Enhancing the Customer Service Experience

 

The quality of customer service can make or break a brand, solidifying relationships or causing irreparable damage. Data and AI are essential in enhancing service quality. It’s what enables agents to access customer information from previous interactions so they can deliver a seamless and satisfying experience.

 

In this webinar, Beth Tracton-Bishop, Ph.D., Director of Research at Harvard Business Review Analytics Services shares survey insights from the intriguing results of HBR’s survey of 252 executives. The survey reveals that 94% of respondents agree that the quality of customer service significantly impacts their organization's bottom line. It highlights the growing importance of personalized, data-driven customer service and the need for faster response times and improved satisfaction.

 

Ryan Nichols, SVP and General Manager, Service Cloud Contact Center at Salesforce contributes to the discussion with insight about how leveraging multiple tools and AI can streamline service processes, reduce the burden on agents, and enhance the overall customer experience.

 

Insights from the HBR Survey on Customer Service

 

The HBR survey uncovers many compelling insights about the current state of customer service with a focus on areas of improvement for businesses to prioritize. A clear takeaway is the growing importance of personalized, data-driven customer service and the need for faster response times and improved satisfaction.

 

As noted above, over 90% of respondents agree that quality of service directly impacts their company's bottom line. Tracton-Bishop shared some important insights and statistics that speak to where companies are right now in terms of customer service priorities in order of importance:

• 52% said improving response times was a top priority
• 49% want to enable personalized, data-driven service interactions
• 48% are focused on improving customer satisfaction and streamlining agent workflows

 

Source: HBR Customer Service Survey

 

In terms of what companies expect to get by investing in and improving customer service, here are the top three desired outcomes:

• 70% aim to boost customer retention and loyalty
• 61% seek to improve brand reputation and increase customer value
• 53% want to increase customer value

 

These are the top strategies and technologies three-fourths of respondents want to invest in to improve their customer service:

• 88% plan to embrace data-driven, personalized customer service
• 75% agree that their organization needs to get better at tracking customer service’s impact on revenue
• 72% said their organization is committed to investing in improving customer service

 

These findings underscore the importance of leveraging data, technology, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver personalized and efficient service experiences to customers. By prioritizing these areas, organizations can effectively address the current challenges in customer service and achieve their desired outcomes of increased loyalty, enhanced reputation, and greater customer value.

 

Leveraging Data-Driven Customer Service

 

Bringing data together and making it accessible to both human agents and AI is crucial for improving the customer service experience. Nichols emphasizes this point, noting that integrating data from multiple systems and making it available in a centralized service console can significantly reduce the day-to-day work that agents must do. This frees resources for further enhancements in the service experience.

 

Patrick Martin, EVP of Global Customer Experience at Coveo, echoes this. That is, organizations can leverage data and AI to improve the customer experience, making it as frictionless as possible. With the rise of generative AI, customer expectations are shifting, and companies need to be prepared to adapt.

 

Both experts acknowledge that the real challenge lies in ensuring a unified experience across all channels. Customers shouldn't have to repeat information they've already provided through their self-service journey when they reach out to an agent. The key is to have all the relevant context and insights readily available at the point of contact. This way the agent can pick up the conversation regardless of when, where, or how a customer reaches out.

 

The Role of AI in Customer Service

 

AI is truly revolutionizing customer service by enabling organizations to deliver more personalized, efficient, and effective support. Martin notes that AI has the potential to streamline the entire customer experience by:

• Providing relevant answers to common questions
• Assisting with configuration issues and troubleshooting
• Offering guided options and document creation

 

But for AI to work effectively – and safely – in an enterprise environment, it needs to draw from accurate, relevant, and up-to-date information. Having the right data to ground the responses generated by AI models is the secret ingredient here. By augmenting AI prompts with customer context, interaction history, and relevant knowledge articles, organizations can give AI systems the data needed to provide precise, personalized, and helpful responses to customer inquiries.

 

Customer Service as a Growth Strategy

 

It’s clear from the HBR survey results that improving customer service is a key focus for many organizations. That makes sense – good customer service is a tool for growth and a great way to foster long-term customer loyalty and retention.

 

By investing in data integration, AI-powered tools, and promoting seamless cross-functional collaboration, organizations can provide the personalized, efficient, and satisfying experiences that customers crave.

 

To effectively leverage generative AI, organizations must first lay the groundwork by getting their customer data and knowledge sources in order. This is how you break down silos to create a unified experience across all touchpoints. That’s how you create a truly exceptional – and connected – customer service ecosystem.

 

Don't miss this opportunity to learn how over 200 organizations view customer service from expert speakers at HBR, Salesforce, and Coveo. Register now to discover how the right technology and customer service approach can help you build stronger customer relationships and drive business growth.