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How AI Artificial Intelligence is Improving Customer Response – A Perfect Guide for You

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One of the most frustrating experiences for customers is when they have a service issue and have to reach out to a company’s support team. They know they’ll be faced with a few exasperating options:

  1. Be placed on hold for an unfavorable amount of time
  2. Send an email that gets a response days later
  3. Chat with a person that doesn’t speak their language

According to an American Express study, a majority of Americans have foregone a purchase due to a poor customer service experience. Could you be losing potential customers because of this? If so, it might be time to consider a new approach to supporting customers.

To keep up with demand and expectations, especially as a small business owner, it’s imperative you establish some kind of auto-responder or bot to support incoming leads and customers. Here’s how artificial intelligence AI is improving customer service experience. 

Humans as Customer Service Support

Forward-thinkers and Millennials have come to expect representatives to be available to answer their questions, regardless of time or day. From a staffing perspective, this is nearly impossible, and expensive to say the least.

Although you could technically hire people around the world to be on standby, this approach likely won’t meet the needs of your customers due to language barriers among other factors.

But what does this mean for customer service representatives? In 2017, IBM predicted that by 2020, 85% of all service requests and communications would take place without the help of a human. As a result of this challenge, AI has come to light as a less expensive, more helpful solution.

What AI Looks Like for Customer Service

In the customer service space, AI means auto-responders, chatbots, and automated technologies. By implementing such a service, employees’ time is freed up, and their customers are nurtured instantly.

With virtual phone number services like Ninja Number, small business owners can even set up a virtual assistant. Imagine having a secretary that is always on call, who is able to answer questions around the clock, and then send that information to your sales reps.

This data informs sales reps of their top prospects, reminds them to call them back, and provides performance reports on those phone calls. This is the power of AI customer service.

Benefits of AI Customer Service

Faster, Better Response Times 

An IBM study concluded that in a 6-minute support call, 4.5 of them were spent doing manual searching by the representative. With AI, not only are customers’ questions answered more efficiently, but they are also answered more accurately – eliminating the laborious research for the employee.

In the future, virtual assistants will likely have the ability to predict your customers’ behaviors, meaning they will answer questions and solve problems preemptively. In turn, those engaging with your company will have a more enjoyable experience, improving brand reputation and loyalty.

Around-the-Clock Support

One of the most obvious benefits of AI customer service is that your bots or assistants are “on” 24/7.  Time zones, holidays and weekends aren’t an issue for this technology. As a result, your customers’ issues and questions are resolved as quickly and conveniently as possible.

Unmatched Reliability

AI-backed customer support offers reliability that humans simply can’t possibly match. Humans are, well, humans. They’re filled with emotions, make mistakes, show up to work late, and have sick days. Chatbots, on the other hand, are specifically designed to handle even the most challenging customers.

What’s better – they’ll deliver it in an unbiased, efficient, professional way. They won’t get annoyed by someone who has an endless list of questions. In the end, this provides excellent customer service, leading to repeat business.

If you’re ready to reap the benefits of AI for customer service, consider Ninja Number as your virtual phone service. This artificial intelligence ensures you never miss another sales call, sends analytics on your phone calls, and nurtures callers before they even reach you. Contact them today to start your free trial.