Despite 2020's unparalleled challenges, the telecom industry is poised to come out ahead. Recent projections suggest that by 2023 spending in this sector will skyrocket to a record-breaking $1.5 trillion - an impressive recovery from last year’s downturn of nearly 10%. As we navigate today’s disruptive market trends, it is critical for us as onlookers to understand how the telecommunications field has shifted its approach and adapted with agility in order to sustain long term success.
One of the most interesting approaches is to figure out how chatbots have been used for several years by telecom companies to improve their customer experience and online productivity. Programmed to answer frequently asked questions, provide information or complete specific tasks, conversational artificial intelligence is not only a trend in the industry but an essential tool to boost communication with users through text and voice (or both).
Used by telecom companies around the world, this article will focus on how these programs are changing the industry.
Chatbot in Telecom Industry, you say?
Telecom companies, like many other industries, are facing growing customer experience challenges. With digitalization, customers have become more demanding and versatile. If a company is not meeting their requirements, they no longer hesitate to go to the competition.
To avoid churn and keep acquiring new customers, telecom companies have looked for new solutions to improve their customer service.
One of them is using conversational AI, allowing these chatbots to:
Drive sales:
Boosting revenue is essential to the success of any business, and AI chatbots are now key players in sales automation. With a personalized customer experience leveraging data from CRMs, businesses can streamline their operations while making customers feel valued.
Such efforts have been backed by research: when customers receive positive service experiences, they are 90% more likely to purchase from that company again.
When integrated with the company’s CRM or sales software, conversational AI algorithms can even make highly relevant offers to match a customer’s need without any human interaction needed. Connecting customers with answers and solutions more efficiently, these AI chatbots can help users, for instance, find a better data plan or learn how it could be improved in real-time (from buying additional data plans or making changes on their account).
Telco companies have only recently discovered that chatbots can be used for more than just answering questions. They can also create new value out of customer interactions, proactively suggesting features or products that might fit perfectly into each user's individual needs.
Reduce call time:
Telecom companies are also able to offer a customer self service system that facilitates quicker problem resolution.
Users can see their requests handled automatically, and at any time, by:
- Canceling or modifying services.
- Managing account terminations.
- Asking for billing questions or payment information.
- Scheduling human appointments.
A helpful tool for telcos, chatbots now allow 82% of their users to access these features without waiting anymore for long call center queues, thus providing them better quality solutions to their issues.
Indeed, according to this Hubspot’s 2021 customer service study, the most frustrating aspects of getting customer service help are:
Using an AI chatbot to set a self service system, would definitely help any telecom company to cut waiting time, avoid explanation repetition between several stakeholders and increase response time, users getting answers and recommendations directly from the conversation window.
Improve customer satisfaction:
As customer expectations continue to evolve, providing high levels of customer experience has become an essential factor for businesses. A recent survey revealed 72% of customers now feel that service experience is matching product quality in importance, making AI chatbots more vital than ever.
Based on NLP (Natural Language Processing) technology, AI-powered chatbots respond to any customer’s query as if they were human operators – ultimately improving customer satisfaction scores.
Global NLP market size is projected to reach $341.5B by 2030 - Allied Market Research, 2022
Improve engagement:
No telecom company can underestimate the power of personalization.
Customers increasingly expect these companies to tailor their services and experiences around them: according to Salesforce research, 66% of consumers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations, and 52% expect all offers to be personalized.
AI-powered tools are essential for businesses who want to meet this demand – they analyze customer interactions and then convert relevant data into actionable insights; such as purchase frequency, engagement with particular products or services, and demographic information - to create individualized experiences for each consumer.
Case Study:
What to expect next?
Offering quick and efficient assistance, 24/7 availability and personalization, chatbots have the opportunity to replace IVR systems at telecom companies. With proven cost-effectiveness, chatbot technology is significantly improving customer experience while reducing business operational costs at the same time.
In the coming years, chatbots will become even more sophisticated, with the ability to handle a broader range of tasks and to communicate more naturally with users (especially with the deployment of voice bots that should become a norm over the next few years).
Another potential direction for chatbot development is their integration into emerging technologies such as 5G networks and the Internet of Things (IoT). With an increasing number of connected devices and the growth of the IoT, chatbots could be used to manage and control these devices, as well as to provide information and assistance to users.