Tea Navrátil Šimonová
Former Head of Conversation Design @ Feedyou
How to ensure a quality communication experience for the user, provide them with all the information and care, and at the same time not overwhelm your live agents? It’s easy! Combine the one-on-one human approach of a customer support department with the persistence of a chatbot.
Weaknesses become advantages
Chatbots and voicebots, just like live agents, have their weaknesses. A chatbot or voicebot cannot differentiate well from a user’s individual wants and needs. It also fails to pick up on non-verbal nuances of communication, such as tone of speech, or can’t detect irony or sarcasm. It also has a more or less limited field of knowledge and will simply not be able to respond to some requests. Human agents, on the other hand, have more potential to cover a wider range of topics and solve more specific user needs. However, there are only that many questions they can resolve in a given time. Maybe they can tell what mood the user is in, but sometimes even they have a bad day themselves…
But let’s focus on the benefits of connecting both the bot and the live agent. You will see that in this composition it will immediately raise your communication by several levels. Let’s see…
Chatbot or voicebot:
- is always consistent in its responses and never leaves out an important information,
- can handle FAQs and expected requests, such as checking the status of an order, submitting a complaint, inserting CVs, or sending an email,
- doesn’t mind tens of simultaneous conversations, it covers them all,
- is up and ready to chat even at midnight,
- and won’t be annoyed because of it.
Live customer service agent:
- devotes as much time to the user as is needed,
- provides individual care,
- can be empathetic,
- and will cover multiple topics at once.
The bot-to-human connection thus becomes an unbeatable tool in communication with (potential) customers and clients. The disadvantages of one variant are reliably solved by the positives of the other variant.
Where the combination makes sense…
Connecting a chatbot or voicebot with a live agent pays off wherever you expect, or are already dealing with, a large number of users. They mostly come with frequent questions or requests, but there are also those who need help with something specific. In this way, the chatbot handles repeated questions over and over again. It also filters out possible “trolls” (users who just came to test your chat or line or consider asking absurd questions or writing profanity to be a great time spent) and forwards only relevant communication to the agents. Customer support can then focus on a smaller number of users who need more attention. This allows the team to focus on more meaningful work. This will save you money and keep your people happy and relaxed.
Efficiency will increase in both directions of communication – a number of users will get a satisfactory answer from the bot, and those who don’t can rely on a human.
“Efficiency increases in both directions of communication.”
The bot can also act as a simple “signpost” of sorts, that classifies the user’s question and forwards the communication to the appropriate specialist. This can be used, for example, in large companies that offer several products – each with its own team of experts. For example, let’s say it’s gas, electricity, and installing solar panels. The customer does not have to explain their needs several times. They simply give the contract number and basic information to the voicebot and it will redirect them to the first available person to help.
How we do it at Feedyou
We can connect to a wide range of channels that support live chat or call center technology. These include Daktela, Mluvii, IPEX/Requestor and Smartsupp. And also LinuxBox for connecting voicebots. Of course, the popular Facebook Messenger is also available. And since we are still evolving, we plan to establish even more collaborations. But definitely don’t hesitate to contact us with your own ideas and requests! We like challenges and will do 100% for the most efficient and pleasant communication.