Our CEO, Max Riis Christensen, has been looking into some of the promising new AI tools that will allow everyone to write and understand any language in real-time, and it has gotten him to think about the future of customer service:
The future is near
The great advances in AI technology that we are experiencing today, means that we already have software that is capable of translating and answering questions, in real time and in any language.
Soon this tool might be ready to be implemented in international customer service, but is the purpose of customer service simply to answer questions?
The majority of questions that customers ask on a website are repetitive. Some are simple, some are more complicated, but most have been asked by others in the past and will be asked again in the future.
To answer these kinds of questions, customer service agents are not required at all. Chatbots and other smart solutions can do that - instantly and at a low cost. So in this area the introduction of real-time translations will not revolutionise our world.
Technology lacks a human touch
But what about the not so repetitive questions? How about the cases where a mistake has been made and a customer needs some extra love because their package has been damaged or delayed? When shit hits the fan, a human agent is needed.
And how about the times you decide you want to do something extra for your customers?
Like when you realise that calling new customers, thanking them for choosing you, can boost your repurchase rate? AI can't do that. Neither can a real-time translated message.
Human customer service agents are better than any marketing messages you can come up with. We need them to care for the customer, but also to care for the technology that we place between ourselves and our customers.
A native agent is needed to setup and train chatbots and other technology. It is their understanding of the subtle differences between languages, cultures and customers that is so important to master, if you want to succeed in international e-commerce.
Agents speaking the language of your customers are still important!
Bottom line is that I think that native-speaking agents are critical now, and will continue to be critical in the coming years.
Here are three things you will need them for:
1. Reaching out to customers when things go wrong. The sincere interest shown by a human, beats any technology.
2. Setting up, maintaining and monitoring the performance of the technology in a specific language. Like your agents, chatbots need feedback and training to improve.
3. Helping customers get more value out of the product or service. This increase loyalty and lifetime value and beats marketing any day.
We can help you provide your customers with the native-speaking customer service they deserve.
You can read more here.