The art of delivering tech-aided, human-powered experiences

AS THE tech industry has exploded over the past few decades and millennials have risen to power, companies have innovated wildly to keep up with relentless customer expectations. Better, faster, easier! is the battle cry. Oh, and make sure you have an app and artificial intelligence (AI) involved in service delivery. 

Unsurprisingly, sleek, streamlined, lightning-paced organisations abound these days, reflecting consumer desires for technology-aided experiences – but is it all customers want? My research and experiences suggest that effort-reducing technology is a necessary but insufficient customer engagement and loyalty driver. The other essential component is human-powered service delivery.

Who needs a human when we have AI?

There may come a day when AI replaces emotional intelligence, but for now, the most engaging customer experiences are created by a mix of people and machines.

For example, AI cannot replicate the emotional intelligence of humans when it comes to:

• Emotional connection: We can understand and engage with others on an emotional level, enabling us to deliver genuinely personal (as opposed to personalised) experiences. AI can recognise patterns and make data-driven decisions, but only a person can understand or respond to the emotional needs of another.
• Creativity and imagination: People are imaginative, allowing us to think outside the box and create unique experiences. AI is limited by the data it is trained on and can only generate original ideas or concepts with human input.
• Flexibility and adaptability: We can adapt to changing situations and respond to unexpected events in a way that AI cannot. AI is programmed to follow specific rules and algorithms, and it cannot deviate from them without the help of people.
• Personal touch: People can offer a personal touch that AI cannot replicate. Humans can connect beyond words, such as through a smile, a handshake, or a hug.

Fortunately, AI complements human service delivery when it comes to:

• Personalisation: AI can analyse your customer data and create personalised experiences for each individual. AI can use your customer’s past purchase history and browsing behavior to suggest products or services likely to interest them.
• Predictive analytics: AI can analyse data to anticipate customer needs and preferences. This helps you tailor your offerings and promotions to suit your customers best.
• Sentiment analysis: AI can analyse your customers’ feedback on social media, email, and other channels to understand how they feel about you and identify areas for improvement.
• Ease and convenience: Chatbots can help answer common customer questions quickly and provide around-the-clock support. AI can also streamline processes and make self-service options more efficient. 

Unfortunately, AI’s strengths and the self-service and convenience benefits of other emerging technologies often result in an over-deployment of technology solutions and an under-deployment of people.

For example, some websites have replaced customer service numbers with online forms. Other companies still provide a phone number, but when you call, you are instructed to contact the company through another method, and there is no option for leaving a voice message or callback number.

Undeniably, customers value self-service options that enable them to avoid reaching out to a person unnecessarily. However, they also value having someone available if they want or need one.

When it comes to customer care, a Gartner research article titled 11 Fundamental Capabilities to Build Your Customer Self-Service Portal highlights the limits of a “technology-exclusive” approach, noting that only 11 per cent of search to resolution is entirely resolved by self-service.

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This means that rarely can customers satisfactorily navigate their entire brand journey (especially when faced with a product or service challenge) unless a compassionate and well-trained person aids them.

Finding the balance

So, how can we strike the right balance between self-service options and assisted support?

Here are five things to consider:

1) Design a user-friendly self-service portal (leveraging the best of technology) – In addition to your portal’s usability, pay attention to ease of access and create a look and feel that’s attractive to your core customer segments.

2) Ensure your self-service portal is filled with understandable content – Offer media-rich content in an easily searchable format. Be conscientious about keeping the content updated and use customer-friendly language, not industry jargon.

3) Consider using virtual customer assistants (VCAs) or bots as service entry points. The Garner report says: “Leading-edge support organisations are reimagining the digital experience by using VCAs and bots as digital front doors and are extending this front-door capability across all support properties.”

4) Train team members to provide assisted support (leveraging the best of people) – There are many channel options to make your team members available for customers in need (for example, “live chat”, “click to call”, “schedule a call”, “call me now”). Choose the best options for your business, and ensure you have selected, trained, and enabled service professionals to take care of the customers with whom they interact.

5) Assess and continuously improve the effectiveness of your self-service and assisted support methods – Measure your online and offline service experience using website, clickstream, and portal analytics. Also, use voice-of-the-customer surveys that assess customer effort and problem resolution.

This isn’t an either/or

Customer experience excellence isn’t a choice between self-service or assisted support. It’s not a choice between AI and people’s emotional intelligence. Extraordinary brands find ways to engage both technology and human service effectively and artfully.

In the process, they win the minds and hearts of consumers, resulting in customers who stay, spend more, and refer their friends.

Joseph Michelli is a visiting professor of service excellence at Campbellsville University, a global customer experience design consultant, and the author of 10 books, including New York Times and Wall Street Journal #1 bestsellers about companies like Starbucks, Mercedes-Benz, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and MindChamps.