Before the COVID-19 pandemic, my role in the world of marketing technology drove me to think a lot about the balance between the efficiency of automated customer interactions and the trust built by human conversations.
Now, the human side of that equation has never felt more important — in spite of, or perhaps because of, the fact that most in-person interactions have become impossible. In many cases, finding the right mix of personal and machine contact has gone from a question of conversion rate and brand loyalty to one of physical, emotional and financial well-being for both businesses and consumers. Some companies are taking this very much to heart; Zappos, for example, has offered its live agents for any kind of conversation around the clock, purchase-related or not, as a general resource for human connection.
As companies are forced to reorganize, shift priorities and rethink fundamental business practices, they may perceive a need to automate as much as possible to allocate resources most effectively. But even in the best of times, that human conversation plays a key role in a number of points on the customer journey. Now, when consumers’ lives are largely defined by upheaval, anxiety and financial insecurity, it’s never been more important for buying experiences to deliver clear information, answers and the reassurance that sometimes only a personal interaction can give.
Customers typically escalate from digital interactions to a human conversation when they can’t resolve an issue or get the info they need online. In our company’s work with brands in high-touch industries like financial services, telecommunications, healthcare and insurance, we’re seeing significant changes in call volume and the nimble application of data to route calls more effectively. For example, financial services businesses on our platform saw a 45% percent increase in call volume the week of March 15, around the same time that 3 million people lost their jobs and the Dow Jones lost 23% of its value. Consumers want to talk to a real person when faced with refinancing their mortgage or changing their retirement plans — or when they need reassurance that they’re making the right decisions with their money.
Some contact centers are adapting quickly to a remote model, and businesses that relied heavily on face-to-face meetings are getting creative with virtual and digital experiences that allow for remote personal interactions. But live help options at other companies are suffering from the crippling volume, at times leaving customers with only an email abyss in which to toss a message and cross their fingers.
Even digital-first companies need to maintain opportunities for live human conversation in some form or risk alienating their customers. Consumers want to be able to communicate easily and immediately, especially in times of high stress. Research we conducted with Harris Poll found that when a brand doesn’t offer the option for human interaction, more than half of consumers (52%) feel frustrated, and nearly one in five (18%) feel angry. Meanwhile, just 16% say they enjoy it.
Similarly, a study published by Harvard Business Review found that stressed customers who used an automated technology like an online investing platform didn’t trust the provider as much if it did not offer human service — but “merely having the option to access a person seemed to be all most people needed to feel supported.” For businesses in the financial services and health care industries—where the risk and values are high, as is the potential for customer concern and uneasiness — this is particularly important.
While you want to make it as easy as possible for customers to talk to a representative, you don’t want to flood the call center with service calls. One of the best ways to strike a balance is to make sure you are putting answers to common questions front and center. This is especially important during a crisis like the one we’re facing now. Our health care customers have done a great job of this by putting information about COVID-19 on their home pages, adapting their search ads to direct people to landing pages with pertinent information and providing access to interactive online symptom checkers. By making the information that people are looking for online complete and easy to find, the call volume many of our health care customers are seeing has remained fairly flat.
As more businesses automate their points of customer contact, they need to assess what they’re gaining and losing in the process. Automation helps brands deliver more convenient, lower friction customer experiences, but companies need to remember that AI isn’t a complete replacement for dynamic human conversation, especially in a situation where every decision comes with higher stakes. If marketers do their jobs well, the lessons and empathy gained from those conversations will benefit their brands far into the future.
