Your business needs to generate more revenue. You turn to the sales team. Or do you? New thinking is pointing to another area of focus for boosting sales: Customer Service. Contact center agents and field service technicians are probably the best placed salespeople within the organization. Through regular contact with customers, they are positioned to build the kind of valuable relationships that can more easily drive revenue through upsells, like extended warranties, service contracts, or replacement parts. And research shows that upselling increases revenue by 10-30% on average. But how can Customer Service agents and technicians make the shift to become sellers? Like with most dilemmas, the solution is based on technology; specifically, the power of visual assistance in customer service.
What is Visual Assistance in customer service?
Visual assistance refers to a live video engagement between a customer service agent or technician and a customer needing assistance. Both see the same screen or physical environment via the customer’s smartphone, and the agents or technician uses the power of video, Augmented Reality, and Computer Vision AI to guide the customer across every touchpoint, from sales, onboarding, unboxing, setup, and troubleshooting to operational guidance, maintenance, and repair. This technology delivers the capability to provide practical help, build relationships with customers, and generate more revenue via the contact center, field services, and self-service.
Visual Assistance makes the Contact Center profitable
Visual assistance allows customer service agents to see what their customers see, guiding them to resolutions and making personalized suggestions for upgrades or upsells based on the customer’s specific situation. Adding Computer Vision AI to this equation brings Visual Assistance in customer service to the next level, as it auto-recognizes the customer’s issue and provides agents with decision support to make the resolution process even more effortless. Working together with a customer to visually understand their issue builds connection and empowers agents to drive more sales. For example, a customer calls in asking for help with defrosting his standalone freezer. Using visual assistance, the customer service agent guides the customer through the entire process step by step, using Augmented Reality to annotate on the customer’s screen so he knows exactly which buttons to press. During the visual session, the agent notices that the freezer’s rubber seal has begun to fray and suggests that the customer purchase an extended warranty on the freezer, explaining that the warranty’s cost is worthwhile when considering the escaping energy and inevitable service call to replace the part. The customer appreciates the timely recommendation, earning the company a sale and a loyal advocate.
Visual assistance makes Field Services profitable
Visual assistance empowers field technicians to support customers from a remote location, or for the technicians to receive support from remote sales reps by transmitting video and images of the customer’s environment from the field. The remote sales rep can see what their technicians (or customers) see through their smartphone cameras and guide them to the relevant promotion or upgrade. This guidance can also be auto-provided using Computer Vision AI, when the system auto-recognizes the technician’s environment and provides them with next-best-action recommendations. Presenting the right deal at the right time empowers technicians to drive more sales. For example, a home services company sends a plumber to a customer’s location to fix a leaky faucet. While onsite, the plumber realizes that the tap cannot be fixed and must be replaced. Using visual assistance, the plumber shows the plumbing supply sales rep the customer’s kitchen, and the sales rep recommends a new faucet that would be most appropriate for the kitchen’s style and sink dimensions.
Visual assistance makes Self-Service profitable
Visual assistance powered by Computer Vision AI offers customers instant access to a trained AI system without holding in a phone queue or waiting for a service visit. The customer simply points his smartphone camera at his device or product and Computer Vision AI takes over from there. The system recognizes the product, detects the issue, and provides instructions for resolving the issue, allowing customers to resolve issues by themselves without the need to contact the company’s support center or to schedule a technician visit. Convenience and effortless interactions have been proven to drive sales. For example, a customer’s security system is making a strange chirping noise. The customer initiates a self-service visual assistance session and uploads a picture of the unit. The system automatically verifies the product, recognizes that the system is an older model, and offers a coupon to purchase a new device.
Drive sales through Visual Assistance in customer service
As the lines between sales and service become more blurred, companies can capitalize on the visual transformation to best position their Customer Service organizations to transition to revenue-generating profit centers. For a deeper dive into the ways visual assistance in Customer Service can help boost revenue, read the full report, 12 Ways Visual Assistance Can Help Customer Service Drive Revenue. The Report is chock full of use cases and examples of how the power of vision can drive sales through existing relationships. Access it here.
This article was first published on the TechSee blog.
