Put the customer in focus with powerful digital tools

By Ian Marr Westh, Solution Architect, Cepheo

 

Customer service has always been a cornerstone of the customer experience and is crucial to maintaining customer loyalty. At a time when digitalisation is taking over many of the traditional service functions, it's important that this development happens without compromising the experience the customer expects to receive.

 

How can companies balance the efficiency of digitalisation with the need to maintain a high customer experience?

 

That is the question this article seeks to answer.

 

Good customer service takes the customer seriously

 

Customer service is a key part of any business as it not only fulfills contractual and legal obligations, but also plays an essential role in creating a great customer experience. When customers seek help, they don't just want their problem solved, they want to feel respected, heard and treated professionally.

 

If customer service is at its best, the customer will not only get a quick response, but also feel that the company takes them seriously. This contributes to a good customer experience and increases the likelihood that the customer will choose to remain loyal to the company.

 

In this context, digital customer service – such as self-service solutions – can play an important role. This allows customers to get help when they need it, without having to wait in line. Many customers actually prefer to put their queries in writing rather than talking on the phone, and digital solutions can help increase accessibility and reduce waiting times.

 

However, it's important that these solutions are easy to find and use, intelligent enough to understand customer needs, and that there is always an option to escalate to human assistance when necessary.

 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service is an example of a solution where companies can digitalise their customer service without compromising on the quality of the customer experience. The platform offers a range of tools that allow customers to get help exactly when they need it, with no waiting time. With features like a knowledge base and an intelligent search function, customers can quickly find the answers they need.

 

Make self-help attractive

 

The term "deflection" in customer service refers to directing customers away from traditional human contact points to digital self-service solutions. This can be a double-edged sword; on the one hand it can reduce costs for the business and make service more efficient, but on the other hand it can lead to frustration if the customer doesn't get the help they seek or gives up along the way.

 

In Dynamics 365 Customer Service, deflection can be positively managed by offering customers multiple self-service channels such as a knowledge base, FAQ sections and AI-powered chatbots. Such tools are designed to help customers find the right answers quickly and on their own terms.

 

Integration with Dynamics 365 also ensures that all interactions are logged and that customer service representatives can see the customer's previous activities if it becomes necessary to escalate the matter to human assistance. This preserves context and saves both customer and employee time.

 

When these tools are well-designed, as seen in Dynamics 365, you can achieve positive deflection – that is, the customer gets their problem solved through self-service without the quality of the experience suffering. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a key role here, for example by enabling intelligent searches in knowledge bases or through dialog-based chatbots that can draw on the company's collective knowledge.

 

Are you forcing customers to give up?

 

One of the biggest mistakes companies can make is making it too difficult for customers to get in touch with an employee when they need to. If customers feel forced to "give up" due to complicated self-service processes, it can damage the company's reputation and ultimately cost customers. That's why it's important that there is always an easy and accessible route to human assistance if the situation requires it.

 

It's about ensuring that customers are never trapped in a self-service system they can't find a way out of. Examples include complicated phone menus forcing interaction with a bot before being able to talk to a human, or websites where you have to go through multiple steps when you've already done your homework and just want direct help. This kind of negative deflection has the potential of damaging customer experience and leading to the customer having no further dealings with the company.

 

Dynamics 365 Customer Service enables organizations to design escalation paths that are intuitive and easily accessible to customers. For example, a customer might start by searching a knowledge base and then choose to chat with an AI-powered bot. If the customer's issue isn't resolved, the chat can easily transition to a live agent that already has access to all relevant information from previous interactions. This creates a seamless experience where the customer doesn't have to repeat themselves, which is often a source of frustration.

 

Digitalization with the customer in focus

 

Digitalizing customer service can undoubtedly be a path to increased efficiency and cost savings for businesses. But it's crucial that this transformation happens without compromising the customer experience and with a focus on solving the customer's problem. With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service, businesses can deploy intelligent and versatile self-service solutions that always allow customers to get human assistance when needed.

 

By making escalation paths easy and accessible, while ensuring a consistent and seamless experience, businesses can achieve the perfect balance between efficiency and an excellent customer experience. This will not only increase customer satisfaction, but also ensure a more sustainable and loyal customer base in the long run.