subject: Manage Automated Replies to Improve Customer Service [print this page] Manage Automated Replies to Improve Customer Service
Businesses can improve customer service by ensuring their automated call replies are not frustrating consumers.Research by Ovum revealed that one third of firms said they thought automated self-service and voice recognition systems were the most challenging aspect of customer service because they have the power to annoy.Ovum reported that telephonic automated and voice recognition services can help businesses stay competitive when they experience high call volumes.The majority of businesses, however, do not concentrate on how the phone services can improve customer service but instead focus on how they help them to save money, according to Ovum.Daniel Hong, Ovum analyst, said: "Businesses need to optimise their use of automated and voice recognition services to stay competitive, but there is a fine line between providing cost-effective customer service and actually turning customers off your company."Mr Hong went onto say that businesses are unaware that just a small increase in automation rates can result in more frustration for consumers and a greater chance that they will take their custom elsewhere."This is a vulnerable position to be in because frustrated customers are unlikely to be loyal and could be defecting to the competition," he added.Mr Hong claims that automated services that are measured on the task completion rate are most successful because they provide an insight into efficiency and a greater awareness of the consumer experience.Getting the correct automated service system is crucial because this can help businesses discover how to combat consumer frustration which in turn will improve customer loyalty, according to Mr Hong.A report conducted on behalf of Nuance Communications found that nearly half of British people would rather use an automated customer service system than deal with a foreign contact centre employee.The report discovered that 46 per cent of people are in favour of using an automated system as opposed to a foreign customer service department because of problems such as language barriers and lack of response time.In addition, it was also revealed that 84 per cent of customers would be willing to try new speech automated systems and 45 per cent said they preferred speech recognition to touchtone systems.Nuance general manager Ian Turner said: "They simply want to get that task done, and don't necessarily want or need to speak to an agent to do it."Businesses can improve customer service by finding the right balance between using technology and a call centre agent, according to Mr Turner.
