Is over-automation driving your customers away?

In an era defined by rapid digital transformation, businesses are increasingly turning to automation to streamline operations, cut costs and enhance customer experiences. According to a recent Gartner study, nearly 30 percent of enterprises are expected to automate over half of their network activities by 2026, a sharp rise from under 10 percent in mid-2023.

While the potential of automation is significant, it is also reshaping how organizations approach customer service. In a landscape where customer expectations continually rise, effective customer service has become a vital touchpoint that underscores a company’s commitment to delivering exceptional experiences. Automation offers tools to provide efficient, consistent and responsive service. Yet, if not implemented thoughtfully, it can risk customer loyalty.

When automation goes awry: A real-life tale of customer service chaos

With the plethora of software solutions available today, it’s easy to overlook the potential pitfalls of automation. Most of us can relate to the frustration of navigating an overly automated customer service experience. Consider a scenario many have encountered: you’re trying to purchase a product or change a service online.

You begin by visiting the company’s website. After five minutes of searching – if you’re fortunate enough to find it – you finally locate the customer service section. Eureka, you think! You’ve made progress. Now, it’s time to choose a contact method – perhaps the telephone seems like the quickest option.

However, after spending ten minutes wading through a menu of options, pressing numbers from one to nine, you hear the chatbot inform you that no human agents are available and that you should switch to chat support. Reluctantly, you make the switch.

Once in the chat, you’re greeted by yet another chatbot. After 15 minutes of typing – and let’s be honest, it probably took longer – you arrive at the same conclusion: no human is available to help you. The bot then conveniently suggests that you fill out a form instead.

You think this might finally lead to a resolution, but as you start filling it out, you realize that the options presented don’t address your specific issue. After struggling to navigate the closed questions, you find that the form cannot be submitted without a match. To top it off, the conclusion of the form suggests contacting customer service via telephone – again! What about email support? It turns out there isn’t even a contact email listed.

In summary, you’ve invested nearly 30 minutes of your time attempting to resolve a simple issue that could have been handled in just five minutes with a real person on the line. Does this mean we should abandon automation altogether and return to traditional customer service methods? Absolutely not. There’s a smarter way to harness automation while ensuring a human touch is preserved.

How a BPM platform can transform over-automation into real customer happiness

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges posed by automation, a key strategy for mitigating common pitfalls is to integrate a business process management (BPM) platform. Such a tool enables organizations to analyze the complete customer journey from end-to-end, encompassing not only sales and marketing touchpoints but also engaging all departments involved in delivering seamless customer experience.

Many companies focus solely on specific departmental software, primarily in marketing or sales, ignoring the interconnectedness of their operations. This siloed approach can lead to communication breakdowns and diminished overall performance. Moreover, isolated software solutions often lack the capability to analyze processes, detect bottlenecks and identify the most suitable processes for automation. This can result in the automation of tasks that haven’t been fully optimized or assessed for their effectiveness, potentially compounding issues rather than resolving them.

By employing a BPM platform, like the ARIS Suite (including a process mining tool), organizations can proactively identify bottlenecks before automation takes place. This allows for a thorough optimization of processes by analyzing various variables and running simulations to test different scenarios. With a comprehensive end-to-end view of processes, organizations can implement changes more smoothly and communicate them across teams effectively.

Additionally, continuous monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs) following implementation is essential to measure success and facilitate ongoing improvement. Metrics like net promoter score (NPS) can help gauge customer satisfaction and engagement.

Additionally, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing BPM software, making it accessible not only to analysts and experts but also to everyday business users. This democratization of data empowers teams to derive valuable insights and make informed decisions based on real-time information, rather than relying on assumptions.

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, striking the right balance between automation and the human touch is essential for cultivating lasting customer loyalty. By adopting a holistic and strategic approach to automation, organizations can not only enhance their operational efficiency but also reaffirm their commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences. Embrace this journey and position your business for lasting success in a competitive marketplace