I attended a coffee morning the other day to talk about customer service, and in particular, Intelligent Self Service (ISS). For those that haven’t heard of ISS, it is the use of a collection of different technologies to allow customers to get the information they need as quickly and as efficiently as possible. When I think of ISS, it encompasses public forums, blogs, knowledge bases, online communities, AI chatbots, live chat with a person, automated telephony and fully operated call centres.
The morning’s discussion was lively - we reached a talking point around using the younger generation as a key indicator of which technology you should focus on in the context of support. I fully agreed with the concept at the time and during the conversation. But I had a very long flight home, and I used the time to engage in some deep thought on the notion that the most tech-savvy generation will always use the best tool.
By the time the plane landed, I had concluded that my perspective had been wrong.
The younger generations are early adopters. They tend to be the first to use the latest tools and technologies. But from a customer service and ISS perspective, the focus should always be on providing the right tool in the right context, not necessarily the latest.
When I think of how I use ISS as a busy person, I am often multi-tasking. Several things divide my attention, from meetings to clients to running a business! At this point, a chat tool would be best, something I can look at and respond to for more information. If I am at home, unwinding from the day trying to watch TV, and the cable isn’t working, my best option will be to call. It feels more involved at a time when I want an immediate fix. There are also times I want to understand how a product will work for me, I don’t want a corporate answer, so I look to community channels to find out what other users think and what their experience might be. This often happens when cooking, so I get Alexa to help me find these community experiences.
There are a lot of different contexts in which all users need to communicate. While technology is vital to creating excellent communication with your customers, we shouldn’t always be in as much of a rush to push the latest technology in line with the early adopters. A robust approach is critically important for any company wanting to support its customers effectively while reducing the cost of customer support.
First published on LinkedIn on 27 March 2023.
