In recent years, the expectations of users for excellent customer support have reached new heights. But, how can you satisfy your customers’ demands for quick, efficient, and accurate responses to their inquiries? The answer to this is none other than customer service automation which makes you available to your customers all day. Customer support automation transforms the way you deal with your customers daily.
This article delves into the realm of customer service automation, explaining what it is, what benefits it offers you, as well as some of the best customer service automation software ideal for your particular case.
Part 1: What Is Customer Service Automation?
Before you start searching for apps and software that can deal with service automation, it is important to understand what this term means. In reality, automated customer service is the utilization of new technologies to perform tasks that were previously handled by employees. For instance, it includes answering common queries in a chat box or processing transactions.
The goal of implementing automation in customer support is to provide faster and more reliable service with minimal human intervention. This will allow your employees to focus on more productive tasks, and keep your customers satisfied with your prompt response to their inquiries. Some common tools used in service automation include chatbots, automated emails, notifications, translation services, and self-service ticketing systems, all of which we will analyze in a later section.
To use automation in your company’s customer service, you will leverage the capabilities of numerous technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, and robotic process automation. However, you don’t have to worry about their implementation as the customer service automation software you choose will already be using them.
Part 2: How to Enable Customer Support Automation
The next step to understanding customer support automation is to learn how to enable it for your business. This is a multi-faceted process, in which you must identify your company’s needs, find the right app or tool for the task, and create the automated task, tailored to your needs. Here is a general process to get started with automation:
- Identify Key Areas for Automation – the first step to implementing automation in your customer service is to understand which parts of it will benefit from the implementation. For instance, are there some common and repetitive tasks that your employees need to do? Or are there some common questions that your customers are reaching out for?
- Select Appropriate Tools – right now, you will find hundreds of tools on the market that offer automation solutions. Nevertheless, not every tool is appropriate for all tasks. Therefore, you should research and find the right automation tools that align with your business needs.
- Integrate with Existing Systems – after finding the solution that meets your requirements, you also need to ensure that it integrates seamlessly with your existing CRM systems. This practically means that your work and process won’t get disrupted by the implementation.
- Set Up Workflows – every service automation has a specific workflow. An important task of setting up the automation is to define and configure this workflow, which highly depends on your objective. This step ensures that the automated process will be able to handle even complex issues without causing frustration to your customers.
- Test and Optimize – before you start using automation, it is important to test your new system to ensure it functions correctly and meets your customers’ expectations. A great idea is to use some test subjects that will follow a scenario, in which they need to use the automated service.
- Monitor and Measure Performance – once the customer service automation is up and running, you should make sure that you always monitor its functionality. In addition to this, use your analytics to track its effectiveness and spot areas that might need some improvement. The metrics that will help you determine that are the res
Part 3: Examples of Customer Service Automation
As you can already understand, customer support automation is versatile and can take many forms. Depending on your business needs, you can find a tool to implement the right solution for you. Below, we present you with some examples of automation in customer support and a suggestion for customer service automation software in each category.
#1 AI Bots
In recent years, AI-powered bots become more and more common, with many companies utilizing them to improve their customer support. Artificial intelligence bots can engage with your customers in real-time conversations, thus answering their queries and helping them understand their issues. They can even provide customers with guides to help them solve complex tasks.
GPTBots is one of the most popular platforms of its kind. The app provides you with advanced AI chatbots that utilize GPT-4 technology. What makes it so great for customer support is the fact that the chatbots can easily understand and generate human-like text. This means that they are intuitive to your customers and can provide them with clear and easy-to-follow solutions. You can integrate the bots from GPTBots into your website, your social media accounts, and even your messaging apps.
#2 Notification Systems
Another common use case of automated service is the automated notification systems. This particular system aims to keep your customers informed about their orders, appointments, or service requests. They are important as they let your clients understand that you value them and are transparent about your processes.
EngageLab is a great piece of software that offers excellent solutions for automated notifications. The amazing thing about it is that you can send your notifications via SMS, email, and push notifications. And what’s even better is that you can handle all of your notifications from a single location. This way, you make your processes faster, thus saving time for more productive tasks.
