October 28, 2021
Far from being two elements in opposition, human and AI components must be put in synergy to create solving customer service paths that contribute to an overall improvement in the customer experience. Let's see how, through the analysis of a solution developed at Increso.
More interaction with AI or more human touch? When it comes to customer service, it is not a matter of choosing between the two resources, but of integrating them. While the human component provides the customer with a reassuring and dedicated service experience, AI allows not only to reduce the costs incurred by the company but also to improve the quality of the service provided by reducing waiting times, extending service hours, and above all structuring the interaction in the way the customer prefers.
In fact, implementing an AI solution capable of interacting with the customer even on the less frequent requests is really complex, as it is necessary to educate the algorithm to handle even the less recurring and sometimes new case histories. Keeping in mind that even a correct interpretation of the request, if it is partial, risks making the customer experience frustrating and unsatisfactory.
On the other hand, it is not necessarily the case that a fully human support service can meet the needs of the customer who, accustomed to interacting with digital and automated channels, before more traditional dynamics might feel disoriented and dissatisfied.
It therefore becomes critical for companies to combine human and AI to synergistically use the benefits that each component can bring, choosing the mix that best suits their needs.
It is therefore necessary to devise open solutions in which AI enables constant interaction with the customer, while preserving the key role of the Customer Specialist, to solve the most complex situations or assist the customer who seeks empathy and security as key components of the interaction.
The solution that Increso is developing for customer support on e-mail and chat channels goes in this direction. It is an artificial intelligence solution capable of performing correct interpretation of requests, differentiating and optimizing individual interactions. The goal is twofold: on the one hand, to reduce the response time to the customer on the channels he or she prefers, and on the other hand, to achieve a reduction in service costs thanks to human support activated only in specific situations.
The challenge: building a tailored Customer Journey
The right combination of human and AI components is the element to focus on to structure highly customizable customer journeys and optimize the customer relationship. To do this, it is necessary to build a scalable service architecture that enables the company to offer a service delivery that meets some specific customization parameters.
Distinctive elements of a tailored service
- in line with the specific needs of each client,
- operationally sustainable,
- Consistent with the set business objectives.
Analyzing business workflows prior to the insertion of AI components is critically important, because it allows the objectives and service configuration best suited to the needs of the company and its customers to be identified at the design stage.
In addition to the specific goals of each company, in fact, there are common, cross-cutting goals that the introduction of AI in customer service must still achieve.
Main goals
- Reduction in customer response time,
- Reducing the cost of service delivery,
- Customer experience optimization.
Tailored customer journey: the 3 key elements
Once the analysis phase is finished, workflows are redesigned and the customer journey is customized by defining specific parameters.
Workflow elements on which to make choices
- On what occasions human contact should be made available and through which channels,
- Which processes should be directed toward self-care capabilities,
- How escalation mechanisms should be constructed.
In this scenario, it should not be overlooked that the service architecture that is built also impacts the operational organization of human support, enabling a "transfer" of activities from the front end to the back office and thus enabling a reduction in the ready time of operational teams and consequently service costs.
The solution: responsive customer care and AI to support the operator
The customer care solution designed by Increso uses an AI capability that classifies the intent of the customer's request, thanks to the training conducted by our specialists during set-up, and initiates a conversation on the company's email and chat channels.
Each intent is classified and interpreted through some additional indicators to define how the request is handled. The "reliability" indicator defines the accuracy with which the AI engine identified the intent, while the "sentiment" indicator highlights particular aspects of the interaction that may require dedicated handling, such as the mood of the customer or the use of particular words or expressions.
The interaction is at this point taken over by workflow management, which defines a customer interaction and response funnel. In fact, the workflow builds personalized customer journeys through "historical" customer data.
Historical data taken into analysis
- Presence and frequency of previous requests for assistance,
- commercial segment to which it belongs,
- Indication of the most frequently used contact channels.
It also processes data reported by the operating facility at the time of the interaction, noting the number of customers waiting on the various contact channels.
Personalize each Customer Journey with workflow
Workflow is an "invisible" but central element, as it enables the construction of distinct customer journeys for similar interactions, concretely enabling the creation of personalized customer journeys and facilitating the achievement of business objectives.
Based on the information processed above, the workflow will follow three main paths.
3 outcomes of the Increso solution
- Automatically send a response to the customer,
- Suggest a contact channel in self-care (e.g., web app, text message, etc.),
- Direct your request for assistance to a customer specialist on the chat or voice channel.
Once the interaction has concluded, the worflow will generate an additional funnel to continue managing the customer relationship, identifying the type and timing of any and further interactions, providing for updating information on the company's legacy systems.
Such a solution enables the customer to experience a personalized, omnichannel, everytime and everywhere interaction, enhancing the customer experience in its entirety. This can transform a potentially critical moment, in the relationship between company and customer, into an opportunity to strengthen loyalty.
Why the Increso Solution: the strengths
The unique element of our solution lies in the initial assessment phase to understand all the company's needs and the subsequent service design phase, consisting of multiple components, developed on a scalable and customizable infrastructure.
This enables multiple possible configurations, modulating the various components as needed:
from understanding intent to self-care capabilities, from workflow decision models to case studies of request resolution through customer specialists.
The solution achieves certain and measurable results due to its simplicity of operation, as no components require high design complexity: the AI only needs to understand certain aspects of the interaction, allowing the decision engine to target the request based on specific parameters. In parallel, self-care capabilities are built to solve circumscribed needs, beyond which the customer specialist is prepared to intervene. A linear, consistent, fluid and highly effective architecture.
The distinctive element of this proposal is therefore not a single component, but the definition of service models capable of perfecting smart and digital capabilities through human interaction, entrusted to highly qualified operators. In this way, it is possible to offer customers a customer experience that is "tailored" and in line with their expectations.
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