How do businesses deliver savings into their contact centre without risking customer experience?
The last year has hardly been smooth sailing for businesses, with global and local events taking their toll – from the cost of energy and inflation increasing operational costs to the same factors decreasing consumer purchasing. All these factors and the unpredictability of the financial markets mean that organisations are now seeking ways they can deliver efficiencies and savings to ensure their survival.
One area that is often reviewed for delivering savings is the contact centre or customer service operations, where there can be larger resource overheads. Gartner analyst Daniel O’Connel commented in a recent report that labour expenses can represent up to 95% of contact centre costs. So, a quick solution to generating savings would be to reduce these costs. However, doing this can come at the risk of damaging the customer experience by not providing the on-demand level of support that is now expected, ultimately impacting a brand’s reputation. So, the question is how businesses can create savings without risking their level of service and the satisfaction of customers.
Conversational AI could offer a solution. Many business leaders will be familiar with chatbots, which often don’t have the best reputation. Typically, chatbots have scripted conversations and defined outcomes that loop customers if their request doesn’t fall within those. Conversational AI Assistants offer businesses a more intuitive and advanced form of technology that enables customers to have more naturalistic and rewarding experiences.
Platforms such as Humley’s are powered by the best-of-breed AI, including Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing to replicate human interactions and help customers to find more complex information. Improving first-time resolution rates and deflecting queries from the contact centre.
The self-service element of Conversational Assistants is also key to balancing delivering great service with delivering efficiencies. By integrating solutions with CRM and sales systems, as well as RPA providers, Conversational Assistants can help customers perform tasks and request updates at any time and in any channel, significantly improving their satisfaction. For example, opening a new account with a bank or checking order statuses.
By enabling this functionality within Conversational Assistants, businesses can increase query deflection from the contact centre and automate a high percentage of the manual and repetitive tasks agents perform. This frees up agents to focus on higher priority tasks and be more available to speak with customers when required (reducing call waiting times). Additionally, this technology means that organisations can scale their customer support in periods of surge without the need for costly additional recruitment.
On average Gartner predicts that by applying technology in this way businesses could reduce their contact centre costs by as much as $80 billion in 2026. This saving in combination with the evident customer experience benefits means that its usage is starting to soar. It is important to note that Conversational Assistants should not be considered a cure-all by organisations, and instead be part of wider support strategies, which ensure optimal efficiency and provide the level of service and experience customers expect.
Case Study: Deployment of Conversational Assistants for Media Provider Customer Support
One of the largest media, mobile and internet service providers in the UK, were, therefore looking for a solution which would enable them to enhance their customer experience and streamline their contact centre support.
Humley’s Solution delivered:
- Av. 50% reduction in call waiting times
- Av. 50% containment rate and deflection from contact centre
- 66% positive customer feedback
If you would like to find out more about how Conversational AI can help you transform your contact centre and customer experiences, get in touch today or download our recent webinar with RPA leaders RPAi and Blue Prism ‘How Intelligent Automation is Delivering True Omni-channel experiences’.