An iconic episode from Game of Thrones that had viewers at the edge of their seat and reviewers speechless – The Battle of the B*stards. *spoilers ahead*
In the episode, Jon Snow rides right into the heart of danger, facing Ramsay Bolton’s army, all alone. Viewers are left rooting for him, knowing the intensity of his decision and acknowledging the courage to stand for his people.
Believe it or not, when it comes to customer service, your agents are no different from Jon Snow. They are warriors who face an army of complaints, queries, and angry customers daily.
But here’s the thing—it really does not have to be that difficult.
The developments in AI have changed the way businesses operate, offering a suite of tools that can empower agents in their daily battles.
In the Game of Thrones episode, Jon Snow acted as the frontline, the defense Ramsay Bolton’s army had to face. However, it would not have been possible for him to win the battle if not for the reinforcements he got from the Knights of the Vale.
In customer service, that first line of defense is L1 support. How customers are greeted, the first interaction they have, how effectively their issue was dealt with, can leave a lasting impression. And the reinforcement we trust to handle this frontline effectively? Voice Bots.
“67% of customers end a call in frustration when they cannot reach a customer service representative. “ Source – Glance
Understanding L1 Support and Its Business Impact
Level 1 or L1 support is the first point of contact for your customers who reach out with queries, issues, or complaints. A lot of the issues that support agents face are routine queries about a return or a refund, password resets, information about a product, updates on delivery or return pick-up etc.
“28% of consumers say the most frustrating issue is information that is simple but hard to find.” Source- Drift
L1 support plays a significant role in how your brand builds a relationship with its customers. There are two reasons for the same:
- First Impressions Matter: It is the first point of contact available to customers. Irrespective of how complex or routine the queries are, customers expect to be treated right. Letting them know they are valued goes beyond scripted phrases like “your call is valuable to us” or “I understand your frustration.” Genuine, practiced empathy fosters a stronger connection and ensures customers feel truly heard.
- Efficiency in Issue Resolution: L1 support typically handles routine inquiries that can be resolved quickly. Customers who receive prompt solutions to their issues are more likely to feel satisfied with the service. By streamlining these simple resolutions, L1 support improves efficiency, gives agents more time to focus on more complex and demanding queries.
While L1 support, as the first point of contact, handles the bulk of the issues that customers face, L2 support handles more complex queries that require specialized knowledge. L3 support handles the technical issues that require intervention from other departments, such as engineering or IT.
Businesses today are investing in automation to resolve the routine queries that L1 support agents deal with on a daily basis. One such tool that has been beneficial and is making a compelling case for L1 support is voice bots.
What Are Voice Bots?
Voice bots are AI-powered systems that use natural language processing (NLP) to understand, interpret, and respond to spoken language in real time. Unlike text-based chatbots, voice bots provide customers with a conversational experience using voice commands. These bots can engage in two-way communication, ask follow-up questions, and even handle multiple languages, all while operating round-the-clock.
In customer support, voice bots are designed to automate repetitive and straightforward tasks, ensuring customers receive quick and accurate responses to common queries, especially at the L1 level.
Voice Bots vs. Human Agents in L1 Support
Voice bots add fuel to the ongoing debate of bots versus humans in customer service. The question is directly about who can do it better. While both have their own merits, for businesses, it becomes important to weigh out the pros and cons to be able to maximize support efficiency. To put it in simple words:
- Human Agents: They are able to understand the customer’s emotion, navigate complex problems, and provide an apt resolution. But do all customer concerns require this level of effort?
- AI-Powered Voice Bots: Designed to handle routine or repetitive tasks, they are equipped to provide a quick resolution and effective solution to customers.
Given the fact that most customer queries received at an L1 level are routine, automating these queries can increase average handle times and customer satisfaction. Human agents will be able to focus on the more complex issues that require human understanding and intervention.
How Voice Bots Work in L1 Support
Having discussed how voice bots can be beneficial in customer support, let’s understand how voice bots work. They use a combination of AI technologies to operate in customer service environments. Here’s a quick breakdown of how they function:
- Speech Recognition: Listens to the request made by the customer, converts it into text and then processes it.
- Natural Language Processing (NLP): Comprehends the request
- Decision Making: Searches through its database of information (like a knowledge base) to provide the correct answer.
- Response: Using text-to-speech (TTS) the bot then responds to the customer’s request.
- Escalation: The bot is capable of understanding if a query is too complex for it to handle. In this case, the bot escalates the request to a human agent.
Simple, isn’t it? For L1 support these bots can be extremely beneficial in answering routine queries. Voice bots can be trained to respond to FAQs, troubleshooting processes and much more by using a robust database. The reduced human intervention can in turn benefit not just the agents but the business overall.
Benefits of Using Voice Bots in L1 Support
“More than 76% of consumers prefer the traditional medium of phone calls to reach customer support representatives”. Source – CFI Group
A lot of customers even today prefer to have a telephonic conversation or prefer to “talk” to an agent to resolve their support queries. They believe it is the most efficient and reliable way of resolving a query. In such cases, voice bots can be helpful. How?
- 24/7 Availability: Voice bots are available for any query resolution at any hour of the day. As machines, they do not need breaks nor do they work shifts. This ensures your customer needs are met throughout the day.
- Cost Efficiency: As mentioned earlier, a lot of the tasks received at the L1 level are of lower complexity. Irrespective, the volume of these tasks are very high. Automating this step in support can significantly reduce the cost incurred in hiring and training human agents.
- Faster Response Times: When trained on a powerful database, they can provide instant responses to customer queries. This reduces average handling time (AHT) and turn around time (TAT). Needless to say, that leaves you with a high customer satisfaction (CSAT) score.
- Scalability: Voice bots are not bound by the limitation of only handling one call at a time. An increase in the volume of tickets does not affect the efficiency of these bots, making them a perfect solution as the number of customer inquiries grow.
- Consistent Performance: Human error is real. Let’s acknowledge it. Long hours, fatigue, and burnout are not issues you will have to worry about with a voice bot. They don’t tire and are capable of ensuring consistent quality in responses.
- Improved Agent Productivity: With voice bots managing repetitive tasks, human agents can focus on more complex, high-value interactions that require critical thinking and empathy.
Don’t Let Your Agents Battle Alone, Empower Them with Voice Bots
In Game of Thrones, Jon Snow’s courage in the face of overwhelming odds captured our hearts, but even the most heroic warriors need support. Just like Jon needed his army to ultimately win the Battle of the Bastards, customer support agents need reliable tools to stand strong in their own battles—against the flood of daily inquiries.
Voice bots, much like Jon’s army, form a crucial first line of defense in customer service. They handle the routine, repetitive issues that bog down agents, freeing them up to focus on more complex, high-stakes challenges. By equipping your team with voice bots, you ensure that your brand is not only meeting customer expectations swiftly but also empowering your agents to focus on what truly matters—solving the most critical issues.
In the war for customer satisfaction, voice bots are the unsung heroes, and they might just turn the tide for your support team. Let them lead your L1 support, and watch as they help you conquer the battlefield of customer service with ease.
Read more on AI Voice bots -> AI Voice Bots a comprehensive guide
