7 min read As markets get more competitive, businesses are acknowledging the importance of loyal customers to drive sustainable revenue. But loyalty isn’t built in a day!
From delivering the best of products and services to ensuring a great post-purchase experience, there’s a lot that goes into ensuring customer satisfaction. And as the digital landscape grows, it’s becoming difficult for businesses to manage these relationships.
In this post, we’re going to look into how AI chatbots and workflows can help improve customer satisfaction.
Table of Contents
What is customer satisfaction?
Customer satisfaction is the measure of how well a business’s product or services meet the consumer’s expectations. It is often measured through product ratings, reviews, surveys, and feedback mechanisms to gather insights into the customer experience. It is also measured in the form of:
- Repeat business or repeat sales
- Referrals or recommendations to your company
- Increasing spending over the customer’s lifetime
What is the impact of customer satisfaction on business growth?
Yes, there are several channels for businesses to acquire new customers. But according to a study by HubSpot, 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases from companies that offer excellent customer service. And businesses that prioritize customer satisfaction, see a 4-8% increase in revenue as reported by Bain & Company.
Added to that, surveys have found that 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience. In fact, companies that excel in customer satisfaction also outperform their competitors by 60% despite limited products/ services to offer.
What are the challenges in delivering customer satisfaction?
Despite its importance and benefits, businesses often struggle to ensure their customers are satisfied. Some of the common challenges are:
- Limited availability – Customers today expect 24/7 support and service, which can be costly and logistically complex for businesses.
- Delayed response times – Long wait times across channels tend to frustrate customers, leading to dissatisfaction and churn.
- Lack of personalization – Customers expect businesses to understand their needs and preferences; generic responses fail to connect with consumers.
- Inability to address and resolve queries proactively – Many businesses struggle to anticipate customer issues and resolve them before an escalation. This makes customers feel unheard and undervalued.
- Resource constraints – Businesses often have limited budgets in terms of manpower or technology to deliver consistent experiences across channels.
How do AI chatbots improve customer satisfaction?
AI and automation are enabling businesses to handle customer conversations at scale. But here are some ways in which these technologies are making a positive impact on customer satisfaction delivered:
1. 24/7 availability
AI chatbots can provide round-the-clock customer support. This ensures customers get assistance whenever they need it, eliminating the frustration of waiting for business hours to resolve urgent issues.
For example, a customer wants to track the status of their online order. They can get order updates or initiate a return/ refund at midnight without having to wait for human agents to process the same.
2. Instant responses
One of the biggest pain points for customers is waiting for a response – irrespective of the channel they reach out to a business on. Chatbots can easily handle multiple queries simultaneously using AI to provide instant and contextual answers.
For example, travel companies can use AI chatbots to answer queries about the packages available, booking information, cancellations, and refunds.
3. Personalized interactions
AI chatbots can analyze current and past data in real-time to understand customers better. Based on data like past interactions, purchase history, preferences, and other behaviors, chatbots can trigger personalized responses that are relevant to individuals.
For example, banks can recommend the best-suited loans to a customer based on their history, available bank balance, savings, and other parameters. This helps the customer make an informed decision faster too.
4. Proactive support
With AI’s ability to process data in real time, businesses can anticipate customer needs. This helps them offer proactive support by analyzing patterns and triggers, reducing the number of support queries customers need to initiate.
For example, an internet service provider is anticipating a power outage. They can use chatbots to notify customers of the same along with steps to reboot their systems in advance.
5. Multilingual support
AI chatbots can easily handle communication in multiple languages. This helps the business break down language barriers, giving them the ability to cater to a global audience.
For example, hospitals can use chatbots to assist patients with post-appointment care and important information in their native language. This helps reduce miscommunication and shows empathy towards their concerns.
6. Multichannel support
Addressing customer queries and comments across channels manually can be overwhelming and often prone to inconsistencies. AI chatbots can help businesses set up multichannel support with standardized processes and responses to meet customer expectations.
For example, a business can choose to offer support via website live chat, WhatsApp, social media, or even SMS with custom chatbot workflows.
7. Scalability
Unlike human agents, chatbots and AI co-pilots can handle an unlimited number of conversations simultaneously. This helps the business ensure consistent service quality even during peak times, improving the overall customer satisfaction rate.
For example, eCommerce businesses see a high volume of support queries during BFCM. Businesses can handle thousands of such conversations without delays, assisting shoppers and driving more sales with chatbots.
8. Cost efficiency
By automating routine queries, AI chatbots can free up human agents. This lets human agents focus more on complex issues, reducing operational costs without compromising on the service quality offered.
For example, a SaaS company can use chatbots to address FAQs and troubleshooting assistance. With the help of AI, they can identify complex queries or custom requests, initiating a seamless hand-off to human agents.
9. Data insights
With natural and actively flowing customer conversation, AI chatbots can help businesses gather valuable customer data during interactions. This helps businesses get more insights into customer preferences, pain points, and behavior, which can help drive improvements in products and services.
For example, a fitness app can identify frequently asked questions about specific health regimes and diets. The company can then offer detailed guides and tutorials to the users to meet their demands.
10. Connected experiences
If your business sells through multiple channels – online and offline, a good AI chatbot system will help tie customer data to create comprehensive profiles. This helps personalize every touchpoint in a consistent way and also tie in customer loyalty programs to keep them engaged in a value-first manner.
For example, a fashion brand that sells both online and offline. AI chatbots can assist them with making purchases based on previous offline interactions and share the rewards available for them to redeem online.
Conclusion
Delivering a great customer experience is about creating a seamless journey for your consumers – irrespective of the path they choose.
With interaction journeys becoming non-linear, AI chatbots are enabling businesses to remain agile and adapt to changing customer behavior and preferences.
Auralis AI is helping businesses create custom workflows using AI and automation to help businesses tailor customer interactions on a 1:1 basis, leading to higher engagement rates and satisfaction rates that are 5x higher than before!
To know more, book a demo.
