Chapter 05
The way your organization delivers customer service and support communications can either delight or disappoint.
Good or bad – these touchpoints are memorable experiences that shape how consumers feel about your company. One message could be the difference between a loyal customer and someone who churns.
There are plenty of ways to improve customer support. The first step is understanding how your customers want to communicate.
Service and support were made for multichannel customer communications. If your goal is happy customers (and why wouldn’t it be?), then having conversations with people on the channels they prefer is essential. Sinch experts share more on how strong communications and happy customers go hand in hand.
Most interactions with support happen before and after a purchase or some other exchange happens with your customers.
Our survey found around 31% of people want support communications to take place via email, but that’s far fewer compared to their promotional and informational message preferences.
For support, a newcomer emerges near the top. 22% say they want live chat with a human. Around 5% selected an AI chatbot as their top choice.
The voice channel is also integral to customer support, and 19% of consumers chose a call center for phone communications.
But the 8% of consumers who said they prefer a mix of channels are onto something. Customer support conversations can and should occur on a variety of channels.
of baby boomers prefer using the voice channel (call center) for customer support.
of Generation X consumers prefer support communications via email.
of Generation Z and millennials prefer AI chatbots over other options.
of Gen Z wants to use other messaging apps like Messenger and WhatsApp for support conversations.
None of the four age groups gravitated towards a specific channel for support, reinforcing that businesses do need a multichannel strategy.
However, there were some slight differences among the generations. For example, younger consumers are more likely to prefer using AI chatbots.
Baby boomers were the most likely to prefer using a call center for support (28%), and less than 2% of boomers want to use other messaging apps. Generation Z is much more likely to want conversations with customer service on channels like WhatsApp and Messenger.
Our survey asked people to select from a list of typical scenarios involving customer support. Respondents chose all the tasks they’d likely want to accomplish during those interactions. Technical support and trustworthy advice were among the top four options, but consumers also want to accomplish the basics, like getting updates on orders and facilitating returns and exchanges.
A common customer service pain point is repeating information and answers to the same questions when dealing with support. This often occurs if the conversation switches channels or moves from a chatbot to a live agent.
Our survey found a combined 81% of consumers have a negative reaction to that situation:
• 42% said it’s frustrating
• 24% said it wastes their time
• 15% lose trust in the business as a result
While 14% of consumers expect to repeat information to customer service, only 5% said they don’t mind doing so.
In a separate question, 59% of consumers indicated it’s important that information they provide flows between channels, like live chats, email, text, and voice.
That’s just one reason why our industry survey insights revealed the importance of connected channels that also integrate with other systems. Those integrations include ticketing systems and other customer support software.
Many consumers want to use voice as their primary channel for support communications. An integrated approach that includes texting, however, can increase happiness.
For example, during peak call times, businesses can offer a custom SMS number that people can use to text a number where they want to be called back once an agent is available. That means no waiting on hold.
With the advanced technology of Elastic SIP Trunking, integrating SMS with voice support becomes simple. In addition to providing a seamless experience on both channels, it also helps free up agents and reduces customer frustration.
And that’s not the only way, voice support can become more efficient while improving the customer experience. When designed intentionally, programmable voice API features like interactive voice response (IVR) help connect customers with the right agent faster. That also means they’ll be asked to repeat and explain their problem less.
You can even connect IVR to a transcription tool so that support calls can be easily analyzed to improve the customer experience.
Today’s consumer regularly interacts with AI-powered chatbots for support, especially when initially reaching out. But is that what people want to do?
Our survey found 42% of consumers would work with AI that’s trained on support documentation. However, 26% of people felt unsure, and 32% wouldn’t want to interact with artificial intelligence.
Despite hesitancy among some people, AI chatbots can do a lot to create happy customers, especially across certain demographics/generations.
They are at work 24/7 and provide answers quickly. When trained to deliver accurate responses on a friendly interface, AI chatbots can easily support customer satisfaction. Of course, it’s also important for these bots to understand when it’s time to transfer people to a live agent.
