Modern consumers expect digital self-service from the companies they interact with. Today’s business leaders recognize the value of automation and self-service as well, but modern digital solutions must be added to voice channels if they want to really increase customer satisfaction.

We love getting customer service solutions quickly and easily, and modern callers expect an automated CX. According to Microsoft, an overwhelming88% of customersin the US expect brands to deliver self-service solutions. The study also found the phone & voice channel is by far the most preferred channel for customer service today (almost twice as preferred as live chat, the second most popular channel for US consumers). Customers are — quite literally — calling for contact center managers to add digital self-service to the customer experience. Current voice-channel IVR solutions reach their full potential for customer satisfaction when paired with digital self-service like Visual IVR solutions.

As businesses begin implementing AI and automation, they must focus on delivering the technology and self-service that customers crave through the channels customers are using most. Contact center managers should focus on three key steps to ensure their customer service experiences reach their full potential.

“Current voice-channel IVR solutions reach their full potential for customer satisfaction when paired with digital self-service like Visual IVR solutions.”

1. Meet Customers Where They Are

Today’s CX pioneers have leaned into online chatbots, rolled out social media customer service teams, and pushed channels like SMS and texting. They know callers crave a fast self-service experience. However, there are still customers waiting on hold. Only 6% of customers cite online self-service features like chatbots as their preferred method of customer service, and the numbers are lower for social media and SMS. Just 4% said texting or social media were their preferred channel while44% of customersin the US chose the voice channel. These new, innovative channels are a great way for businesses to add self-service, but bringing automation to channels with more users will further increase customer satisfaction. With calling customer service on the phone still 11 times more preferred than channels like social media, bringing automation to voice channels stands out as the best first step for companies looking to add self-service.

2. Give 24/7 Access

Thanks to theon-demand economy,customers want to work on their own schedule. Businesses can no longer limit customer service to business hours. Consumers are accustomed to and expect access to what they want exactly when they want it. They assume the same unlimited access to solutions will be available from customer service. Consumers don’t see any reason they should be forced to wait until the next day to find a solution to their problems. Bringing the stellar customer service they already offer to callers 24/7 gives companies the opportunity to continue to impress whenever and wherever customers need help.

3. Deliver True End-to-End Automation

Consumers today are more powerful than they’ve ever been. Even in our day-to-day lives if we have any questions or concerns we can Google the answer, diagnose ourselves online, or even find a video to teach us a new skill. Before many customers even call customer service, they’ve self-diagnosed the issue and are confident they know how difficult the solution should be to resolve. Many times customers understand them well enough to solve the problem on their own. Rarely does someone want to wait for someone else’s assistance if they can self-serve instead. In fact, Microsoftfound88% of consumers expect businesses to offer some sort of customer self-service capabilities, and 66% try using self-service before trying any other form of customer service.

If businesses deliver a “self-service” solution that ends up needing a live agent to take further action or get back to the customer within a few days, the solution isn’t as powerful as it could be. Businesses should work to seamlessly integrate their backend databases into their self-service platforms. By leveraging modern RPA and AI technology, today’s solutions can take customer input and deliver solutions completely autonomously, creating an even faster resolution, and delivering the truly self-service experience customers want.

Best Of Both Worlds

Thankfully for businesses, modern solutions mean their most popular customer service channel can deliver the seamless self-service their callers want.Visual IVRbuilds off existing IVR and phone customer experiences to modernize CX and give customers the automated self-service they want when they call existing phone lines. ZappixMobile On-Demand Appstake things one step further, allowing businesses to offer self-service through phone channels and also embed them directly into emails, QR codes, websites, and many other channels.

Both systems leverage instant visual menus to simplify CX, create faster resolutions and lower average handle time, deliver the right answers through the right channels.