The digital landscape today is a fiercely competitive environment. You can no longer rest on having the best product. You have to differentiate yourself by providing outstanding service.
But how do you do that without breaking the bank? The good news is that it’s an issue of having the right people and tools in place. It’s not something you can just throw money at.
Part of the strategy for improving your ecommerce customer support lies in partnering with teams like https://supportyourapp.com/ecommerce-customer-service-outsourcing/. Doing so allows you to access the skills you need and build capacity quickly.
In this article, however, we’ll look at the tools. We’ll see how you can supplement support using artificial intelligence.
24/7 Customer Support with AI Chatbots
Today’s bots are a far cry from the earliest models. They can understand the context of what we say rather than just relying on specific keywords. While they’re not capable of solving complex issues, they answer simple queries.
If you have a customer visiting your online store, all they need to do is to open a chat window. They can converse with the chatbot anytime during the day or night that’s convenient for them.
The upside of using this technology is that your customers get:
- Instant Responses: Your bot can handle several queries at one time, providing instantaneous support.
- Consistency and Accuracy: Chatbots never have a bad day. They answer questions consistently and give the answers you program them to give. This eliminates the human era and apathy.
- Cost Efficiency: Using chatbots can lower your operational costs because you can get away with a smaller customer service team. If you outsource your support, you can maximize the savings.
- Personalized Customer Interactions: Bots can scroll through several of your company systems to learn more about the clients. They can then make personalized
recommendations that are highly relevant to the customer. This shows the client that the company knows them and increases satisfaction.
- Customized Marketing: Bots can also suggest resources for the clients or even offer discounts to drive sales.
Advanced Customer Insights
When you run a brick-and-mortar store, it’s easy to get to know your customers. With ecommerce, it’s challenging. You have very few, if any, personal interactions to go by.
This is where an AI-powered analytics program comes in handy. It can provide deep insight into your customers’ behaviors and preferences.
Some of the most important information includes:
- Sentiment Analysis: AI can collate data from several sources, such as forums, reviews, social media, and support interactions. It can identify trends and changes in customer sentiment. This allows you to make course corrections as necessary.
- Predictive Analytics: AI can predict trends based on historical data. This could be in the form of changing support needs, customer expectations, and so on.
Enhanced Self-Service Options
Consumers today tend to be very busy. If given the opportunity, they’re quite capable of finding the answers that they need. You can facilitate the process by incorporating artificial intelligence in the form of:
- Intelligent FAQ Systems: Where AI interprets complex queries and searches the knowledge base for the answers.
- Virtual Assistants: Powerful assistants can guide customers through product information, processes, or troubleshooting steps.
Streamlined Order Management
When running an online business, you have to ensure that orders go smoothly. AI can streamline your workflows and ensure maximum efficiency.
For example, your CRM system can automatically update the customer on their order status. It can communicate when the order ships and give a rough estimate of delivery times.
It can also help you optimize your inventory. It can highlight when a stock’s running low and make suggestions for orders based on historical patterns.
Efficient Handling of Returns and Refunds
Your business success depends on whether or not customers trust you. Having a good return and refund policy is the first step. Managing properly shows customers that they are right to trust you.
AI systems can automate return requests and process refunds. It can also be helpful in detecting fraudulent returns.
Proactive Customer Engagement
AI makes it possible to reach out to customers before they experience issues. You might, for example, ask the system to identify customers who don’t seem to be getting the full use out of your software. You could reach out to these people to find out if they’re doing okay.
You can also program in a series of automated follow-ups. This could be in the form of emails asking if the customer is happy with the product or service, product recommendations, tutorials, or surveys.
Conclusion
We’re not suggesting that you run out and buy every AI-based program there is. Instead, we hope that this article has got you thinking differently about how to improve your customer support in an ecommerce setting.
Naturally, you’ll need to do your homework about where you can implement the solutions. You also need to investigate whether or not they’re worth it for your business. However, if you’re willing to do the work, you’ll find that it’ll be worth the effort.
