Leading analytics company, Gartner, reports that around 33% of buyers deliver a seller-free experience. This demand for agent-light interactions climbs to a massive 44% for millennials too.
It turns out that most of the time, your customers would prefer to solve problems on their own. Often, clients assume that self-service will lead to faster resolution times, and fewer moments spent repeating their concerns to different team members.
Self-service solutions are quickly becoming a must-have part of a successful CX strategy. Indeed, a Microsoft global report found that around 74% of consumers have used a portal for self-service before. What’s more, a significant majority of your clients expect your website to have a self-service solution available, even if it’s just an automated chatbot.
Here’s your guide to the agent-free contact centre, and how you can prepare your CX strategy for an era when your customers are keen to do more for themselves.
Why Self-Service is Becoming a First Choice
Self-service isn’t a new concept in the CX environment. For years now, customers have been experimenting with the idea of “helping themselves”, through FAQ pages on a website, manuals, and even personal checkout counters.
Now, the demand for self-service is higher than ever. Around 40% of consumers said that they prefer to manage issues their selves than speak to a human agent. That information arose before the Covid-19 pandemic began, prompting even more people to shy away from human contact. As of 2020, when companies started avoiding face-to-face interactions with customers, the need for self-service has skyrocketed.
Today’s customers need completely contactless interactions with customers to keep themselves safe. What’s more, now that the number of people contacting customer service groups has increased, it’s becoming even more difficult to get through to a human agent. Time spent on hold increased drastically by the end of 2020.
Most consumers are already used to seeking out solutions to their problems with the help of Google and YouTube. What’s more, we’re also comfortable doing our own research into products and services. We don’t need a sales agent’s assistant in the age of the internet.
How to Prepare for a Self-Service Future
Seller-free and agent-free interactions with companies are a must-have consideration in the age of customer experience. Giving your customers the freedom to do their own research and find the solutions that are best suited to them could lead to better satisfaction levels all around.
The only problem? Around 55% of customers still find self-service portals difficult to use.
So, how can you prepare for the age of a more empowered customer?
1. Upgrade Your AI
The most important investment a company can make for the age of seller-free interactions involves investing in the right AI technology. Most companies have already begun to invest in chatbots that can respond to common terms in a customer query with automated answers to questions.
However, if you want to provide your clients with a truly unforgettable experience, your AI needs to go above and beyond. Conversational chatbots that can discuss your customer’s needs with them and offer suggestions based on the information you have about each client could increase sales. You could integrate your chatbot tools with your CRM and customer data, so your service can automatically send messages to customers when it’s time for them to update their offering.
Remember, when using AI solutions with self-service, the more seamless and organic the experience feels, the better. Your virtual assistants in the contact centre should be able to understand human voices and respond accordingly, routing people to the right agent when they need additional help based on each employee’s skillset. Your product suggestions and service messages from bots should sound like they’re coming from a member of your team, with the same brand personality.
2. Empower Your Customer with Information
If your customers are going to be doing more things without the help of a sales or service professional in the future, they need the right information. Although today’s digital-first consumers are used to searching for the details they need online, they don’t want to spend hours searching for the right information. Pay attention to common sales and service queries that come through to your teams and create content that responds accordingly.
Maybe you could update your FAQ section on your website with more guidance or create an app that allows your clients to access personalized recommendations when they log into their account and answer a few simple questions. Think about how you can deliver the information that you’re giving your consumers too. Aside from messages from chatbots and FAQ articles, what else might be useful?
Can you provide video tutorials and screenshots to give more context to an explanation? Can you onboard new employees with a video webinar that teaches them everything they need to know about their new product, including how to use certain features?
3. Pay Attention to Feedback
Finally, as you continue to explore a world where customer expectations and trends are changing, pay attention to the information that you collect. Your consumers are the best source of information you have when it comes to making positive CX investments. Ask them what they like best about your self-service solutions, and what they might want to change.
Use ratings and surveys with your chatbots to automatically request feedback from every interaction with a client and keep a close eye on your satisfaction and NPS scores. It might even be worth watching how many of your customers start with a self-service strategy before moving on to speak to an agent. If the number is high, maybe your resources aren’t helpful enough.
Providing today’s consumers with the right contactless experiences means paying close attention to the services they appreciate most.
Implementing agent and seller-free ways for your customers to buy new products and get solutions to their problems means you empower your clients to enjoy a better experience. Just make sure that you keep your finger on the pulse and get ready to adapt to new changes in trends.
