How The Fourth Industrial Revolution Is Influencing Customer Service

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The world has gone through several industrial revolutions starting with the first industrial revolution in the 1700s which ushered in mechanical production and steam power, followed by the 2nd industrial revolution in the 1800s which ushered in Mass production & electrical power. The 3rd industrial revolution in the 1960s ushered in Automated production, electronics and computers.

We are currently going through the fourth industrial revolution which has ushered in Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality and Robotics.

What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

These technological advances ushered in by the 4th Industrial Revolution are reshaping customers’ expectations every day. Customers today desire fast and connected, personalized experiences wherever they go and as a result the customer service industry across every sector of the global economy is evolving.

Customer service is becoming ever more dynamic and sophisticated than it has ever been, it has gone beyond simply dealing with problems via emails or face to face and its future is tilted towards technological sophistication. This doesn’t mean customer service will go away, rather it becomes more important.

Here are a few ways the Fourth Industrial Revolution will influence the future of customer service:

#1. Rise of Human-Assisted AI Agents

In this scenario, human agents help AI solutions become more accurate over time. In turn, the AI helps the agents become more productive. This partnership will play a key role in improving customer loyalty and enhancing the customer experience.

Incorporating human-assisted AI in customer service will enable human agents to focus on empathy and other complex issues, while the AI will be used to improve productivity rates and response times.

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The ability of a brand to leverage on the human capacity to empathize and personalize interactions while utilizing the processing power of AI solutions will be a game-changer in the future of customer service.

#2. Better Trained Service Teams

Training sessions for employees will be more engaging using Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications compared to using PowerPoint presentation slides. Brands will even be able to emulate practical sessions and scenarios using these technologies.

Image: theverge.com

Remote training sessions will be more frequent with the training information translated in various languages. This would make it possible to have multilingual training sessions conducted at the same time for businesses with employees across geographic locations.

#3. Enhanced Data Collection And Effective Resolution Of Product Issues

The Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to the billions of devices around the world that are now connected to the internet, collecting and sharing data. By the year 2020, the world is projected to over 200 billion smart objects, which translates to 26 objects for every human being.

This makes it a gold mine for data which can be harnessed to improve customer service and CX. The data when harnessed and analyzed improves a brand’s ability to deliver proactive customer support.

Brands like ThyssenKrupp Elevator already use real-time data to provide an IoT-based predictive maintenance solution. By connecting their elevators to the cloud, they gather real-time data from sensors and use the information to anticipate maintenance and repair needs even before a breakdown occurs. As a result, the brand has been able to vastly improve its maintenance services.

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The IoT can also enhance call centres by offering them different streams of information which are simply integrated into the current business infrastructure. This will have a huge impact on the quality of service delivered by brands. 

Do you have the skills for the future?

The emergence of new technologies ushered in by the 4th industrial revolution also means that there will be a significant change in the type of skills required for career success. How can you ensure you have all the relevant skills for industry 4.0?

This infographic from Davitt Corporate Partners contains valuable insights on how to prepare yourself for the fourth industrial revolution.

Every time an industrial revolution happens, big opportunities present themselves. Brands that thrive in times like these are thoses that can quickly adapt to using new technology to improve their customers’ journey and create richer customer experiences. 

Kelechi Okeke
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