Why Self-service Is A Key Factor In Customer Service?

In recent years, resistance to self-service has completely vanished. Allowing customers to solve their own problems has become a highly valued option in customer-centric companies, and in which they increasingly invest more, since it is a key factor in customer service.

According to CCW Digital, 91% of organizations identify web self-service as a relevant investment focus. Almost 89% attribute relevance to mobile self-service, while 81% includes the value of investments in IVR. More than a third of companies believe that each of these categories is an urgent investment priority.

Why Self-service Is A Key Factor In Customer Service?

1.- Customer Empowerment

One of the predominant themes in the current market is the idea of customer empowerment. While companies have historically imposed their will on users, they now understand that customers have the power to define the experience they receive. Self-service, which offers customers the option to solve problems on their own, fits perfectly into this idea of “empowerment”.

2.- Omnichannel Revolution

We live in an omnichannel era, and customers have every reason to expect a complete and resolute commitment experience across all channels. They should never feel that they should “try too hard” to communicate on their channels of choice. By allowing customers to solve problems, or at least start the resolution process, self-service gains new life in the omnichannel era.

3.- Increase Of The Experience Without Friction

Was the experience easy? That question, above all, serves to define the quality of the client’s experience in the current market. Today’s customers demand frictionless experiences, and today’s companies know they must comply. This new attention to “effort” explains the renewed emphasis on self-service. By allowing customers to handle problems on their own, self-service reduces the effort of contacting a live agent. As their goal is to reduce “effort”, organizations know that they must also work to optimize their existing self-service platforms.

4.- New Role Of The Agents

With the aim of creating a more attractive work environment for agents and generating the highest return on investment in their salaries, organizations increasingly recognize the need to eliminate the less valuable tasks of their employees. Simple and repetitive transactions personify these tasks. They simply turn out to be types of problems that the self-service can help solve, reserving agents for consultations that require added value.

5.- Emphasis On Artificial Intelligence

All business leaders want to harness the power of artificial intelligence. In the space of contact with the client, one of the most obvious applications is self-service. Artificial intelligence can help make self-service more adaptive and natural, and make the customer experience more satisfying.

These five factors explain why self-service is classified as a key point of contact with the customer during 2018.