Artificial intelligence is on the rise. But can it also be used in customer relationships? Conditionally, finds Monta Bandone. Man and machine must go hand in hand.
“Automation” – the term has become indispensable in everyday life. In industry, in commerce or in data processing, this is the epitome of efficiency everywhere. Many companies have made efficiency one of their most important goals. Work processes are automated to save time, chatbots automate communication between customers and companies to save human resources, computing systems process large amounts of data according to defined rules in order to create a basis for evaluation quickly and mostly without errors.
According to the definition of the Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon, “in contrast, [the term automation] also includes the assumption of process control and, if necessary, process regulation tasks by artificial systems”. For many employees, this fuels the fear of losing their job and being replaced by automated processes.
But can people or human characteristics be easily replaced by automation and artificial intelligence (AI)? What counts in the interaction between the customer and the company? What makes a good customer relationship in a world shaped by automation and robotization?
Monta Bandone is responsible as Head of Digital Media
Artificial intelligence is now able to communicate with humans. Chatbots are a popular and common tool, especially in customer service for companies. Simple and, above all, repetitive questions from customers (keyword: FAQ), but also individual inquiries about the respective orders – to give an example from e-commerce – can be answered quickly. In the meantime, at the beginning of a “conversation”, the robot asks questions about how the person is feeling in order to simulate an interaction between two people. This can be done in text, but also in verbal form. Surely there are now such sophisticated systems that make you wonder who you are actually talking to.
But there are also negative examples where customers are disappointed because their request was not processed satisfactorily. In such cases, human contact with employees of the company is often established – the last resort, so to speak.
The search and computing power of systems is significantly faster than that of humans. It is also known that customer satisfaction is associated with a shorter processing time of inquiries. Absences due to illness or vacation are not common among robots. This saves companies time and resources.
In communication itself, there can be no misinterpretation of statements, unless there are problems in understanding the verbal interaction (“Sorry, I didn’t understand that. Please try again”). A system will not hear a statement with Schulz von Thun’s emotional ear, but only extract the factual information. The algorithm behind it will not have gotten off on the wrong foot either and will therefore be in a bad mood, which is reflected in irritation when talking to customers. In this way, only an exchange of information takes place that is necessary for solving the request.
The communication shows it. If questions can be answered quickly, it may lead to customer satisfaction, but it does not necessarily result in customer loyalty. Customer loyalty also means building a personal relationship. This is characterized by social skills, being able to respond empathetically to customers, and sometimes discussing topics outside of the professional framework. Laughing together certainly strengthens customer loyalty, as does thinking strategically about future development – be it at the end or business customer level.
In the exchange on a professional level, another field emerges: Occasionally problems arise for which there is not yet a standardized solution. Creative solutions must be generated and new actions must be derived. Ideas often arise from the combination of experiences already made and new influences. A system that is designed for standardization is not able to do this. But that is exactly what customers want from their service providers, that ideas are brought in that move the company they represent forward.
That makes the difference. This distinguishes the level of service provided by service providers. Automation through tools can be implemented relatively easily. But the human component and customer orientation are decisive factors that favor long-term customer relationships.
Ideally, man and machine go hand in hand, use their individual strengths and thus create the basis for customer satisfaction and long-term customer loyalty.
The Mission Female business network, founded by Frederike Probert, is actively committed to more female power in business, society, media, culture, sports and politics. It unites successful women across all industries with the aim of making further professional progress together.
