A few years ago, if you bought a product and needed help, you had to call the support service and wait 40-50 minutes to get basic answers. 

Sometimes, calls went unanswered for days. Although we can't blame customer support teams as they constantly juggle between calls, some improvements were needed to improve customer experience. 

Fortunately, the invention of self-service automation is a boon for everyone. Isn't it great that most questions are already answered through a knowledge base or chatbots? You can instantly get your answers and continue with your routine instead of waiting long hours to get a reply. 

In this blog, we will learn why self-service automation is key to surviving in business today and how you can ensure the best implementation of self-service automation.

Key Takeaways

• What is self-service automation?
• Why must you implement self-service automation in business?
• Top examples of real-life self-service automation
• Best practices to follow while implementing self-service automation.

What is Self-Service Automation?

Before we understand self-service automation, let's first understand what is self-service. Self-service is where customers serve themselves instead of talking with customer support agents. One of the best examples of self-service automation is chatbots. You might have seen them on e-commerce or business sites. You can ask them questions and they will answer or escalate your query to higher authority.

What is the Role of Self-Service Automation in your Business?

For customers, self-service automation translates to higher satisfaction. Imagine needing to reset a password at 2 am. With self-service options, you can do it instantly, without waiting for customer service to open.  

Similarly, scheduling appointments, tracking orders, or accessing information can all be done seamlessly through user-friendly self-service portals. This 24/7 availability translates to a more convenient and satisfying customer experience.

However, the business benefits extend far beyond customer satisfaction. By deflecting routine tasks like password resets or account creations, self-service automation frees up internal staff from repetitive work. By handling simpler tasks, individuals can direct their attention toward more intricate matters that demand human expertise and judgment. Reduced workload translates to enhanced efficiency, with streamlined workflows and faster completion times. This efficiency can lead to significant cost savings for the business.

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What Are The Benefits of Using Automated Self-Service?

Self-service automation offers several benefits. 

1.  Cost reduction 

Human support agents can be never as fast as robots and hence you have to expect errors and delays in the service. However, self-service automation removes this hurdle by letting automated systems handle general queries and forward complex queries to human agents. For example, Worknet.ai's AI copilot automatically answers the majority of tickets, so you are saving overhead costs that would otherwise go into hiring more agents to accommodate the growing business. 

2. 24/7 availability

Unlike human support agents who are available only for limited hours in a day, self-service automation ensures that service is available 24/7. This majorly benefits both customers and agents as customers cannot say agents aren't available when they need help. Agents don't have to work in different time zones or work extra hours to cater to customers in another time zone. 

3. Data collection and analysis

One of the biggest disadvantages of human support is data collection. There's a limit to how much data humans can collect at a time But automation tools do not have these limits and can collect valuable data on customer behavior, preferences, and pain points, which can be analyzed to improve products, services, and overall business strategies.

What are the Self-Service Automation Examples?

Below we have presented some of the self-service automation examples to help you. Let's have a look. 

1. Self-service password reset tools

Gartner Group, says  30% to 50% of IT helpdesk calls are made for password resets. Password resets can be easily handled through an automation tool that allows users to reset passwords or unlock accounts without contacting support agents. 

2. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems

Not all people can understand written instructions. This is especially true with older generations who are not much tech-savvy. But that shouldn't stop you from having access to self-service right? At such times, interactive voice response systems which are also self-service automation tools work wonderfully. These systems allow users to access information, update account details, or resolve common issues by following voice prompts and menu options.

3. Conversational Chatbots

Although knowledge portals are good, conversational chatbots go beyond FAQs by offering natural and interactive responses that feel like human communication. These chatbots work using natural language processing technology where you can ask them questions and receive answers from them. Worknet's copilot is one of the best examples of a conversational chatbot that summarizes conversations, answers questions, and so much more!

Learn more about Conversational AI for Customer Service

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Self-Service Automation Best Practices

Follow the below self-service automation best practices.

1. Implement Knowledge Base 

One of the first things you should do to implement self-service automation is establish a knowledge base. Knowledge is a common page that answers the general queries of customers instantly. But simply creating a knowledge base won't help. You must keep updating knowledge resources regularly, and add new FAQs, and video materials. 

2. Create Product Training For Customers

Many times, especially in IT services, the products are complex to use and will require hands-on training to understand how they work. You won't be able to write steps and expect users to follow guidelines and for such times, you must have product training videos that showcase how to use certain features of the product. Hubspot has one of the best product training videos for users on their YouTube channel and even in the course. 

3. Include Escalation Option

There are times when you won't be satisfied with the knowledge base or video training and will need the help of a human support agent to resolve the problem. The best practice here is to add an easily accessible escalation option such that users can quickly get in touch with support staff. In worknet.ai there's a sentiment analysis feature that shows if any of the conversation is not going well and is escalated if necessary. 

Learn About Copilot for Customer Service

Why Choose Worknet To Implement Its Self-Service Automation?

1. Advanced automation capabilities

Worknet helps automate many IT tasks and processes, including file transfers, BI report generation, resource provisioning, password resets, and more. Moreover, it also connects with various business and IT systems, allowing users to execute these automated tasks and workflows through a centralized self-service portal

Learn About Customer Service Automation

2. Security and Compliance

For those worried about security, Worknet.ai provides tight security capabilities. For example, IT administrators can apply role-based permissions, controlling access to sensitive workflows and systems. The platform enforces compliance by preventing non-IT personnel from developing their automated processes, reducing the risk of shadow

3. Continuous Improvement

Worknet's integration with AI and machine learning capabilities enables the platform to learn from customer data and optimize the self-service experience continuously. This data-driven approach helps organizations identify improvement areas and enhance the efficiency of their self-service offerings.

Conclusion

As we saw above, self-service automation requires an hour for every online business. Not only does it make your customers feel powerful, but it also saves support agents precious time and energy. As technology advances, automation systems are becoming more sophisticated, so there is more to come. Worknet.ai is constantly working with high-tech machine-learning algorithms to help make customer support automation better for businesses.

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