Using Chatbots to Improve Call Center Efficiency

Today you have to pull out all the stops to impress your clients. This goes beyond the initial sale and extends into the customer support arena. Your clients want instant answers from you, especially when they’re online.

But not everyone can afford to run a full-time call center. You can look at viable alternatives instead, like working with outsourcing call center. Doing this allows you to access the expertise you need cost-effectively.

You can also use chatbots.

Which one is right for you? Or should you use both? In this post, we’ll look at what chatbots are and what they can do for your customers.

What are Chatbots? 

Chatbots are essentially computer programs that talk to us. In the early days, these were rather robotic and limited. If the customer didn’t use the exact right keyword, the bot was lost. These rule-based programs are becoming out-dated.

This all changed with more research into natural language programming. Bots are now smarter and can understand your message’s context. So, if the customer doesn’t use the right phrase, it doesn’t matter.

Chatbots and Call Centers

So, how do we use this technology? Chatbots in call centres can take care of several tasks like:

• Answering FAQs
• Helping customers check balances or track orders
• Routing calls
• Alerting consultants if there is a highly irate client
• Helping your team find the answers it needs
• Collecting feedback from clients

So, as an example, you might set up a bot to deal with questions on instant chat. If it can answer the query, it’ll do it then and there. If it can’t, it’ll refer it to the right person.

Have we seen all that chatbots are capable of? Nowhere even close. While it’s hard to imagine how far this technology may go, it’s clear that it will evolve. We’re already started to see these systems integrating with voice recognition protocols, meaning that the bots could start to talk to clients over time.

The Benefits

There are several benefits to using this technology:

• Better efficiency and speed: Your customers will get the answers to simple queries instantly. Those that you have to refer to human consultants won’t wait as long, which makes everyone happy.
• Cost savings: You can run a bot 24/7 without incurring extra charges. They also handle repetitive tasks, meaning you don’t need as many consultants.
• Better customer experience: Your customers enjoy shorter wait times. The bot also always gives consistent service and accurate responses. Unlike humans, bots aren’t forgetful or prone to having bad days. AI-based programs can also use customer data to personalize their recommendations.
• Support for your team: You can use the bot internally too. Your consultants can use it to search the knowledge base or update themselves on relevant client information in seconds.

Challenges

Hang on before you look for someone to create a bot for you. You need to think about the following.

Initial Time and Monetary Cost

If you want good results, you should start from scratch. Just be aware that it won’t be cheap. You can save money by training a more generic version.

Limitations of Chatbots

Machines don’t think through problems in the same way we do. Think of the human brain like a huge mind map. You put down the central topic and then think of everything you can related to that. Say, for example, you put down “bird.” You might think about eggs, nests, feathers, and wings. The rabbit hole you go down could go as far as flying.

Machines will look for more linear connections. It might come up with bird species and feathers. But it’s unlikely to go directly to flight. It lacks the creativity, which means it can only come up with the answers you program into it. If the customer asks something a little unusual, it can’t handle them.

Therefore, they’ll be lost with more complex issues. You might also have gaps when it comes to being empathetic. Machines can emulate this by using the right words but they can’t match a trained consultant.

Do Your Customers Want to Use Bots?

Does your target audience want to deal with machines or do they prefer the human touch? If it’s the latter, you might annoy them if you expect them to use bots. At the very least, be upfront about when they’re chatting to a machine. And always make it easy to talk to a human if they want to.

Ensuring Data Security and Privacy

You have to come at this from two points. First of all, when training your chatbot, you need to anonymize the data. Secondly, you need to make sure that all the communications with your customers are secure. For businesses that rely on outsourced support, partnering with one of the top call center outsourcing companies can help ensure compliance with security standards while maintaining efficiency.

How to Make Implementation Go Smoothly

There’s nothing more important here than good planning:

• Define clear goals: What do you want your chatbot to be able to do?
• Choose the right technology: Can you get away with a generic model or do you need something custom? Either way, you’ll need to look for a platform that matches your needs.
• Make the handoff seamless: Make sure your human team knows what your bots can do. Do have a trial run to iron out problems during the real transition.

Conclusion

Is a chatbot right for your company? It can be, if you develop it properly. But it’s not a magic bullet. You’ve got to get the balance between automation and human service right.