I, Virtual CRM Agent
ADOTAS – Ever talked to a robot? Conversed with an artificial being? Your quick answer might be “no” but odds are you talk to them all the time.
We’re not talking about C-3PO from Star Wars or HAL from 2001 but chances are you have talked to an integrated voice response system (IVR) when calling an airline or used the paperclip (Clippy) that use to be part of Microsoft Word. Our society is filled with artificial “beings” that are purpose-built to help us.
And now virtual agents are starting to fill the web and these intelligent interactive beings are going to be the next big CRM channel for companies to interact with customers.
You may also be asking yourself, what exactly are virtual agents? They are software programs that interact with customers to help them on a company’s website. Users can converse in natural language and the virtual agents can have a fully-interactive dialog.
The virtual agents can ask for user input, extract information from backend systems, pull-up screens for users, but always guiding customers to their goal in an automated fashion. Whether helping a customer purchase a product or aiding them in conducting business with a company or answering questions about their account, virtual agents assist customers more efficiently, rapidly, consistently and cost-effectively than any human can.
Colliding Trends Call Forth the Virtual Agents
Yet what powers virtual agents? It’s not electricity or diesel or solar power. Money is the fuel that drives virtual agents. A variety of colliding trends are making it necessary for organizations to implement virtual agents on their websites for purely financial reasons.
First, there is a massive increase in the usage of organizations’ websites by their customers. Any survey you read indicates larger percentages of customers are not only coming to companies’ websites for information but are expecting to be able to conduct business there.
Second, websites are increasingly becoming more sophisticated with a wider array of products/services. This has resulted in more flexibility for customers but also more complexity and questions users have on websites.
Third, along with the growing use of websites customers are desiring to be more self reliant. In a research report released by Forrester in December of 2009 it was stated that “only 28% of U.S. online consumers prefer to contact companies via telephone or email rather than using a company’s Web site to get answers to their questions.” This trend towards great self reliance means human support methods are not only prohibitively expensive but users prefer not to use them.
And the last trend is that companies are simultaneously trying to provide better service while keeping costs constant or potentially even reducing them.
These trends are all forcing companies to evaluate how they can assist customers in a scalable fashion. Hiring more customer service reps for email, live-chat and phone support, is simply not cost effective. Letting customers flail on websites trying to resolve their own issues is not sustainable from a customer satisfaction perspective.
The only answer is to automate the way in which companies assist customers. This is where virtual agents are being driven to the forefront.
The Best of Both Worlds
Virtual agents offer a best of both worlds solution. They are a cost effective means for customers to assist themselves — similar to search or automated FAQ systems.
Yet they have the interrogative ability to interact with customers, understand what users need and guide customers to specific answers/resolutions that are personalized for their individual situations.
In those situations which the virtual agent cannot assist, customers can be seamlessly escalated to a live human. And throughout the entire process an organization is learning better what their customers’ needs are and continually increases the knowledge the virtual agent has to improve users’ experiences.
Companies around the globe are using virtual agents to improve the user experience customers have on their websites. Organizations like eBay, H&R Block, Michelin, L’Oreal, Vodafone and PayPal are leveraging the new generation of virtual agents to meet the needs of customers while reducing costs.
Lower costs, enabling customers to be more self sufficient and guiding users faster than humans can — virtual agents don’t quit, ask for raises or get upset at customers. They are the future of CRM, as companies take charge of how they service customers. The agents may be virtual but the business benefits are very real.
Reader Comments.
Our company has been using a virtual collector “agent” since 2007. It is built on a a/r software platform and allows for custom solutions, offers, etc based on the debtors circumstances. It is far more successful than a simple payment site. For more info go to http://www.ammina.com.
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