Just when you think consumers’ expectations for customer service couldn’t get any higher, they do: In a recent Metrigy study, 38% of consumers said they would stop doing business with a company if they had a single bad experience.
If you’re thinking about investing in new tools and technologies to deliver the kind of CX your customers demand and deserve, you’re in good company. According to new research by Metrigy, 47% of businesses have already completed CX transformation projects and are planning additional ones, while another 20% have their first CX transformation underway. They’re adding analytics, introducing new self-service options, enabling customer screen sharing, and more. Most of all, they’re adding AI.
AI tools for CX have reached new levels of power and sophistication over the past 1-2 years. They’re not a replacement for human staff, nor should they be. But they can meaningfully supplement the talents of your employees, helping them work more efficiently and spend more time connecting with customers, whether it’s to solve complex problems or cultivate new business.
The problem? There are a lot of tools out there. Pick a need, any need, and there’s a one-off, AI-powered solution to meet it. With so many “shiny objects” flooding the market, it can be tempting to leap at them one after another, hoping that they’ll be the cure for your CX challenges—from phone system bottlenecks to lack of visibility into performance to employees on the verge of burnout from answering routine questions via web chat. (You can only point customers to your return policy so many times a day before you start to lose your mind.)
But bolting on AI solutions one by one can actually make your CX worse, not better, especially if you’re already working in disconnected systems. Let’s break it down—and identify a better path forward.
- Disjointed systems are a drag on performance
- The “swivel chair” effect. Without a unified platform, employees have to constantly jump from one system to the next, burning time and keeping customers waiting.
- Disconnected data. Separate systems don’t share data and siloed AI tools can’t “talk” to each other. That means your teams have to track down and copy customer information from multiple sources. Not only is it time consuming; the potential for human error is off the charts.
- All trees, no forest. Without a unified view of how your various systems are working together, monitoring or evaluating overall CX performance, and identifying how to improve it, is next to impossible.
- Bolted-on AI leads to fragmented CX
- The more systems you have, the greater the risks
- The risk of broken links in the chain. The more systems you use, the more protentional points of failure there are. If a one-off tool goes down, there’s no backup; just downtime, long wait times, and chaos.
- The risk of data insecurity. When you have multiple systems capturing customer data and storing it in multiple places, you have that much more exposure to possibly security breakdowns and data breaches.
- The risk of “rogue” employees. If you support some kinds of customer communications but not others, there’s always the possibility that employees will "go rogue," texting or calling from their personal devices to fill in the gaps. Whatever information they capture stays with them, rather than being shared across teams and functions. And if one of those employees leaves, their knowledge leaves with them.
- The risk of inflexibility. If you want to add additional CX tools or channels down the road—some of which may not even exist yet—there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to get them à la carte or integrate them easily with your existing systems. You may get stuck having to buy duplicative solutions, paying for more than you need, or missing out altogether on new opportunities to engage with your customers.
Unless you’re an enterprise-scale business—and maybe even if you are—you’re likely using a patchwork of different systems for customer service. Maybe you started with the basics, like phone and email, then added additional channels, like SMS, social media, and live chat as they became available or as your business grew. Each one came with a pitch that made sense at the time. But put them all together, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for sub-par service. Here’s why:
And let’s not forget the financial cost: with a collection of one-off systems, you’re paying licensing fees for multiple tools doing the same jobs that a single, unified platform could handle—usually for less.
One of the major benefits of AI is its ability to automatically capture data and then surface it exactly when your team needs it, helping them provide better service in real-time. AI features for phone systems, for example, can instantly transcribe and summarize calls. When the same customer calls again—voilà. Any employee who picks up the phone can immediately access key data and interaction history, so the customer doesn’t have to explain their situation from scratch. They’re instantly recognized and known. It’s the kind of customer experience that builds loyalty and boosts your CSAT (customer satisfaction score).
But what happens when that same customer decides to reach out via webchat instead? If you’ve got a separate, siloed AI tool for that channel, you’ve got a problem. Sure, maybe your chatbot can triage the call by answering basic question and routing the inquiry the right person. It can ask for and capture basic customer information, such as contact info or order numbers. But it can’t access any of the information captured via a different channel the day (or month, or year) before, let alone serve it up to human agents. Customers are back at square one, having to explain their situation or purchase history all over again. It’s time-consuming and frustrating, both for the customer and for the employees who are trying to help.
Another result of a disconnected experience like this is that it weakens your brand. If customers receive a high level of service via one channel and a sub-par one via another, the overall impression is a brand where one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. Add in varying voices and tones—say, a chirpy, friendly chatbot and a buttoned-up, all business AI virtual receptionist—and it will feel like your brand is undergoing an identity crisis. The best brand experience is one that’s consistent and predictable across every touchpoint. It’s nearly impossible to pull off when you’re using a hodge-podge of tools.
There are operational risks hiding inside fragmented systems and bolted-on tools that many businesses don’t consider in advance. They can cost you money, alienate customers, and hold you back as CX technology evolves.
Why a unified platform is better
It’s clear that a piecemeal approach to CX with bolted on AI tools presents a host of risks and drawbacks for businesses, especially fast-growing ones. The better choice is to invest in a single, unified CX system—one that unites all of your channels of customer communication, leverages AI across every touchpoint, and integrates seamlessly with other systems, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, ZenDesk, and Google. A unified, AI-powered platform means:
- Continuous context. A single platform unites data and insights from every interaction, from voice to webchat to SMS and beyond. Customers never have to repeat themselves. Instead, they get a personalized experience and quicker resolutions no matter how they contact you.
- Performance monitoring. With AI monitoring across all of your touchpoints providing real-time reporting and analytics, you have instant visibility into customer sentiment trends, response times, and both aggregate and individual team member performance. Using those insights, you can take steps to optimize your CX, such as providing additional coaching or adjusting your messaging.
- Empowered employees. A single CX platform with integrated AI tools for every user can dramatically boost your team’s performance and even make their jobs more rewarding. With AI capturing basic information, automating repetitive tasks, suggesting next-best actions, drafting message responses, and more, your employees can work with greater confidence and efficiency. They’ll also have more time to focus on building relationships with your customers, boosting your CSAT and driving loyalty.
Don’t fall into the trap of à la carte solutions and bolted-on AI. Find out why an all-in-one CX platform like GoTo Connect CX Complete is the most powerful way to deliver above-and-beyond customer experience. Contact us for a free, hands-on demo.