When it comes to the digital space, making information accessible is a necessary first step to building trust.

If you use the internet, you have likely experienced the following scenario: you have a specific question, type it into a search bar or chat window, and are presented with pages of links to explore. You hope that behind one of those links you’ll find the answer to your question, so you start clicking through, skimming the content, hoping that the answer is there. At a certain point you may have felt like the answer is being purposefully hidden because why else would it be so difficult to find? 

Opening the door to your company’s knowledge and empowering your customers with digital self-service options builds trust.

Digital self-service is an approach that lets customers find the answers they need on their own. It’s something that 85% of customers say they’ll choose when presented with the option. Digital self-service options can be offered through a company website, chatbot or even text messages. The idea behind self-service is that it empowers customers and gives them control over their interactions with you. In turn, this makes them feel more confident in your business and builds trust between the person and the company. 

Better customer experiences build better relationships.

Offering up digital self-service options is a great way to meet your customers where they are and give them convenient options that allow them to choose the channel that they feel most comfortable with. When digital self-service is done well, it can be faster, more efficient, and more fulfilling for the user. Those pieces come together to make happier and more loyal customers.

Picture this: you want to know how much it’s going to cost to have a plumber replace a toilet in your house. If you search on a major search engine like Google, you can find a range broken down by region but you’re really looking for a set quote. You go to the website of a local plumbing company and see that they have a list of Services in their menu, a chat window, a search box, and a phone number. If you knew that every single one of those options could get you to the information that you were looking for, which one would you choose? 

Data shows that self-service leaves customers satisfied.

An overwhelming majority of customers prefer self-service and find it more convenient. In fact, one study revealed that over 60% of US consumers prefer an automated self-service for simple customer service tasks. Self-service is also faster, with chatbots responding 20x faster to a customer than a human agent.

As the customer, being able to choose whatever feels the most convenient and comfortable for you is going to help ensure higher satisfaction with the experience.

Customer experience is a key element of customer loyalty, brand loyalty, revenue generation and customer retention. Increased engagement with your brand builds trust, which in turn can lead to higher conversion rates. 

Furthermore, providing access to information has many benefits: it’s more efficient and cost effective than waiting for people; it allows companies to scale their services; and it helps improve customer satisfaction by reducing the need for repeat calls. 

Self serve options don’t have to be robotic and tedious to use.

Chatbots, intelligent voice assistants, and intelligent search are important tools because they can make information-seeking processes more efficient, giving your customers the ability to get what they need faster. But if you’re going to offer self-service options that rely on artificial intelligence (AI) as the primary way for customers to interact with your company, you need to ensure that those interactions are easy for users and make sense.

AI can help guide users to the best results.

It’s crucial that your chatbot or intelligent virtual assistant strikes the right tone with customers—you don’t want it sounding like a robot or making people feel like they’re stuck in an IVR. A good rule of thumb is that there’s a conversational element in those engagements and that you offer up answers, not links where someone might be able to find an answer.

AI powered digital self-service solutions are an easy way to improve customer experience by guiding people to the information they’re looking for.

• Self-service is easy to use. A self-service solution can be used by anyone from a first time visitor all the way up to a long-time customer. This means that nobody needs training or instruction on how to use the tools, which saves time and resources for both you and them.
• Self-service is convenient: When something is easy and quick, people are more likely to actually do it! With self service, it’s possible for customers to get help at any hour of the day (or night) because access to information is not restricted by time zones and working hours.
• Self-Service improves customer engagement: Customer satisfaction increases when issues get resolved quickly and information is quickly made available; this leads directly into happier customers who will remain loyal longer.

It’s clear from the data that digital self-service tools are an effective way to empower your customers and build trust. It doesn’t matter if you’re a mom and pop shop or a huge corporation—your customers will appreciate not having to wait on hold for hours (or days) to get their questions answered. The key is to make sure that these tools actually work, which means finding a technology partner that you can trust.