Customer Service
July 17, 2023 at 4:31 pm
In an increasingly omnichannel and digital landscape, shoppers expect quick and dynamic communication from brands they engage with. Unfortunately, a significant portion of retailers are falling short in meeting this basic expectation. At my company, SOCi, we recently conducted our fifth annual audit of nearly 600 U.S. chain retailers. We found that 54 percent of all…
July 10, 2023 at 11:23 am
Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are often called “the lifeblood of the American economy.” A 2022 GOBankingRates survey found multiple reasons consumers patronize SMBs: elevated employee-consumer interactions, niche product and service offerings, supporting the local community, and more. However, despite their love for SMBs, customers still expect these businesses to meet their evolving preferences, and…
June 28, 2023 at 11:33 am
Broadly speaking, a customer effort score measures how easy or difficult it is for a customer to resolve a given issue with a company’s customer service team. Have you ever waited your turn to speak to a customer service representative, only to be transferred to another agent? Have you ever waited on hold so long…
June 22, 2023 at 9:08 am
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has become the technology to watch, and major retailers are starting to leverage this breakthrough new tech. Insider Intelligence reports that Walmart is using generative AI for its “Text to Shop,” which lets customers add items to their shopping cart by texting or speaking the item they’d like to purchase. Instacart is…
June 15, 2023 at 11:46 am
While artificial intelligence has made significant advancements this past year with new apps such as ChatGPT and Jasper, the reality is that human interactions still cannot be directly replicated through technology. An overreliance on chatbots to replace humans is a potential pitfall for many retailers. Sure, the addition of AI and virtual agents is extremely helpful in…
June 14, 2023 at 1:45 pm
At this very moment we're at an inflection point in the customer service industry. ChatGPT and its Google, Meta, and Amazon.com-backed competitors are the technical breakthrough we’ve been waiting for. At long last, we have the potential to break free of our contact center and BPO legacy and drive true cost efficiency through automation. In…
June 6, 2023 at 4:18 pm
Are you connecting with your customers on the apps where they spend their time each day? Traditional marketing channels are in decline, and it's getting harder to gain the attention of customers in crowded newsfeeds and cluttered inboxes. Why not go to where your customers already are and interact with them on the messaging platforms…
June 6, 2023 at 9:49 am
The retail industry’s commitment to artificial intelligence (AI) is unmatched, surpassing all industries except finance. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), a staggering $300 billion investment in AI is anticipated by 2026. This influx of resources promises to augment the relationship between humans and machines, delivering immense advantages to brands and consumers. There's a…
June 1, 2023 at 5:20 pm
Whether online shopping or trying to get answers about an insurance billing question, customers have likely gotten assistance from a new source: artificial intelligence (AI). One study showed that 88 percent of customers had an interaction with a chatbot in 2022, with an estimated 1.5 billion people using chatbots around the world. With the global…
May 23, 2023 at 4:35 pm
Ever since ChatGPT was released near the end of 2022, organizations and decision makers have been scrambling to figure out how they can use the new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to work better, faster and more effectively. Customer service delivery is no exception. It really does feel like a breakthrough moment for technology,…
