When you manage a business no matter how big or small, it is important to consider how you are going to get everything done. From managing customers to finding the time to send out coupons and emails, the jobs are endless.
This is where automation comes into play. Automation is using tools and resources that perform specific actions as soon as a certain requirement is met.
Here’s a great example:
Jane Doe decides to sign-up for your email list. As soon as they do, an email is sent back to the customer to confirm that they have signed up. This is an automated process.
Automation can occur at many different points both internally and externally. With some situations, you can have customers interact with AI and with other situations you can automate responses through well written scripts. There are many best shopify apps which you can use on your business to automate your customer service processes. It all depends on what is going to work best for your business.
Use a Ticket System
A great way to address customer service speed is to develop a type of ticketing system. A ticketing system is one that automatically assigns a reference number, comment, and additional content to a customer’s comment or concern.
Systems that have advanced labels are going to cost more, but it is possible to make your own filing system within a company shared email inbox. Start off by labeling emails based upon keywords then set up automated responses. Services like Microsoft365 offer automations that can sort your inbox in a matter of seconds!
Customer Redirection
If you find that your incoming customer comments and concerns are overburdening your current team, it might be time to look into customer redirection. This is one of the primary ways that companies are responding to their customers.
Redirection literally involves taking your customer’s concern and turning them towards a different company that has been given all of the information necessary to assist. It’s important to remember that you might still receive elevated concerns that you and your service team may have to respond to.
Phone Answering Services
A service that is taking off rapidly is using phone answering services in order to provide a professional image to growing and established businesses. One such company that has proven their ability to provide outstanding support is Global Messaging. Â
They not only answer your customers quickly, they immediately contact you in order to solve the issue at hand as quickly as possible. Using services like these can quickly streamline your customer service through the use of professional receptionists.
Chat Bots
Chat bots are some of the most prevalent forms of customer redirection out there. Just about every business has some form of AI that allows customers to enter a general question.
The general question then triggers a response from a series of questions that you have compiled. If the customer is able to find the answer, then you just had an immediate response rate! If not, your customer still was able to learn new information.
The last part of an effective chat bot is having a contact form or a way for customer service representatives to get in contact with the customer. The reason is that if the customer has a different question with needed context, the customer service representative can reach out as soon as possible.
Email responses
There are several different types of email responses that can be automated for your business. There are newsletter confirmations, promotions, newsletters and more that you can send as a form of customer service. The most common and heavily utilized though is the confirmation email.
Confirmations
You would be surprised at how many people appreciate the oh-so-common confirmation email. The additional element for customer service though is that this email provides the first form of customer contact.
This first step is also what allows you the best way to encourage additional promotions, answer common questions, and provide any account information. Confirmations with a response element allow customers to set a new ticket if you have your Help Desk automated too!
Conclusion
In a digital world it is important to use whatever resources you can in order to automate your customer service. When your customer service response rate is so incredibly important, every second is going to count.
When every second counts, having a receptionist to answer the phone; a bot to quickly handle quick questions; or having confirmation emails with quick information is going to best serve you in the long run.
On top of saving time and streamlining processes, automation is also a great way to save thousands of dollars instead of hiring individuals to take care of each aspect of your business. Take time to look into different programs and start your automation processes today!