Companies today realize that they can only differentiate themselves through outstanding service. Therefore, they’re looking at ways to answer queries faster and more professionally.
Artificial intelligence can help to a certain degree. It can give instant answers. Unfortunately, it tends to have a somewhat toneless delivery. Bots can emulate human emotions to a certain extent, but there’s no substitute for human intervention.
Therefore, it makes sense to shore up your human contingent with the power of AI. That’s why many organizations are choosing to shore up their human contingent with the power of AI, particularly in high-touch environments such as customer support and sales conversations involving live transfer insurance leads, where responsiveness and professionalism are critical. But what happens if you don’t have the right team members? You can then look to outsourcing to fill in the gaps.
In this post, we’ll look at why companies are combining AI and outsourcing to improve their service delivery.
How to Use AI in Customer Support
Artificial intelligence is becoming indispensable in many areas. While it has a ways to go, it’s useful in customer support in the following areas.
Automated Chatbots
This is one of the most common applications of AI in customer service. The bots can handle simple queries 24/7, making them a valuable asset. Thanks to advances in natural language programming, today’s chatbots are able to understand the context of questions. Therefore, they’re more capable.
Predictive Analytics
We collect a great deal of data on a daily basis. Until recently, analyzing this information and paring it down into useful segments wasn’t cost-effective. Having humans wade through the data takes ages.
AI has changed all of that. Machines can sort through massive datasets in seconds. They can identify trends and give you useful insights. They can even offer you ideas on how to resolve issues they encounter.
What does this have to do with customer support? The right programs can help you identify bottlenecks and other issues that harm service.
Sentiment Analysis
Put AI to work monitoring customer interactions. It can analyze these to check the customer’s emotional tone. This is useful in agent training and in improving products or services.
You can also put AI to work in real-time. It can listen in on calls and prioritize those where the client is frustrated. It can also alert agents to ongoing issues that they may need to learn how to deal with.
Self-Service Solutions
Many clients today want to resolve issues on their own. They don’t want to have to call in. You can make this possible by using tools like interactive voice response systems or virtual assistants.
A bot can ask questions to get to the root of the issue. It can then search your knowledge base for the best solution.
Where Does Outsourcing Come Into It?
AI is a useful tool, but it’s not enough on its own. You also need to provide outstanding service when artificial intelligence can’t manage. Running a 24/7 call center is challenging and can be prohibitively expensive.
Here are the top reasons that companies choose to outsource customer support. Accessing trained customer service personnel is one of the top reasons.
Access to Expertise
Can you find the team you need in your geographic area? Do local candidates have the skills you really need? For most companies, the answer is “No.” While there may be some trained professionals, they are sought after. Therefore, it may be impossible to entice them to join your team.
Outsourcing companies typically train a stable of consultants. Because it’s their main focus, they spend a lot making sure their agents are professional and skilled.
Cost-Effective Solutions
Running an in-house team is expensive. You have to account for:
- Benefits
- Redundancies
- Recruiting
- Training
- Equipping
- Housing the team
You may wonder how it’s more cost-effective to hire this function out. After all, doesn’t your outsourcing partner pay the same expenses? The answer is, “Yes, they have similar overheads.” However, most of these companies work in areas with a lower cost of living. They can, therefore, offer competitive rates.
Multilingual Support
You can rely on AI to translate some text for clients. However, those translations aren’t always ideal. Working with a team that speaks multiple languages can be an advantage.
You’ll find it especially useful when expanding into new territory. When your consultants speak the same language as your clients, there are fewer misunderstandings.
Scalability and Flexibility
What happens if demand suddenly peaks? When you have more calls than you can handle? With an in-house team, you’re stuck. It can take weeks or months to find and train the right candidates.
Outsourcing companies usually hire extra capacity. Therefore, they can usually help you upscale your support desk quickly. You can negotiate to staff a full desk during peak periods and reduce capacity when it’s quiet.
Conclusion
There are distinct advantages to both using AI and outsourcing your help desk. In both cases, you need to find the right solutions. When you do, you can save money while improving customer satisfaction.
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