A lesson for service-oriented companies

Have you ever had a quick question about a newly purchased machine, piece of furniture, or tech gadget outside of business hours and spent hours searching the internet or digging through manuals?

Did you know that 64% of internet users say that 24-hour service is the best feature of chatbots*?  Wouldn’t it be nice if you could use your smartphone and get a quick answer to simple questions from a chatbot like Alexa or Google Home? Or even chat with a real human and get things answered at rocket speed?

Trends in the digital world / Quick Questions – Quick Answers

There is a clear trend towards live chats among e-commerce websites and other service-related businesses with an expected investment of %5 billion in 2021*. More and more companies are using chatbots to provide better and faster service to their customers. At the forefront of this is the real estate industry, but did you know that the travel industry also benefits greatly from chatbots? That’s because chatbots are actually very useful in filtering and speeding up the booking process, as proven by the chatbot statistics for 2019.

Depending on the type of company, you can find chatbots with artificial intelligence or even hybrid versions, where 1st-level support is automated and redirected if the answers are not satisfactory for the customer. First access to the customer is the most important state to allow customers to easily onboard and ensure customer voices and inquiries are heard. According to SalesForce, 53% of service organizations will deploy chatbots within the next 18 months. Predictions for chatbot usage show that 80% of organizations will be using chatbots by the end of 2020*. They have become so popular because they save time and resources by automating customer support. This allows human service agents to focus on solving more complex problems.

What the service industry can learn from digital services

Once again, the digital world has been a few steps ahead, taking user experience (UX) to a whole new level. What seemed to be a dream with the first chatbot ELIZA in the 60s is now a reality. Through the use of AI technology, virtual assistance is being offered in various industries such as healthcare, business, education, and finance.

Recommendations & Summary

Other industries should quickly adapt with live chat capabilities for their partner network in a B2B scenario, providing excellent service and answers across time zones and 8-5 office hours. Especially when working with remote teams around the world or multiple offices that could cover such a service offering. The next step is already on the way with live chats that could be converted to a video call for more complex issues. In short, the future looks bright for companies seeking eye-to-eye communication with their customers.

If this article has piqued your interest, you might want to try chatting with a chatbot:

CHATBOT EXAMPLE FROM AMTRAK:

 Amtrak is one of the best chatbot examples. Amtrak is a rail passenger service operating in the USA, Columbia, and some parts of Canada. Amtrak is a rail passenger service operating in the USA, Columbia, and some parts of Canada. Just click at the top right and ask your questions. 😉

Amtrak Tickets, Schedules and Train Routes

Their website chatbot example presents a very simple and fun alternative to booking tickets the traditional way. You can find out information and book tickets by simply chatting with ‘Julie’, their chatbot. Easy, right?

We’ll let the results talk. Amtrak’s Julie has been a complete hit amongst the users. She is well equipped with every answer that an Amtrak user might need. And thus, is one of the most commendable chatbot conversation examples out there. Still not satisfied? They have a ‘contact us’ button right there. This is an important element for every chatbot. You might notice it in multiple chatbot examples throughout this blog also. People sometimes want to talk to a human being and if your chatbot can give them that option as well, it is perfect! Julie is awesome in other ways too. She doesn’t only ‘chat’ with people, but also answers about 50,000 calls in a day which is more calls in a day than one human Amtrak customer service agent handles in a year. Phew!

10 Best Website Chatbot Examples of 2021 [Real-Life Examples] (outgrow.co)

LIVE CHAT EXAMPLE

Click at the chat icon (bottom right) and start a conversation with me powered by tawk.io:

* The Future Is Now – 37 Fascinating Chatbot Statistics (smallbizgenius.net)

Pictures:

www.freepik.com/biancoblue

www.freepik.com/ilin-sergey