As the world grapples with the effects of COVID-19, not only on our personal lives but also on work and business, people from all walks of life struggle to overcome loneliness and isolation. Perhaps there is not one aspect of life that has received the heaviest blow more than human interaction. Suddenly, people are asked to stay indoors, refrain from holding get-togethers, and limit outside activities to the bare minimum.
For businesses, this meant shifting to a digital platform and conducting business online. This also meant reduced personal interaction with customers and clients. But the pandemic need not dictate how you serve customers. If anything, your customer support strategy should now focus on providing the best service there is for your patrons. This is where a live answering service like TAB Answer Network can help.
Here are some issues customers have with automated responses and bots, and how a live answering service addresses each one:
1. Following voice prompts is tedious
A customer usually contacts customer service for an urgent need or issue and when you give them instruction after instruction to get to the answer they’re looking for (which isn’t even on point most of the time), you give them more than enough reason to get frustrated and become even more irate.
With a live answering service, calls are answered by a trained professional, and questions are addressed immediately. On top of that, talking to a live customer service representative makes the caller feel important.
2. A live chat doesn’t guarantee a live agent
Basically, customers feel that when they “talk” to a live chat agent, it’s not an agent sending the responses but a bot programmed to send automated responses based on the questions sent by the customer. This becomes obvious to the customer when they receive the same response to a similar question posed at a different time.
When you have a live agent that your customers can talk to, you eliminate this doubt and assure them that they are indeed talking to an actual person on the other line.
3. Emails are overlooked
When an email is the only option you give customers, you’re telling them their needs aren’t urgent. Why? Because asking your customers to email their concerns immediately gives them the impression that you can’t be bothered with their issues and you will get to them when you can.
Human connection becomes more relevant in the time of COVID-19, which is why companies should focus on personalizing their customer support service.
TAB Answer Network remains your partner in providing the best customer service to your patrons in the time of COVID-19. Please feel free to contact us at (800) 880-4324.