Feb 23, 2024: Supercharging Your Support Strategy with Insider Insights

Happy Friday, everyone!!

This week, we're diving into the rabbit hole where AI meets customer service.

Let's just say ... it's a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

From AI having more hallucinations than a college freshman at a music festival to leaders chasing praise like a cat chasing a laser pointer, we've got the scoop on all the ways your customer experience can go from zero to hero or hero to zero.

It all depends on how well you navigate these digital waves.

Get comfy, grab your favorite drink, and let's explore this week's top stories!

👏 Stories of the Week

AI hallucinations can lead to some...awkward customer service interactions.

This piece by John Robinson of Ant Marketing discusses the challenges businesses face in ensuring AI technologies reliably understand and respond to customer queries, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring and training of AI systems.

Leaders who prioritize praise over constructive feedback risk missing out on valuable insights.

Peter Hobert emphasizes the importance of listening to customer feedback to steer AI implementations in the right direction, avoiding the trap of complacency and the echo chamber effect.

As AI begins to automate your routine tasks, the role of the human support team is evolving.

Olena Strutynska at Novakid Inc. explores strategies for preparing client support teams for these changes, emphasizing the importance of skill development and adaptability in an increasingly automated workplace.

Exploring what feels like the final frontier – generative AI in customer service – Eamon Barrett discusses how these advanced AI models can generate personalized, context-aware responses to customer inquiries and how they can potentially revolutionize the speed and quality of customer support like never before.

🌀 Spiral Insights

🌀 𝐓𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

Here's 5 ways you can add substantial value to your organization and elevate your status:

1️⃣ 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬: Regularly interact with customers to gain insights and integrate this feedback into improving support strategies.

2️⃣ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬: Identify and leverage opportunities across various platforms to enhance customer support reach and effectiveness.

3️⃣ 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐲-𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬: Collaborate with internal stakeholders to validate and implement new support concepts and campaigns.

4️⃣ 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞: Involve subject matter experts in developing comprehensive support resources, ensuring accuracy and depth in assistance.

5️⃣ 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲: Optimize your support team's structure by effectively integrating full-time employees, freelancers, and external agencies, focusing on cost-effectiveness and quality.

By adopting these strategies, you'll not only improve the caliber of your contributions but also make a more significant impact on your organization's customer support effectiveness.

This positions you as a forward-thinking leader, prepared to take on higher-level challenges.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦? 🌀

📕 What to Read This Week

• Boosting Support with Smarts: How AI is Improving Productivity in Customer Service by Michael T.
• When Pain Becomes Gain: Strategic Customer Service Pivots by Logan Rush
• From Netflix to Ryanair: How 5 Top Brands Tune into The Customer Voice At Low Cost by Nuala Walsh

Thanks for reading this week's Spiral Newsletter. We’ll see you next week with the latest Support news from around the world.

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