Companies across all sectors are doubling down on omni-channel as part of their customer experience strategy. But, this doesn’t mean people want technology more than human interactions. The reality is, 82% of consumers want more human interactions, even as technology improves.
The takeaway? Today, businesses must recognize customer experience needs to center on human and machine, not one or the other. Here’s a look at trends in omni-channel demands, where AI and bots fit into the human-centered picture and how companies can achieve a human-driven customer experience (CX) at scale.
Omni-channel is becoming table stakes
Companies are investing in omni-channel more than ever, and this was accelerated tremendously by the pandemic. What previously was trending as a more gradual shift –– at an average of approximately 10% each year –– from in-person to online was thrown out the window in 2020 as society moved immediately to the end state.
As a result, consumption of products, services and information rapidly moved to online and omni-channel. Suddenly, organizations had to think about the omni-channel experience simply to stay in business and meet their customers where they were –– which was online, on the phone, mobile devices, and others.
This has largely been driven by changes in consumer behavior and customer service journeys that resemble a collection of disjointed touchpoints rather than a single event or a linear progression. A customer may start a conversation in chat, for example, then carry it over to email before resolving the issue on the phone. If your customer support is limited to only one or two channels, you’ll be missing out on connecting with –– and serving –– a great portion of your customers.
Fitting bots into the human-centered picture
If consumers are eager for more human interaction, where does that leave AI and bots? The pendulum continues to swing back and forth. Bots tend to be great for simple, impersonal, non-layered engagements. But humans still prefer humans for complex and considered decisions.
Beyond their discrete uses, the two can peacefully coexist and find their natural endpoints in the spirit of optimization. For example, AI can be used as a way to aid customer support agents by helping them locate answers and resources. Chatbots can handle baseline service issues and conversations, thereby freeing up agents’ time to focus on more complex matters. This way, they can work in tandem to create a streamlined, optimized CX.
Achieving human-driven CX at scale
Most companies understand that keeping the human touch intact, or even emphasizing it more, is a great way to satisfy customers and create a stellar experience. But the problem is humans are expensive and their time is limited. So, how do you scale the use of human interaction successfully?