How Technology Has Aided the Customer Experience
Innovations in technology continue to advance society and make day to day tasks much more effortless. It’s one of the reasons automation is everywhere and allows us to concentrate on more meaningful tasks in both our personal and business lives. Organisations in particular constantly look at how they can streamline processes and ultimately cut costs, all without compromising on service. As the customer experience is crucial to provide success, how has technology made doing so much simpler? Here we look at some of the improvements made and how a customer experience specialist can help implement this technology for businesses.
Live Chat Bots
Not too long ago, you had only a few options when wanting to contact a company; you either visited them in person, called over the phone or sent a letter or email. Each method would be hit and miss depending on the time of day or week as you could be waiting in a queue of other people when in-store or on the phone. With an email or letter, you would be kept waiting even longer for a response. This is where chatbots really come into their own and these days it’s very difficult not to visit a website without one. This form of automation means customers can communicate with a company without dealing with a human. Instead, chatbots can filter through queries and provide common answers. Then if still unresolved, it can connect a customer to the live chat facility which has much faster response times. This helps to reduce calls and provide customer satisfaction.
Machine Learning Technology
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been talked about for decades, but it’s only in the last few years that this has been fully integrated into our lives. Businesses have realised the potential advantages of implementing machine learning technology to improve productivity and provide a superior service to their customers. It allows for personalisation and helps customers feel more attached to brands, increasing loyalty in the process. This is apparent in chatbot facilities, personalised online shopping experiences, personalised emails, and notifications. But also behind the scenes, machine learning is making huge strides forward for automation, being able to interpret customer insights data quickly and accurately to help specialists optimise the customer journey. It can then work out the trends and calculate accurate forecasting, all key to making improvements and enhancements.
Connected Devices & Platforms
There are many more ways for customers to interact with a business, thanks to the internet of things (IoT). Simply put, the number of devices and software that can connect between a user and a company has grown, from smartphones to watches, to smart TVs and tablets, even smart wearables to track fitness and habits. This means brands can focus on delivering the best experience for their customer, a true omnichannel experience that allows users to interact using the platform with which they are most comfortable. It’s why many more businesses use popular messaging services such as WhatsApp or can interact through direct messages on social media channels. It’s all so the customer can interact effortlessly and also for brands to advertise and promote cross-channel.
Where technology takes us next could happen sooner rather than later, with constant innovation thriving. With other technology such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) providing more options, the customer experience will continue to be the driver.
