Businesses today are constantly on the lookout to improve customer service experiences without compromising on operational efficiency. Globally businesses are embracing self-service functionalities as the first step towards service personalization and customer satisfaction. Now, the next step of the innovation is here.
Self-service kiosks have emerged as a game changer owing to their speed, convenience, and touch of personalization. But how viable is it to deploy to self-service kiosks? Well, to truly maximize the return on investment (ROI) with these innovative models, businesses must opt for strategies that can align with their business goals and customer needs.
What Are Self-Service Kiosks?
Self-service kiosks are interactive terminals that allow customers to perform various tasks independently such as accessing information, purchasing tickets, ordering food, etc. With the end-to-end empowerment of customers to complete transactions on their own, businesses can easily reduce wait times, minimize human errors, and allocate resources more efficiently.
Self-Service Kiosks and Contact Centers
Self-service kiosks in contact centers serve as interactive terminals that enable customers to perform a variety of tasks independently, without direct assistance from agents. These kiosks can handle a variety of common queries such as bill payments, service activations, appointment scheduling, and account inquiries – ultimately freeing up the agents to focus on more complex and strategically rooted issues.
| 💡Read On | 5 steps to Overcome the Barriers to Customer-Centricity |
When it comes to retail environments, self-service kiosks have made breakthroughs when it comes to personalization and customer service, allowing customers to browse products, make purchases, and access product information independently. For other sectors too, self-service kiosks can change the CX narrative for the better. Here’s how:
Healthcare
With self-service kiosks in the care industry, patients can easily streamline the check-in process, which can reduce the wait times and burden on the administrative staff. Convenient appointment scheduling allows patients to easily book appointments and better access to medical information gives patients a chance to play an active role in their healthcare journey which improves the satisfaction rates.
| 💡Explore | Patient and Member Experience Trends in Healthcare |
Banking
With self-service kiosks in the financial domain, it becomes easier than ever before for customers to make deposits, withdrawals, and transfer funds independently. As self-service technologies can operate outside the traditional banking hours, customers can access banking services round the clock which adds to their satisfaction and loyalty.
| 💡Also Read | 5 Steps to Improve Customer Service Experience in the Banking Sector |
Telecom
One concern for customers in the telecommunications industry is the struggle to pay bills, suffer the torture of being routed from one interaction to the next just to activate services, or to get basic account information. Self-service kiosks can cut down this chaos, by giving customers full access to their details and reducing the burden on customer service reps.
Retail
In recent years, Self-service kiosks have become integral to the retail experience, by offering customers greater convenience and flexibility. They allow customers to browse products, and make purchases, while also offer valuable product information and recommendations, improving the overall shopping experience. Retailers get the chance to collect valuable data on customer preferences and behaviors, allowing them to personalize their shopping experiences.
| 💡Learn More | Smart Retail Experience: Quick Loss and Fraud Detection in Retail |
How Self-Service Kiosks Can Boost ROI?
Being the transformative, futuristic technologies that self-service kiosks are, they enhance customer experiences and ensure an optimal return on investment. Let’s understand how:
Streamline Operations
Self-service kiosks automate routine tasks which reduces manual burden on agents. Streamlined operations allow businesses to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively. Efficient processes allow businesses to allocate their resources better and can focus on strategic initiatives to drive growth and profitability.
Gain Actionable Insights
A lot of data is captured from self-service interactions that offer valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences and become the basis for a deeper understanding of customers, and analysis of trends. Now with all this information at their fingertips, it becomes easier for businesses to tailor their offerings that meet customer expectations.
Deliver Consistent Services
Customers have got a lot of communication touch points in hand which presents the possibility for varied customer service quality across them. But with such service, CX takes a hit. Self-service kiosks empower businesses to deliver consistent experiences regardless of the channels and locations, which builds customer trust. Be it a kiosk in-store or online store, customers get the same level of service and support.
Customize for Industrial Verticals
Customer expectations vary from one industry to the other. To meet these expectations, businesses cannot stick by a one-size-fits-all approach. To break away from the conventional mold, Self-service kiosks can be the tool your business needs. Its specialized features and services are suited to serve a typical target audience that helps businesses to differentiate themselves from competitors. Be it healthcare, banking, telecom, or retail, customized self-service solutions are customized per industry requirements to deliver optimal value.
The Future of Self-Service Technology: Trends and Technologies
Self-service kiosks are bound to evolve with advancements in technology. Emerging trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and biometric authentication promise to enhance capabilities, personalize experiences, and drive customer engagement.
In addition to self-service kiosks, contact centers can leverage other self-service technologies to boost customer experiences and drive better ROI. Here are a few of them:
⦿ AI-driven Chatbots are changing the face of contact center operations to provide real-time assistance and support the customers. One such chatbot from NovelVox, the Infibot, can handle routine customer queries with ease. It can guide users through interactions, and offer personalized recommendations while reducing the workload on human agents and boosting their efficiency.
| 💡Download Free Guide | The Ultimate Guide to Conversational AI Chatbot |
⦿ IVR Systems have been around for a longer time than other self-service technologies. A typical IVR system will get a boost of efficiency as technologies become more advanced. In tandem with self-service kiosks, IVR technology is bound to change the face of CX forever. Driven by voice commands, IVR + self-service kiosks can offer a seamless experience across multiple touchpoints.
| 💡Read More | How does Visual IVR Improve Customer Experience in Contact Centers? |
As Natural Language Processing (NLP) and speech recognition technologies become more competent, contact centers will be required to experiment with their self-service options. Solutions that can understand and respond to customer queries faster and better are coming in the future.
| 💡Learn more| Generative AI is Here: What Next for Contact Centers? |
In the coming years, businesses must make the most of these cutting-edge, advanced technologies to deliver highly personalized, and engaging CX.
Conclusion
Self-service technologies like kiosks, chatbots, and IVR offer a solution to businesses who are struggling to achieve a balance between customer satisfaction and heavy technological investments. It’s no secret that giving innovative technologies a chance can upscale the business and improve overall growth. It significantly reduces operational costs and elevates customer experience. Self-service functionalities in the contact center empower customers to find solutions independently and reduce human intervention, minimize wait time, and promote personalized interaction.
