The Balance Between Technology and Service—Is e-Comm, AI, and Bots Destroying Your Customer Experience?
As a company grows, every aspect of its business experiences growth, including its customer base, geographic reach, range of products, as well as customer expectations. However, along the way, many brands decide not to invest in hiring proper labour workers or improving their customer satisfaction rate. This means that when a customer has a negative experience, they might be reluctant to return, and the brand may miss out on the opportunity to build a long-term relationship with that customer. This can result in companies relying on one-time customers rather than building a loyal customer base.
Canadian Retail Merchandising Spotlight: The Role of AI and Bots
Because labour costs are high, many companies invest in AI and bots. From Amazon to KFC to Airhelp, these companies have successfully implemented chatbots for their customer service. In fact, 35% of global companies report using AI in their business, and according to Deloitte’s latest survey, over the next five years, 94% of business leaders believe that AI development will be critical to the success of their businesses. AI is and will continue to be commonly used for:
- Chatbots on e-commerce websites are also known as conversational AI chatbots or AI-powered chatbots. They use machine learning algorithms to provide better answers based on historical input.
- AI sensors and cameras.
- Flat-screen order takers.
Over-Automation and Under-Personalization
While AI and chatbots help companies design and automate sales processes, they can also cause problems. This is because AI cannot detect and understand potential blunders. For example, you have to train your staff to understand the specific kinds of tools and report issues if a certain client’s problem remains unsolved. Having AI doesn’t necessarily mean less workforce but instead having a workforce that looks over AI and understands its capabilities.
Striking a Balance Between AI and Human Touch
Shep Hyken, an author and award-winning keynote speaker, reminds us that “Customers are people, not numbers.”
Many businesses carelessly integrate AI into customer service and treat consumers as mere numbers, often ending up creating hollow and unsatisfactory experiences. This will be on top of paying for the AI, which necessarily is backfiring and instead causing a waste of resources. In fact, 70% of customers still prefer to speak with live agents and not chatbots.
Solution? Hire a Quality Labour Force
Amit Ray, author of Compassionate Artificial Intelligence, says, “As more and more artificial intelligence is entering into the world, more and more emotional intelligence must enter into leadership.”
This is because AI is far from being efficient in resolving typical customer problems beyond its reach. Therefore, you will need high-quality labour that maintains your standards of acts and helps you meet your customers’ expectations. After all, AI highly demands on the human input.
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