Interactions with the likes of virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, the general public is now getting accustomed to interacting with machines. As a result of this more and more businesses are looking to incorporate the technology into aspects of their businesses, especially customer service. And now, seems like the best time for those looking to join the bandwagon.
Robotics from an organization’s point of view:
According to research by McKinsey, 88% of businesses worldwide plan to adopt robotic automation into their infrastructure. This is because robotics enables automation. Automation brings about higher productivity, increased rate of efficiency, improved safety of personnel, better product quality, overall increased revenue, etc. Robots are designed to perform repetitive tasks more efficiently than humans. More recently, with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, they are being created to think, learn, and draw accurate conclusions.
Robotics from the customer’s point of view:
As far as customers are concerned most seem to be comfortable with interacting with robots though a significant percentage confess to having their reservations. They don’t want the service to lose its “human touch.” Therefore, a balance is needed when adopting these new customer service channels.
How can robots be used in customer service?
While automation and self-service can improve efficiency and give customers a choice when interacting with a business, since many customers insist that they still want the opportunity to speak with a human agent when needed, adopting a single method that uses automation won’t please everyone.
Digital transformations often fail because people are resistant to change. AI-enabled robots are being programmed to work alongside humans, interact with customers, and perform administrative functions. They also can be used to streamline backend processes, such as supporting compliance requirements and responding to data-related questions. Using service robots in this way still keeps humans in front of the customers. A win-win for all.
Top 5 roles that can be played by Customer service robots.
Experts have predicted that the top uses for professional service robots in the years to come will be in the following areas.
- Marketing specialists:
Service robots can be used to capture attention and leads, thereby helping the marketing operations grow sales and intensify marketing messages.
- Talent scout
For those roles that require tech-savvy staff, organizations can use service robot to support HR specialists at career fairs to attract the required people for the job roles
- Employee training
Businesses can use robots for online training content to improve compliance and increase participation.
- In sales
Service robots can be used to respond to FAQs and other questions asked of customer service or inside sales people.
- Queue Management
Robots can be used to alleviate backlogs by providing check-in for appointments, queue management for tech support, digital registrations for events, or wait-time analytics to learn about customers and prospects.
In conclusion:
Service robots can be used in a number of roles doing repetitive jobs more efficiently and this number is only increasing by the day. With the continued advances in artificial intelligence, it is expected that customer service robots will be adopted by more companies looking to create efficiencies and speed-up customer service. Having said that they will not be replacing human beings entirely, they can just be used as a means to free up human labor for more intellectual and creative tasks.