on our experiences thus far, AI is missing the goal of creating solutions that satisfy the specific needs of a customer. There are a myriad of examples of help desk software that requires users to answer a long sequence of questions prior to receiving an answer from an algorithm. By definition the automated response is unable to resolve an unlimited range of problems since it's not a "one size fits all' situation.
"AI is certainly able to demonstrate its expertise and come up with answers to questions - and generally, it is more adept than human beings however its knowledge may not be as current and aware of your specific field as human beings might be," says Mau. "It can be helpful with simple and quick interactions However, it doesn't have the on the responsibility of helping and it can't follow up the way a human can or at the very least, not as yet."
Longevity
Although LLM (AI) apps have improved the tone they use in their interactions with their customers, there's still one way to go. "LLM apps may use the tone of conversation that is respectful however it's not the same as genuine compassion from a human. The human capacity for empathy and linking the resolution of an experience can't be replicated," says Mau.
Similar to that, AI is all about the short-term. "LLMs have a short attention span - it's built into the technology," he adds. "They won't remember the chat you had just last year concerning the challenges your customers face and how your content can benefit them as well as the fact that they like to go to fishing with their families. Incorporating these information into new conversations will give your clients the impression that they are actually valued."
AI is a great tool to help
It's not saying that AI isn't beneficial to customer support. There are certainly clear-cut opportunities for automation, like with any other new technological innovation - but it's crucial to know how to innovate and when to do it.
"We must implement AI into regular tasks that can be automated while keeping the option of a human alternative for people who have specific requests," begins Mau. " LLMs provide a great response draft, however the best results will always come from your own editing of this draft. Bring your own voice into the discussion."
"What was once the FAQ section of a site can now be handled with artificial intelligence or bots to answer easy questions fast and at any time. Anything that isn't one-click or one-question solutions should then be redirected to human support," Eyal adds. "Otherwise the customer could get frustrated. It's similar to the old times of being stuck on a jumble of numbers to connect to the right department over phone support."
The integration of AI is an ongoing process. "There's an evolution (crawl-walk-run) to integrate bots, or LLMs," starts Eyal. "New businesses should dedicate an increased amount of time for their communities and provide hands-on help. Once they are more popular, they can offboard their basic recurring concerns for LLM."
"AI could help you expand in your career because more employees are likely to raise more inquiries," says Mau. "Many of them will be simple queries that AI can take off of your hands, allowing you to concentrate on more complex issues."
"You can get away with relying on AI when you're starting out however I'd advise against that. I'd suggest more manual support when you're starting out: the questions you receive in the early stages of your career are a treasure trove of feedback that you can use to gain insight into your group and ways to improve things for them."
Conclusion
It looks like the people-first strategy we're pursuing works well. It combines a wealth of expertise and the compassion only human being can provide. Eyal states that the way we work helps to humanize Memberul as a brand "a mix of empathy with sharing resources, as well as making it fun by using emoticons and GIFs" Keep things fun and beneficial.
Mau has shared some of the reviews from customers who said it was enjoyable talking "to someone who was a human being who had such a genuine approach to helping" and someone who could offer personalized guidance for the specific issue. "That customer said it was the most helpful assistance they've ever received!" smiles Mau.
Lauren is able to recall a client that wrote to us with a concern about the retention of members. Based on her experience in her industry, and unique trends in her own business, we were able to offer recommendations on a pricing plan which ultimately improved her customers their lifetime value.
"You could certainly use AI to help you with the kind of issue however when it comes to decisions that could have a huge impact on your company I'd say that most people aren't ready to rely on AI by itself or any other decision. They shouldn't, I believe".