In today’s digital world, customers expect businesses to be available 24-7 with quick and efficient customer service. Historically, small businesses have tried to expand their availability by hiring more customer service reps to answer the phone or offshoring to call centers. Both of those options work as band-aids but neither fully meets modern-day preferences. 

Expectations are high, patience is low, and many small business owners face the challenge of meeting those high expectations with limited resources. However, there are several digital innovations that small businesses can use to improve their customer service without adding headcount or dramatically changing their operating model. The innovation that we’re most excited about? AI-powered digital messaging. 

AI-powered digital messaging is essentially a really smart computer program that can engage in conversation with a human in a way that feels natural, as though it was a conversation between two people. These conversations or chats can be used to answer customer questions, provide support, and even manage customer information and scheduling. AI-powered digital assistants can be a valuable tool for small businesses, as they can help improve customer satisfaction by always being available, reduce operational costs for the business, and free up staff time. 

How AI-Powered Conversations Can Improve Customer Service for Small Businesses:

Answer Questions 24-7

Chatbots or digital messaging tools can be “live” 24-7, which can help to improve customer satisfaction. This is especially true for businesses that operate in multiple time zones, have customers who work odd hours, or often handle emergency requests that come through in off-hours.

Provide Support

AI-powered customer support can be used to help customers with technical issues or other problems. This can help free up staff time so that they can focus on other tasks, without negatively impacting the customer experience.

Collect Information

These digital messaging experiences can handle everything from requesting customer information to processing and routing it back to internal systems. It can even score leads and integrate with scheduling tools. 

It’s important to remember that customers want to be able to use digital tools for self-service. Adding in an Artificial Intelligence component makes it more efficient for the customer, and the business.

If you own or manage a small business, now is the time to consider adding an AI-powered digital messaging solution to your operations. Here are some things to consider as you explore which solution makes the most sense for your small business:

Know Your Need-to-Haves

There are many solutions on the market and it’s important to choose the right tool. Consider the size of your business, the types of customers you serve, and the ease of implementation and management of the tool. Know what you want the tool to do and how you want to use it.

Remember: Industry Expertise Matters

While many chatbots will “work” out of the box, many industries require industry-specific training to best serve your customers. From jargon to the many nuances of language, you’ll want to know that the AI can accommodate your terminology and processes. At XAPP AI we offer pre-trained models by vertical industry for this very reason.

Don’t Accept Obsolescence

As your business grows and changes, you will need to keep the AI-powered chat experience up-to-date with the latest information. This will ensure that your customers can continue to use it without a poor experience. Look for a tool that makes it easy to update the AI knowledge base, and continuously updates their models with the latest and greatest technology.

AI makes it possible to give your customers great service 24-7 and still sleep, live a life outside of work, and stay within your operating budget.