Reinventing customer service through new technologies

Nowadays, creating a good product that satisfies the primary needs of consumers is not enough. Generations have been transformed and have adopted new search, selection and consumption habits, so now they expect companies to thoroughly understand their needs and provide strategies to meet them. Therefore, one of the priorities of brands is to use technology to provide better customer service and thus provide a better customer experience.

In this sense, and as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the interaction between businesses and their customers has changed by implementing omnichannel commerce, which uses, in addition to social networks, other sales platforms, because although the Internet was previously used only for communication, it is now essential for a company to survive.

In this regard, China is a great source of innovation; the Asian giant’s e-commerce market is worth more than 9 billion dollars a year. Companies in this market have reinvented the way they interact with customers through social and live commerce.

• Social and live commerce

Social commerce allows customers to get advice from trusted experts through the company’s website, app or social networks. Live commerce, meanwhile, combines video streaming with commercials that allow customers to purchase the items featured in the video.

• Online testers

Trying to emulate the experience of the physical store, we can also find online fitting rooms, going through personalized filters and even machines that scan the person to find their outfit, makeup, hair dye or ideal product of any kind.

When it comes to personalization, companies have focused on creating customized experiences for their users, especially in the fashion and beauty industries.

• Customer forums

When it comes to human contact, a user forum or community forum is the ideal place where a company’s customers can express themselves, interact with each other or search for relevant information. In addition, they can ask questions and answer each other’s questions, as well as share their knowledge on specific topics.

Many software vendors already include community forums as part of their customer portals.

• Chatbots

This is the star of customer service, due to its immediacy and efficiency. Chatbots are based on artificial intelligence and are used by companies mainly to carry out tasks such as simulating conversations, as well as providing automated responses to customer queries or frequently asked questions. This system is designed to reach increasingly sophisticated and complex levels. Siri and Cortana are the best-known examples of chatbot.

• Blockchain 

While paying through Bitcoins or any cryptocurrency is not so different from making payments with conventional money, the truth is that, Blockchain technology offers attractive applications for contracting and transparency of transactions, which is why it is a charging option that many companies are implementing.