The dynamics of what constitutes great customer service is fast-changing. The pandemic expedited digital transformation by nearly half a decade, and customer service is not impervious to this change. Innovation in customer service is a hot topic today. The balance of power is shifting in favor of brands that recognize the power of innovation in customer service. After all, customer experience is the number one brand differentiator.
The customers are sending a definitive message. They don’t like to be put on hold. They may connect with your brand at a time and place of their liking. They demand to set the tone and the level of engagement. Finally, they don’t like to repeat themselves and loathe brands that go around in circles.
The remarkable part of this shift in consumer habits is that they are today more empowered than ever. That brings us to the nub of the matter – the key to delivering great customer service is innovation. Let us delve further into it.
Mobile is the device of choice
For most of today’s customers, ‘digital’ spells mobile. So, if your customer service offers an omnichannel experience, it better be mobile device optimized. There is a good reason why PC sales are not taking off like they used to. The myriad customer service channels, including chat, mail, social, web, phone, and self-service, should be accessible via the mobile phone. That is imperative to make any meaningful connection with the customers.
From a customer’s vantage point, brand-customer service is a series of mobile-centric micro-moments that may not be linear but mimics daily consumer activities and personal communication. Now that sets the stage for customer service innovation in a mobile-centric ‘digital universe’.
Self-help is the best help
For today’s time-starved, multitasking millennials, nothing beats the benefits accorded by digital self-service options. An intelligent AI chatbot comes on top of the digital self-service heap for most brands. But brands need to take cognizance that just having a chatbot for the sake of it will not cut anymore. The innovation here is about understanding the natural human language, building context behind customer conversations, and delivering holistic customer service.
When brands get the basic premise of delivering customer service via an AI chatbot right, it is simple to scale that service quickly. FAQs, how-to-guides, self-help videos, and nifty social media chat features can also help brands deliver on the customer service promise just like chatbots. These self-help options achieve the twin goals of cutting down costs and engaging with customers on a higher level.
The power of social network
The burgeoning influence of numerous social networking channels on our daily lives is undeniable. People use them for connecting with friends, applying for jobs, staying updated with the latest happenings, and a whole host of things. So the only moot question is, why should brands be left behind.
The brand connection is all about meeting your customers where they are, right? Social media is the new consumer stomping ground. Active social listening combined with the power of advanced social analytics can help to understand your customers better. You can learn what customers are talking about, their individual experiences, their vexing pain points, and even a thing or two about competitors. So, brands that dive head-first into social media enjoy dividends in terms of better customer engagement and strong brand loyalty.
Video integration beckons
Thanks to our affinity to work and communicate with the world remotely, video capability has taken off beyond anybody’s expectations (think Zoom) today. So, it is only natural that brands integrate video capabilities into their customer service strategy. Because it makes perfect sense to see the person who you are talking to, while delivering customer service. As they say, face is the index of mind.
Thus, expect video chat to go mainstream and be seamlessly woven into major brands’ customer service soon. That will pave the way for brands to better understand their customers by gauging their mood and sentiment using video AI and emotion recognition technologies.
So, which are the customer service innovations that excited you the most? Do you want to explore in detail the latest innovations in customer service?
Contact us to learn more, or drop us a line to share your thoughts on innovation in customer service.