Consumers have come to expect efficient and timely customer service. What worked 10 years ago doesn’t work today. Delivering an omnichannel customer experience is the way forward to foster brand loyalty and longevity.
Table of Contents
To that end, call centers need to adopt AI technologies such as digital assistants and chatbots to provide frictionless CX.
A recent study by Deloitte found that 86% of contact center executives plan to deploy additional self-service capabilities within the next two years. Here’s a look at additional trends companies might adapt and adopt to better meet customer expectations.
“Humanize” Customer Interactions with Sentiment Analysis
Not every customer likes the “robotic” nature of an AI assistant when they contact a call center to solve a problem. Either the assistant is unhelpful or doesn’t match the “mood” of the interaction, which leaves the customer frustrated and upset. That’s why call centers have adopted sentiment analysis as part of their overall AI customer support initiatives. In turn, data related to customer sentiment can help inform agents’ approach to an interaction. For example, it might help them determine and modify tone so that even a tense situation could be softened.
With this addition, AI digital assistants are able to reference their larger data set from previous customer interactions to analyze specific keywords and phrases to gauge their current customer’s tone. This allows them to continually adapt to provide emphatic customer support – even if they must pass the conversation to a human agent. Call centers that use sentiment analysis enable their digital assistants to intelligently differentiate when to route a call to an agent or solve the query themselves. This streamlined prioritization process increases agent productivity and ensures an overall improved customer experience.
Those aren’t the limits to this technology’s applications, however. Advancements in natural language processing have relevancy in other contexts, too. Case in point: AI chatbots can conduct text-based conversations to help troubleshoot and offer solutions in real time. Such features also allow customers to complete tasks like booking an appointment or accessing account information. This means agents can spend their time and energy on other tasks that might require human intervention.
Make Customer Support Error-free with Recall Technology
Recall technology has rapidly become a key trend for call centers that want to provide consistent high-quality customer service. AI works with this filtering technology to screen inaccurate or unwanted communications before it reaches the customer. This also allows the human agent to quickly delete or edit messages in real-time if a mistake slips through the conversation. While recall technology can cause seconds of delay, it does not interrupt the overall flow of conversation with the customer.
Recall technology acts as a safeguard to prevent customers from receiving outdated information or messages filled with grammar and spelling errors. This allows human call center agents to maintain as much accuracy as possible across the entire conversation and provide quality customer service, which increases overall CSAT and creates long-term customers.
Right-Size Your Call Center with Predictive Analytics
Call center forecasting empowers decision-makers in that it helps with predicting future call volume by analyzing and taking into account historical data. These insights can help managers ratchet up or scale back on staffing. With a better handle on expected call volumes, call center managers can better use resources, reduce wait times, improve agent productivity, and drive overall customer satisfaction.
On the flip side, overestimating call volume comes with its own set of challenges. It leads to overstaffing, increased costs, and idle resources. However, accurate call center forecasting and scheduling allow for bridging the gap. This is especially timing, as staffing shortages are the rule in the current climate. According to Deloitte’s study, 63% of contact centers are currently facing a staffing shortage.
AI Trends to Watch: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve
Call centers that want to be ahead of the curve have adopted AI technology to revolutionize their CX. That’s why it’s integral to stay on top of AI trends to make sure you’re constantly innovating how you support your customers.
Though it’s just as important to work with the right partner who can help you get the full spectrum of benefits that AI can provide. Work with experts who can implement, integrate, and customize your AI initiatives so you can see tangible results like more ROI, increased market share, and a wide profit margin.
