4 Call Types Service Providers Should Automate
Customers prefer to handle things themselves. There are many reasons for it — speed, convenience, and ease among the top noted. Customers also expect their needs to be dealt with immediately as they arise. 75% of customers say the most critical part of customer experience is fast response time. So, it’s no shock that many customers have been open to methods in recent years that improve their experience.
What’s one method that stands above all the rest? Conversational AI implemented into voice, text, and chat.
Virtual agents have proven to reduce hold times by 50% or more. Speed. They’ve also been proven to handle 1000+ additional appointment reservations per month than just a call center with live agents. That directly correlates to convenience and ease.
But not all conversations are created equal. While there are call types that require high empathy only a live human agent can deliver, there are repetitive calls that are best suited for AI-powered Virtual Agents to handle.
- Front Door & Authentication: Greeting customers is a natural experience through virtual agents. The times of “Press 1 for appointments” are long behind us, as is authenticating a customer by requesting multiple pieces of information from them. With conversational AI integrated into CRMs, ERPs, or systems of record, the experience is changed from a customer doing the work to the virtual agent handling the load.
- Tier-1 Triage: Live agents no longer need to assist customers with tier-1 support. Virtual agents can gather information, assess the kind of help a customer needs, and in turn, handle complex directives that bring a customer from tension to resolution.
- Scheduling: Appointments for service requests are repetitive and can be handled through self-service. From inbound requests to outbound reminders through voice or text, customers can choose the best available appointment and confirm, reschedule, or cancel all with a virtual agent.
- Payments and Collections: Through PCI-compliant protocols for the utmost security, virtual agents handle one-time payments, complex payment arrangements, recurring payments, and even collect past-due payments from customers. Outbound voice and text allow a company to proactively remind customers about payments, whether they’re upcoming or overdue.
By implementing intelligent virtual agents in these specific call types, companies will:
- Improve customer experience with the reduction or elimination of hold times
- Have the ability to scale virtual agents 24/7, eradicating staffing shortages that unprecedently arise
- Reduce operating expenses by letting virtual agents handle dispatches
- Elevate a live agent’s work by eliminating repetitive tasks, allowing them to handle more revenue-generating calls
And companies that provide self-service through virtual agents for customers to immediately receive the help they seek will keep customers satisfied after their self-service experience.
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