Chatbots are the talk of the town. But how can chatbots improve customer service? Our apprentice Ramtin asks the question this September.
Human or machine – who am I actually writing to? That is a question people ask themselves quite often these days when contacting a customer service team. As far back as 2021, 65 per cent of all companies in the consumer segment were using chatbots to communicate with their customers (here is the study). Average customer satisfaction was, and is… let us say “room for improvement”. Many of us still carry a certain reticence when it comes to communicating with “machines”. And – at least according to our editorial team's theory – even when a human answer would have been no more helpful or faster, we still rate it better than a chatbot's.
In fact chatbots offer a range of possibilities for companies and their customers alike. Let us look at a few factors:
Time: anyone who needs help does not want to wait long. Waiting times on support hotlines, or their availability, are sometimes miserable. In our fast-moving times, hardly anyone has the patience to listen to hours of hair-raising hold music. A chatbot is available 24/7.
Responsibility: we all know the feeling. Even after being transferred three times, the right person has not been found and the search starts again. Chatbots can considerably shorten and ease the search for the right contact. And the customer only has to explain the matter once.
Staff shortages: one reason for long waiting times in support is often the ever-present shortage of staff. Understandably, it is in companies' interest not to occupy the staff they have with comparatively simple, constantly recurring matters. A classic: resetting a password.
Quality: chatbots know neither bad moods nor stress. They will always answer with the same friendliness. Even when a customer behaves inappropriately.
Cost savings: 20 staff on the hotline, or a chatbot? Using chatbots can make sense from a purely economic point of view. And saved staff costs benefit customers too.
Support: chatbots can be extremely helpful not only in external communication but internally too – for example in quickly finding information and suggested solutions, or in providing help with wording.
It is fair to assume that chatbots' answers will continue to improve in the coming years, and with them public acceptance.