The different views among generations regarding artificial intelligence and customer communications are clear.
The younger the consumer, the more likely they are to feel comfortable using AI to get support or answers to their questions.
Nearly 72% of Generation Z respondents said they’d work with an AI solution for support. Compare that to just 20% of baby boomers who feel comfortable with AI.
The other generations fell in the middle with 39% of Gen Xers and 58% of millennials being willing to use AI for support communications.
Mobile messaging showcase
You’ve already seen how consumers tend to prefer the richer messaging experience of RCS for abandoned cart campaigns, appointment reminders, and account verification messages. What are some ways RCS can be used to provide customer support? Here are just three of the possibilities:
1. Image carousels to display options: This feature could be used to facilitate exchanges via text.
2. Buttons for quick replies: This could help customers provide feedback or get transferred to a live agent.
3. Rescheduling: Buttons and suggested responses could help customers set up new appointments, make a restaurant reservation, or even book a new flight following a cancelation.
happy retail
Many consumers are happy to do more business using RCS features on their smartphone’s native messaging app. That includes retail returns and exchanges.
A combined 76% are at least willing to give it a try:
• Yes. That’s convenient. (45%)
• Not sure, but I’d try it. (31%)
• No. I prefer the usual methods. (24%)
As with other emerging communication technologies, younger consumers are more open to new ideas. 92% of Gen Z consumers and 90% of millennials are at least willing to try returns and exchanges via their phone’s native messaging application. The majority agrees it would be convenient.
happy retail
More than half of consumers (52%) are happy to trust AI with answers to questions about their online orders, including delivery times and shipping updates. That number jumps to around 65% of Gen Z and millennials.
Even though around a quarter of consumers indicated they would not want these answers from AI, this is one of the more popular support use cases.
In Chapter 1, we told you that 48% of retail businesses indicated they already use AI to provide real-time shipping and delivery updates.
Even when a delivery is behind schedule, simply knowing what to expect is often enough to keep customers happy.
happy financial services
Sometimes customer or client support requires a high level of knowledge. That’s often true when working with personal finance brands. Consumers may be trying to make investment decisions or plan for retirement, for example.
In those situations, they’ll need to communicate with an expert, such as a financial advisor. While that’s not considered a typical customer support role, these advisors definitely work to keep their clients happy.
When a face-to-face meeting isn’t possible, our survey found that 41% of respondents would prefer a voice or video call with a finance expert.
Just under 20% would choose either email or communicating through a client portal/application. Around 10% would be willing to have a text message conversation.
happy healthcare
Reviews and post-purchase surveys are typical in retail, and many customer service chats end by asking for feedback. But how do people feel about providing feedback around healthcare experiences?
Asking patients about the quality of their care following an appointment has become common – many times through text message or email follow-ups.
Our survey found 44% of respondents want to give this feedback to healthcare companies. While 22% said “No”, more than one-third want to provide their feedback in certain situations.
When there are options for obtaining healthcare, understanding what keeps patients happy will earn their trust so they return to your company in the future.
happy healthcare
The convenience of artificial intelligence could be a factor that changes the minds of skeptics. In Chapter 2, we told you 40% of consumers wouldn’t want to engage with a healthcare brand’s AI chatbot.
Those people typically didn’t trust accuracy, worried about privacy, and felt it was too impersonal. However, when asked how they’d feel if interacting with AI helped them get care in less time, things changed.
41% of those surveyed would be willing to describe symptoms to an AI-powered solution if it meant doing so could speed things up. That could mean expediting an urgent situation or simply going through routine healthcare questionnaires with AI.
Customer Story
Survey insights from business leaders found an impressive 63% of companies plan to adopt AI voice bots in 2025. That includes 65% of respondents in healthcare.
See for yourself just how much an AI voice bot can transform the customer experience.
In this Sinch customer story, you’ll find out how MINDD built a solution that helps triage patients and dramatically reduces the time it takes to see a doctor.
