Digital Customer Service (DCS) jumped from “vital” to “absolutely crucial” when the COVID outbreak spread in 2020. To prevent the possibility of infection, even traditional fanatics, such as older consumers, converted to digital believers. By solving several common customer experience (CX) problem areas, digital customer service minimizes customer effort.
The market for DCS will continue to expand tremendously. This is due to the need to handle complex customer concerns and automate them at a large scale. Read about the developments that can be predicted for 2023 and beyond and why digital customer service matters.
What is Digital Customer Service?
“Digital customer service” is all the interactions a customer can have with your brand, whether online, offline, on a mobile device, or a desktop. DCS uses digital channels and all the experiences customers have with you to fulfill customer demands.
Digital Customer Service offers communication options such as
- messaging,
- video chat,
- on-screen collaboration,
- social media platforms,
- customized experiences at customer touchpoints on the web,
- mobile,
- and phone conversations.
Whenomers’ feelings when interact with your brand, customers’ feelings create customer perception. So today’s marketing world is about getting all these digital channels to work together to deliver the ultimate customer experience (CX).
In addition to receiving more loyal and pleased customers, you also get a higher Net Promoter Score (NPS measures customer satisfaction) and more recurring customers. Moreover, customers also recommend your brand on social media and share their experiences with friends.
You also gain more engaged staff since their task is made easier as a result of:
- Resolving operational issues
- Decreased reworks
- Delivering faster customer service
AI and automation are being welcomed with open arms by businesses and customers alike.
However, 57% of organizations think their strategy is reactive rather than proactive. You can boost agent productivity, enhance processes, and increase your digital customer service quality with the appropriate strategy.
How Do You Build a Successful Digital Customer Experience?
Not only the product but also the experience is what makes companies compete for customers. Customers are increasingly evaluating the quality of their experience based on how long it takes for resolution.
Simplifying and digitizing customer experiences are the keys to success in this fast-paced world. And the payoff for doing so is a grand slam.
Creating great customer experiences is all about evolving with your customers. The more you engage them and observe their behavior proactively, the more you can adapt your service to meet—and exceed—their expectations. Here are five tips for transforming your digital customer service for ongoing customer satisfaction:
1. Map out the customer journey across all digital channels.
An excellent omnichannel experience requires mapping customer journeys across all channels and addressing pain points.
2. Prioritize the channels your customers are using.
While offering a consistent experience across all channels is essential, customers have their preferences. For example, some channels may require extra support during busy times.
3. Adjust to evolving customer needs.
It is a process of continuous improvement based on data and customer input on what works and what doesn’t.
4. Manage customer data carefully.
Customers demand data security. Ensure your online purchasing experience is secure and that agents are trained to handle data discreetly on public channels.
5. Use chatbots and human support in balance.
While chatbots can help customers with simple tasks, they should only be used in specific contexts. For example, sometimes it is more beneficial for customers to speak with a human agent. Chatbots should only be assigned feasible tasks so as not to frustrate customers.
The frustrating things about the chatbots
- 43% can’t get an accurate answer
- 31% start over when getting a human agent
- 23% can’t get through a human
- 3% none of the above.
6. Test customer journey for continuous improvement.
When you sit in the customer’s seat and consider their perspective, you can improve your service and identify areas for improvement.
Organizing customer experiences in this way allows businesses to initiate change quickly and in bulk. In addition, this enables them to compete in a new world where experience is the latest product and time is the new price.
Digital Customer Experiences Need a Human Touch
When we think about digital CX, we consider how we can improve the experience through automation. First, however, it would be best to notice the importance of the human touch. Some interactions are fundamental and benefit from the speed, making them ideal choices for automation. However, specific interactions are complex and require a human touch.
Don’t overlook the importance of keeping the human touch in mind while you develop a digital customer experience plan. Doing the following three things will demonstrate your care for your customers.
Offer choices:
Enable your customer to choose how they wish to engage with you. For example, a survey shows that nearly 80% of consumers think easy access is the most crucial aspect of a good customer experience.
An automatic tweet may sometimes be the best way to resolve a problem; other times, a phone call or one-on-one video chat may be necessary. Encourage the customer to tell you how they wish the problem were solved instead of landing on another site.
Pay close attention to customer reviews:
People have always preferred to express their thoughts on social media about their brand experiences. However, companies also want you to engage in the conversations.
In truth, 31 percent of all Americans expect businesses to reply to social media complaints or concerns within 24 hours.
Track social media channels and review them to see what consumers are saying. Then, make sure you reply in a short time when they contact you through such platforms.
Use digital technology while being cautious:
With the continuous expansion of chatbot use, organizations will rely on automation and data to increase digital CX. A digital customer experience might feel fraudulent or artificial if you overdo it.
Rather than replacing human connection, use technology to improve it via personalization and ease.
Arvia’s one-to-one video chat adds a human touch to digital customer services
During a video chat with a sales associate, customers may add their desired products to their shopping carts using Arvia’s video chat widget. This may be an excellent approach to giving personalized service and guaranteeing that consumers can acquire the things they want without having to hang up the phone.
Customers can add products to their cart and view product data such as photos, names, and pricing. This can help people make smarter purchasing decisions and guarantee receiving the most excellent offer possible.
Including a video chat widget on your website, such as Arvia’s one-to-one video chat, is an excellent way to improve digital CX and increase revenue.
A few things to care for to improve digital CX
Be careful to avoid pushing self-service models on your customers. We’ve all had situations where we just wanted to ask someone but couldn’t. Instead, using Arvia’s video chat as your digital customer service, you can listen, observe, and evaluate customer feedback to obtain the whole picture.
How does a video chat widget affect DCS and customer engagement?
The 10th Global Customer Engagement Report, based on a study of 5,000 customers from 14 countries, investigated how the pandemic has pushed the use of new communication channels.
According to the research, consumer engagement has irrevocably shifted, with digital channels such as video chats, chatbots, and SMS messaging applications growing significantly.
Indeed, 47% of customers said they increased their usage of digital platforms to communicate with businesses in the last 12 to 18 months, and 87% said they plan to maintain or grow that level in the near future.
Customers’ preference for video chat increased twice as much as their preference for messaging services.
Among the other essential developments when learning remotely with an instructor,
- 37% of consumers choose video chat.
- When interacting with their team or customers on an “important project,” 38% prefer video chat.
A recent study by Global News Wire predicts that in the updated post-COVID-19 business scenario, the worldwide market for customer engagement solutions, estimated at US$15 billion in 2020, is expected to reach US$34.1 billion by 2027.
Conclusion:
One in three customers believes the brand’s customer service is too impersonal. So, become a brand that cares about its customers to stand out from your competitors. Personalize your customer experience while making sure they reach you across all channels.
Consider offering your customers AI-powered self-services like chatbots, but avoid going overboard. This can be a frustrating experience for them.
The human touch is crucial to the success of digital customer service. Because it influences the customer to feel seen and understood; as a result, customers will enjoy a great customer experience and become more loyal and satisfied.
