Digital customer service: Your key to better client engagement
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Times are changing—and customer service isn’t immune. The digital era is in full swing, and expectations have upgraded alongside contact center technology.
There will always be customers who prefer to pick up the phone, but the demand for alternative service avenues is climbing. This means that digital customer service is no longer an option. It’s a necessity for today’s businesses.
We’re going to cover everything you need to know about modern customer service technology and strategies that drive success—but first, let’s discuss the basics.
What is digital customer service (DCS)?
Digital customer service (DCS) refers to the myriad ways you can offer support via digital platforms, beyond traditional customer service methods. Customers are overwhelmingly online, so that’s where every business needs to be too.
One of the distinguishing features of digital customer service is how accessible it makes a business to its customers. The usual 9-5 opening hours no longer apply, as digital customer service tools like chatbots don’t have shift patterns—or a need to sleep.
Alongside online resources like FAQs, digital service channels like live chat and social messaging are empowering customers to self-serve for a host of queries.
What are the benefits of digital customer service?
So, how exactly does providing digital customer service benefit your operations? Here are a few key advantages for you—and your customers:
For consumers
Today’s consumers are no longer willing to accept a long wait on hold or a seven-day delay for a reply to their email. If that’s the level of customer service they receive, they’re less likely to stick around (and more likely to put in a bad word about your business) on public review sites.
Digital customer service gives customers a speedier, more convenient, and personalized experience—precisely what modern consumers have come to expect.
Convenience and accessibility
What digital customer service offers is support wherever and whenever a customer needs it.
Specifically, digital self-service options like FAQ pages and conversational Ai bots allow customers to find answers to their questions, and even make payments or check their order status at any hour of the day—regardless of whether your customer service team is online.
Speed and efficiency
As customers, we all understand the frustration of having to wait on hold to get help with a product or service we purchased.
Digital customer service software can make sure every customer reaches the agent, department, or resource they need to solve their problems as efficiently as possible.
Tools like chatbots, for example, can automate responses to common queries, and even handle account management tasks.
Personalization
When it comes to changing customer expectations, we can’t forget the importance of personalization. Digital platforms are able to support a level of personalized customer service that was previously unattainable, especially if businesses had thousands or even millions of customers.
It all starts with customer data, which tools like call centre software and Ai customer service tools can analyze and pull insights from—often in minutes or seconds, not days or weeks. They can help agents quickly recognize if the person is a returning customer, what they purchased in the past, and even flag any potential issues right from the get-go.
This gives customer service teams a head start with every interaction, so empowers agents to provide the kind of personal service customers now expect as standard.
For businesses
The benefits for your customers and your business go hand-in-hand. Delivering more personalized service can improve your brand reputation and offering convenience can increase customer loyalty—but these are just some of the advantages.
Let’s explore a few more:
Cost efficiency
Anyone with experience in managing a call center will be familiar with the expenses that come with it. There’s the cost of office space, all the hardware, plus the staffing overhead.
Digital platforms, in particular Ai and automation tools, allow customer service teams to provide better support—without scaling up costs.
For example, Ai-powered chatbots can handle a high volume of routine inquiries, which reduces staffing and labor costs. Automated call routing ensures customers are directed to the right department efficiently, cutting down wait times and improving resolution rates. Additionally, self-service options, such as Ai-driven virtual assistants, empower customers to find answers on their own, reducing the burden on support teams. All of this leads to significant cost savings while maintaining—or even enhancing—service quality.
Scalability
It’s great when business is booming. Not so great if you’re struggling to keep up with the surge in customer inquiries.
Digital customer service channels are primed for scalability.
Chatbots can manage multiple conversations simultaneously, while cloud-based customer service solutions scale easily as hiring increases. Plus, many of these tools are aimed at streamlining communications, so you manage multiple interactions on multiple channels at any given time.
With Dialpad Support, for example, customer service agents can see all of a customer’s past conversations and interactions in one place. It even integrates the dialer directly into popular CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot so that agents can see all this information without having to toggle back and forth between different windows:
Data collection and insights
What are your customers saying? What do they like or dislike? Are they happy with the service they’re getting?
Ai-powered digital customer service solutions remove a lot of this guesswork so you can better understand your customers.
For example, Dialpad’s Ai-powered digital customer engagement platform collects and analyzes customer conversations in real time, helping contact center supervisors quickly spot patterns and gaps in customer interactions.