#3 Email Automation
One more example is email automation. This powerful tool automatically sends an email to your customers, depending on the trigger you have set. For instance, you can create an email that will be automatically sent whenever a user signs up for your newsletters. This method eliminates these repetitive tasks from your daily processes, allowing you to focus on valuable tasks.
This is yet another case, where EngageLab excels at. With this platform, you can reach your customers wherever they might be in the world in a matter of seconds. Moreover, you can benefit from real-time feedback that helps you improve your marketing strategy. Browse through real-time metrics that show you the performance of your customer service automation.
#4 Translation Services
Nowadays, many companies realize that adding automated translation to their processes will benefit them. If you are trying to reach a global audience, then getting a translation customer service automation software is the right option for you as it will break down any language barriers that might exist.
A great example of a translation automation app is none other than Google Translate. You can now integrate this service into your website, e-shop, or customer support platform to provide real-time translation to both your customer’s questions and your responses. This enables you to offer support in multiple languages without having to get additional employees who can communicate in that particular language.
#5 Self-Service Ticketing Systems
The final example of automation in customer support is self-service ticketing systems. These systems introduce the idea of self-service into customer support. This means that customers can resolve their issues independently without the need to get in touch with the company’s customer service agents. This particular case of helpdesk is gaining momentum and it’s worth trying for your business.
Zendesk is a great tool for a self-service ticketing system. The service leverages the capabilities of AI to provide a personalized experience to users. When you implement it for your company, you can help your customers find answers to their questions and track the status of their tickets, without direct human interaction.
Part 4: What Are the Benefits of Customer Service Automation
Automations in customer support are super flexible and you can implement them regardless of the size of your company. In this part, we will see its benefits for the different types of businesses.
For Small Businesses:
- Cost-Effective – small businesses often don’t have the budget to hire a whole customer service team. Therefore, automated customer service satisfies these needs, while cutting down on labor costs.
- Scalability – more often than not, small businesses require solutions that can handle their growth. The most reliable automation tools are scalable to keep up with the companies’ needs.
- Efficiency – you no longer need to dedicate time to repetitive and routine tasks. Instead, your small team can focus on more complex and productive issues.
For Enterprises:
- Consistency – automating your processes means that your customer support will be consistent at all times.
- 24/7 Availability – big enterprises require customer service round-the-clock. Automation makes service available 24/7 without the need for night shifts.
- Data-Driven Insights – most automated systems will collect data on every customer interaction. You can analyze these metrics to determine areas that need improvement.
- Enhanced Productivity – as a big enterprise, you want your staff to focus only on high-value tasks. Automation can contribute to that and improve the overall productivity.
Part 5: Customer Service Automation – How Does EngageLab Help?
When it comes to automated customer service, there is no better tool than EngageLab. This is a powerful platform that supports automation through its comprehensive set of tools and features. The app has been designed to help the needs of businesses of all sizes by streamlining their communication processes.
With EngageLab, you can significantly enhance your customer service capabilities without the need for complex setup processes. Its user-friendly interface makes it an ideal choice for every company that wants a reliable and cost-effective automation solution.
EngageLab has introduced many features that will revolutionize your work and make your customer support even more efficient. Here is what you will get when signing up on the platform:
A variety of channels to reach customers – EngageLab allows you to set up automated workflows for sending messages to your customers with numerous channels. Namely, you can send notifications via SMS, email, app push notification, and web push notification.
- Analytics – no matter your preferred channel, in EngageLab you will get real-time metrics on the messages you have sent. This way, you can improve your delivery and open rates.
- Gain global reach – all of the platform’s services are available globally. This way, you can easily communicate with your customers without any geographical limitations.
- 24/7 professional support – the app recognizes that businesses might require support at any given moment. That’s why they have customer support that is available 24/7.
Ready to Get Started Automating Customer Service?
Customer service automation has become essential for every company. By leveraging the right tools and technologies, you have the opportunity to offer excellent support to your customers and rise over your competition. Embrace the future of customer service with automation tools like EngageLab. Sign up today to start discovering its capabilities and offering a new experience to your customers.
Learn more EngageLab and make it easier for your users to enjoy customer service automation.