Return to sender
Published: 05 Sep 2002 10:14 BST
An auto response that ignores a customer's issue comes off as a rebuff or a cavalier lack of concern. The inevitable result: lost customers or customers who won't buy as much.
As a result, enterprises that have experience deploying e-service applications are moving away from auto-response.
"In the past, we saw more companies using auto-response because they were thinking about managing online growth instead of thinking about the long-term value of the customer," says eGain's Subramaniam. But as online activity matured, companies learned that auto-response was counter-productive for retention, and they now don't use it as much, he adds.
Many service-oriented enterprises find that replacing valued customers is just too expensive to risk alienating them with an auto-response system.
Auto-response is chiefly a risk when it's pushed beyond its limited capabilities. If used properly, it can still be a valuable customer service tool. Here are five guidelines to setting up a successful auto-response system:
1. Keep it simple. "Start by looking for high volume, low complexity activities. Those are perfect for self-service," says Timothy Hickernell senior program director at the Meta Group.
2. Manage expectations. Avoid using language that indicates that an auto-response is a certain answer. Auto-responses work best when they are positioned as suggestions. They may help customers solve the problem so they don't have to wait for a thorough response from a customer service agent.
3. Build a strong knowledge base. "Any auto response is only going to be as good as the system's search capability and knowledge base. If it's only a FAQ, it won't work," says Joanie Rufo, research director at AMR Research.
4. Test. Test the auto-response system thoroughly before unleashing it on customers. The best way to test answers is use them in auto-suggest implementations that support live customer service agents by proposing potential solutions that the agent can use to respond to customers.
5. Make it easy to escalate. When customers are stymied by an auto-response, they will quickly look for a way to contact a real person who can better evaluate their situation. The best way to prevent customers from becoming frustrated is by facilitating real contact with an obvious button or link.
Above all, keep in mind that auto-response is not an end in itself but only one option within e-service. Enterprises don't need auto-response at all to get the benefits of e-service. And unless auto-response is used carefully, it's probably wise to avoid it.
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