Digital Self-service: A new dawn in customer service sector

Digital Self-service: A new dawn in customer service sector

Customer service is growing at an immense pace. This has led to various kinds of problems being which companies have to face. There are various kinds of customer service problems which companies have to face. Right from handling way too many inbound calls to lower first call resolution rates. There are multiple ways in which the incapability to handle customers efficiently, gets highlighted. The importance of good customer service is known to all. It is extremely crucial to meet the expectations of customers after all it is for them that everything is being done.Getting complaints from customers and service issues are inevitable. However, the thing which matters more is how well you are able to handle these issues. A concept, relatively new, which is gaining immense popularity these days is digital self-service. It basically enables your customers to visit your website, call or reach out to you through any other social media platform and get automatically guided towards the answers which they are searching. In other words, digital self-service is a more effective inbound customer service in which customers themselves are empowered to seek the information which they are looking for.

There are numerous ways in which digital self-service could be a saviour for your business. Some of the great benefits provided by this service are mentioned below.

 Reducing call and email volumes: Some of the best digital self-service providers have an inbuilt virtual agent technology. This allows customers to enter through a digital channel, ask questions and get the suitable answers. The best part? All of this happens without the intervention of a live agent. If more and more people turn to self-service through the digital mediums then the companies could free themselves from the burden of huge call and email volumes. Because of these huge incoming calls and mails, it is getting more and more difficult for companies to provide state-of-the-artinbound customer service to their customers. Digital self-service will help resolve this problem to a great extent.

 Increase in FCR rates: FCR (First Call Resolution) is considered as an important metric to judge the effectiveness of a contact centre. FCR is a key determinant of service quality. Every organisation thrives to achieve higher FCR. This means that they are able to provide best solutions to customers in the first call itself. Digital self-service can prove out as a blessing in improving the FCR rates. How? As customers would be stating their issues clearly while choosing only those options which are enveloping their problems, the automated system would be able to provide more accurate solutions. As the human interaction is next to zero, therefore the chances of confusion and misinterpretation are also eliminated. This means that customers will be able to get most suitable solutions in the first attempt, thereby eradicating the need to contact again. 

 Reduced costs: Which business doesn’t want to reduce its costs? Digital self-service offers an opportunity to reduce the costs to a great extent. As all the calls and emails get directed to the automated mediums, you can save up a lot on your inbound customer service cost. All major capital investments – infrastructure, technology, and staff– are considerably reduced which helps in cost cutting. The funds saved here can be invested in other productive avenues in order to earn better returns. 

 Deeper customer insights: As your digital self-service solution would be processing the answers to thousands of customer queries, it will provide you with real-time valuable insights on customer behaviour and other emerging trends. By identifying patterns and grouping data, you can seek valuable insights into customer’s psychology and behaviour. Right from knowing the customer expectations to incorporating changes in products to make them more appeasing, there are so many ways in which this information could be beneficial to you.

Digital self-service has truly brought a revolution in thecustomer service domain. It not only empowers customers, which leads to higher satisfaction levels, but also shares the burden of the organisation. It won’t be wrong to forecast that digital self-service will bring a new dawn in appropriate inbound customer service industry.