They can also create “Custom Moments,” which track how frequently specific topics come up in conversation (are many customers asking for help with a recently launched feature, or is pricing popping up more lately as a cancellation reason?):
Digital customer service examples
Let’s look at a few examples of digital customer service channels and how they can improve the customer experience:
Chatbots
Chatbots can simulate human-like conversation and handle other customer service tasks too, like simple transactions, answering questions, checking product availability, and tracking shipping.
They’re available 24/7, too. When human agents need to step in, they’ll automatically hand off to the customer service team. Everything gets resolved more quickly, without sacrificing that personal touch when it's needed.
Social media and messaging
Social media is a common channel for people to connect with brands today. Whether they have a question or complaint, they may send a private message or publish a public post on different platforms, from TikTok to X to Facebook.
Providing a quick response on social media is a must if you want to maintain a positive brand image. Digital customer service tools that monitor and manage your social media interactions ensure any messages can be received and replied to in a central location.
With social messaging, such as WhatsApp and Apple Messages for Business, other contact center solutions such as Dialpad Support can compile all of those messaging conversations, along with other communications like live chats and voice calls, in one place:
Website live chat
One of the reasons customers like live chat is because of its immediacy. A live chat window on your website gives customers the option of speaking to a customer service agent in just a few clicks.
Timely resolutions mean happier customers, which results in higher customer retention. Live chat can also be a useful sales tool, offering opportunities for upselling and providing more personalized service. (Think of car dealerships that have live chat on their websites that offer test drives and more information on new models.)
What to look for from digital customer service solutions
Delivering effective customer service isn’t just about having a profile for your company on each channel. You need a comprehensive software solution that brings all channels and interactions together so your agents can deliver a consistent and cohesive customer service experience online.
Here are the key features you should look for when shopping for potential solutions:
Integration capabilities: A good digital customer service platform needs to work seamlessly with your existing systems. This is essential for uninterrupted data flow and for your agents’ ease-of-use, so they can deliver a top-notch service.
Omnichannel support: With so many channels to manage, you don’t want your team to have to constantly switch between platforms. Choose a solution that allows you to manage everything in one place, so queries are handled and prioritized effectively.
Ai and automation: The world is shifting towards automation—and for good reason. Features like an Ai virtual assistant should be high on your list. They can handle routine tasks and support your agents by providing real-time answers to tricky questions:
Scalability and flexibility: Choose a platform that can scale and adapt to changing demands as needed. When your customer base grows, you need this flexibility so that high customer service standards will remain consistent through thick and thin.
Security and compliance: Customer service involves handling a lot of personal data. It’s paramount that any platform you use abides by the latest security standards and compliance regulations, such as GDPR.
How to build a successful digital customer service strategy
Ready to kickstart your digital customer service journey? Here’s how:
Assess current service capabilities: Evaluate your existing customer service setup and look at how you’re managing different channels. Are there channels your customers are using that you’re not supporting? This will help you understand any current limitations and the next steps you need to take.
Define clear objectives: Do you want to improve response times? Deliver more proactive customer service? Or achieve higher customer satisfaction? Setting objectives will give you direction and allow you to measure your success more accurately.
Choose the right technology: Finding the right technology solution for your needs is key to success. Think about ease of use, integration, and features that will support your goals. Generally, having a single versatile solution that can consolidate all your digital interactions is more cost-effective (and easier for your team to manage) than using a mix of different point solutions.
Train your team well: Even the most cutting-edge solution won’t make a difference if your team isn't confident in using it. Provide ongoing training so that both new hires and seasoned agents are familiar with the latest features.
Continuously measure performance: Achieving the best digital customer service requires constant reevaluation and adaptation. Look at metrics like customer retention rates and response times to keep on track, and make changes where improvement is needed.
If your business has a high volume of conversations every day, consider using Ai tools to analyze digital engagement on different channels as opposed to having your team spend hours every week going through every single call recording and transcript.
Digital customer service for a modern, hybrid world
Modern digital customer service solutions provide a great opportunity to increase efficiency, save on costs, and gain insights into what your customers want.
Most importantly, they help you deliver the level of quick, convenient, tailored service that customers now expect as standard.
Find out how Dialpad Support can help you achieve your goals. Book a demo of our Ai-powered digital customer service platform, or take a self-guided interactive tour of the app.