A lot of companies today are keeping up with customer service demand by using chatbots as a first line of defense to answer simple inquiries - related to customer service as well as to purchasing products.

If you’re new to Conversational Commerce, check out What is Conversational Commerce?

And while chatbots are becoming more sophisticated, there are still scenarios when you’d want to use a live agent. The good news is that live agents can work seamlessly within messaging channels like SMS texts. 

Messaging channels offer a new (and needed) touchpoint for serving your customers. In this article, I’ll discuss the opportunity that SMS texting, in particular, provides for answering customer’s questions and the tools live customer service agents need to get started.

People Want to Text with Businesses

According to Zipwhip’s “State of Texting 2021” report, 58% of consumers advised that text is the fastest way to communicate with them. 

Thirty-four percent of businesses adopted SMS messaging to reach their customers due to COVID-19, and 70% now use text messaging to reach their customers. Seventy-seven percent of businesses say they plan to continue the practice post-pandemic. 

In 2020, the three most valuable SMS messages from businesses to consumers were appointment reminders, delivery order status and special promotions or offers. 

When to Use a Bot

Customers have become more comfortable engaging with bots for routine information, whether by website chat, widgets or by responding to SMS from a business after opting-in. 

Here are some situations when you’d use a bot for customer service:

• To provide customers with answers to questions about products sold, available promotions or orders they have previously placed.
• To confirm delivery dates or other appointments. 
• To assist customers to reach the right department or a live agent.
• To provide sign-up information so that customers can receive promotions over SMS. (For more on SMS texting compliance, check out our article: “Why Use Text Message Marketing”).
• To engage the customer in a conversation after they have received a promotion over SMS or other messaging channels, so they become familiar with your brand and products. 
• To process routine orders placed through conversational checkout if the customer has payment information saved on your platform from previous orders.
• To manage subscriptions e.g. skip or delay shipments or add/remove products from upcoming shipments 

To efficiently handle all incoming messages, it is important to have a bot that can have a rich conversation that is informed by customer intent and personalized to each customer’s activity and purchase history. 

While all of the scenarios discussed above can usually be addressed through a chatbot, customers should always have the option to reach a live person. 

When to Use a Live Agent

The most sophisticated AI bot is still no substitute for a talented live agent who knows the brands and products and is committed to exceeding customer  expectations. 

Here are some of the ways a live customer service agent can work in tandem with a bot to provide an enhanced customer experience:

• If the customer asks to speak with a live person (the transfer should be immediate and seamless).
• If the customer has indicated they have a complaint or issue. Not only can the agent reassure the customer, they might be able to salvage a business relationship by offering an alternative, a promotion, a replacement or some other incentive. 
• Welcoming a new customer by answering questions about products or promotions, explaining any details and/or guiding the interaction towards the purchase. Live agents can also suggest alternative products that might meet the needs of the customer better. 
• If a customer asks about a past purchase. The agent can offer a good deal on a related product, suggest auto-refills or upgrades, and discuss related products or services with the customer.
• If a customer indicates they want to cancel a subscription, a live agent can offer a different subscription or a modification, or a different one-time product that may be of interest. The agent can not only address any questions or concerns, but also build brand loyalty by meeting the customer’s needs by showing flexibility and understanding of the customer’s situation. 

This is just a sampling of the situations in which live customer service agents are indispensable. So make sure that if you are using a chatbot via SMS, there is always a way to get to a live agent. 

How to Get Agents Set Up for Success with SMS Texting

When choosing a conversational platform that enables customer service through SMS text messaging, it’s important that it has the right set of features and tools for agents. 

Here are a few:

1. Chat history. Agents need ready access to chat history to seamlessly take over the conversation. 
2. Customer information at a keystroke. Customer service agents need the ability to easily look up customer information within the platform, including past purchase history, order status and product availability. A list of past promotions can help the agent provide a value-add to the customer by offering them a similar deal.
3. Easy answers and next steps. A good platform will incorporate automated responses that the agents can use as well to address common requests. It will provide easy ways for agents to recommend products and even build carts for the customer. If a consumer wanted to buy a product, the agent could deploy a chat template that says, “Type ‘yes’ if you want to buy this product,” and the customer response could initiate a purchase right within the text message. For more on this, see our article on how conversational checkout can boost ecommerce sales.

Final Thoughts

Customers are open and willing to communicate with businesses via SMS texting. This messaging channel provides a great opportunity to incorporate both chatbots and live agents to offer the best possible customer experience. 

So if you’re ready, be sure to develop an SMS marketing strategy that incorporates two-way communication within a platform that offers both automated interactions via chatbots and live agent support.