The world is moving faster and faster, getting more electronic and automated through AI and other tech tools, and becoming more and more impersonal. With all this happening, we appreciate the speed and our ability to get things done faster...but are we starting to miss something? The sound of a human voice? The interaction with a person who actually cares and shows empathy to our situation? Someone who will take ownership to help us get what we need or solve an issue?
ABSOLUTELY!!
The more people I talk to, especially when I am giving a speech, the more often I hear the comment, "I just want to talk to a person who understands my situation, it's urgency, and can work with me to help me get what I need...is that too much to ask today?" For many companies, it is too much to ask. It is going against the grain of the direction they are headed...more automation, more AI, and less human interaction.
Is the Pendulum starting to swing in the other direction?
Have we hit the end of the arc of the pendulum toward more automation and it is beginning it's opposite course to more human interaction? I feel we are...and so do a lot of other people.
We have not only become frustrated with the lack of personal interaction to explain our situation and get a resolution, we are actually starting to see the opposite effect of how all this was supposed to help us.
The MOST IMPORTANT ASSET for everyone is TIME!
The most important "asset" to any person today is TIME (according to a Forrester Research study a few years back). So when we hear this, everyone scrambles to the conclusion that automation and AI will be the savior of us all and save us the Holy Grail of Time. And it has...to a certain degree...but is it now backfiring on us and actually COSTING US MORE TIME?
"Thank you for calling XYZ company, please listen closely as we have changed our menu options. Press 1 for A, 2 for B, 3 for C, 4 for D, 5 for E, 6 for F, 7 for G, 8 for H, 9 for all other options, or # if you need to hear these options over again." But wait, once you hit one of these numbers, you get the next wave, "Press 1 for J, Press 2 for K, Press 3 for L, Press 4 for M, Press 5 for N, Press 6 for O, Press 7 for P, Press 8 for Q, or Press 9 for all other options or # if you need to hear these options over again." We have almost gone through the entire alphabet and most likely we still aren't where we want to be or any closer to getting our answers.
TIME SAVING??? Really? I don't think so...because after we go through this a few times we still end up wanting to find the one sacred option...the number that will connect us to a PERSON.
It seems like the pendulum has started to swing...we want to talk to people. We still want to save time, but it is becoming easier to save time when speaking with someone rather than going through a litany of automated options...and most likely not getting our answer...so we still end up wanting to talk with someone...which costs us more time than if we had just started out by talking to someone.
It is now a COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
And from a competitive advantage, it has now become "unusual" to have the phone answered by a person...we have come to expect the automation. Think about this from your own business...do you want to stand out among your competitors? Of course you do, every business does. Today, having a person answer your phone is a way to stand out. And if they are efficient enough to help you get your answers, even if you have to be transferred, you look more favorably on this organization.
You like the organizations that show they "care" and are willing to invest in having a person answer your call, not a machine. They have become a little more differentiated in our mind today. They stand out.
And if you're telling yourself you can't do this because it might cost more, think again. Add up the cost of the technology, support, ensuring that it has the proper updates, updating the options and scripts, and having someone manage this isn't cheap. Oh, and don't forget to factor in the cost of unhappy customers along the way that you are creating with the automation...what is that cost worth to you if they leave?
What do CUSTOMER OBSESSED organizations do?
If you are wanting to become a Customer Obsessed organization you will be asking the question, "What will give our customers the best experience and also help them see us as caring and helpful...not to mention different?" When you answer this question, you will rethink the automation vs. human question.
Decide for yourself and your own organization...where are you with the pendulum? Has it swung too far in your industry, with your competitors? What are your customers wanting...do you even know?
Customer Obsessed organizations know the answers to these questions and change the way they interact with their customers...because it's what their customers truly want. And they still save them TIME! And even more importantly, they built TRUST along the way...the ultimate competitive advantage.
Maybe it's time to rethink the issue of automation vs. human interaction in your own organization.
What to do next...
You can start thinking about your own organization and how your customer experience feels when they interact with you. Whether you use me to help you figure this out, do the exercises and identify what is going on inside your own company with your own experiences…it’s a great starting point.
If you ever have any questions about this or any other aspect of what it’s like to be Customer Obsessed or how you can do this type of analysis, just ask and I’ll be happy to answer them. Or if you want to understand how to do this in more detail and how you could move your company to becoming more Customer Obsessed, I’d be happy to meet with you (complimentary of course) to discuss it further for your own particular situation. Hopefully you found this helpful…if so, I think it’s our responsibility as fellow business owners (and leaders) to share this with others we think could benefit from it…please help them out and share this with them.
I hope you decide to take advantage of the massive opportunity that awaits you and you make a strategic decision this year to become Customer Obsessed. It will put you on a completely differentiated path so you can be known as a company that is memorable, remarkable, incredibly helpful, someone who delivers an unbelievable customer experience, and someone who keeps their promises 100% of the time. That would be awesome!
