The evolution of customer support services is responsible for changing the way businesses operate. In the past, businesses had no means to learn about customer behavior and opinions. But with the inception of call center services and internet boom, it became easier to learn about consumer trends via the massive data generated by CRM tools. And now, in the year 2019, we are seeing AI (Artificial Intelligence) spreading its wings. The result: processing of zillions of bytes of data in a matter of minutes. As more and more CRM tools get a makeover with AI integration, a call center outsourcing vendor that incorporates this technology has become extremely valuable.
AI-Based CRM: The Tool of Choice for Customer Support Services
With movies like ‘The Terminator’ portraying AI in a bad light, people used to doubt its benefits for mankind. It was seen as a necessary evil to drive technical growth forward, but was never a mainstream solution in most domains. But times have changed and so has people’s opinion. So much so, that it is now considered the tool of choice for gauging and interpreting human opinions. And there is no business, in which people’s opinions matter as much, as they matter in customer support services.
Real-Life Implications of AI in a Call Center Outsourcing Company
AI has trickled its way into the ocean of call center services. And, it has caused a reaction that is sending the waves far and wide, to shores far and away. So, whether you are planning to outsource email support, voice support or chat support, the choice has become quite simple – find a company that uses AI-based CRM or perish. If you think jumping on the AI bandwagon is not as vital as it is made out to be, then have a look at some of its real-world implications and make up your mind:
- The Power of Predictive Lead Scoring – Outbound calling for lead generation is an integral part of services provided by a call center outsourcing vendor. Suppose a company A, which does not employ AI, gets a project that requires them to create 10 leads per day. They make 100 calls to different potential clients and explain the business model of the company they are endorsing. They perform their tasks well but generate only 5 leads. A company B that employs AI makes use of predictive lead scoring, which is integral to the AI tool. (Predictive lead scoring maps a pattern and helps forecast the likelihood of each call being a success, in terms of generating leads.) The use of AI embedded in the CRM automatically narrows down the field from 100 potential clients to 50. So, when the calls are made, the results are better. The employees in company B make 50 calls and generate 30 leads. AI wins hands down.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) – Most call center employees scoff at the task of entering customer data manually into the CRM. Not only does it reduce their efficiency, it also takes away their focus away from the customers. With the integration of NLP (part of AI), it is possible to populate contact records automatically.
- Recommendations from AI – Apart from ensuring that the work is done efficiently, an AI solution also offers recommendations. These recommendations can be used by employees in a call center outsourcing vendor for making informed decisions. The recommendations provided by the AI-powered CRM come from customer’s contact history, previous interactions and other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Summary
It is clear that AI is a solution for the future. Even now, in its embryonic state, it can be used for leveraging most customer services tasks. Considering that companies employing AI will be able to operate more efficiently, it would be a silly mistake to ignore AI-powered CRMs in today’s competitive business world.