Can Facebook Replace Call Centres?
Who doesn’t use Facebook? Friends, family, colleagues… It’s very rare to find someone without a Facebook profile. Even my 82 year old Grandma signed up last year!
Facebook originally started as a place for university students to gather on the web. As of September 2006, the network extended beyond that and is available to anyone with a registered email address. In fact more than one billion people are currently active according to statistics! Insane right? So how can this huge network be of any help to the call centre industry?
Facebook became a place for businesses to target specific audiences, deliver news, share information and now also a real-time selling platform! Have you ever commented on a business’ page photo and got a reply back through messenger? That was designed to make it more efficient for businesses to help out customers in a more personal and private matter. Facebook will also change the status to ‘responded privately’ when a business decides to send a private message so you the customer will know how responsive they are. Impressive! Apart from that Facebook also launched Chatbots where they will allow a customer to chat with an automated system.
What exactly are Chatbots?
In just one month almost 5000 businesses have used Chatbots to send order confirmations and automated alerts through messenger. One can also send videos, audio clips, GIFs among other files. They are designed for users to communicate with businesses and carry out tasks such as online orders and queries. Facebook basically wants Messenger to be the go-to-place for customers to contact businesses.
“Initially, chatbots will add automation to some communication and support tasks, and allow quick, easy and immediate answers to standard questions, much like your standard call centre, but with prompt response,” Goldstuck.
Why is everyone so fascinated with Facebook?
Finding a business on Facebook makes you somehow trust the business more, it could be because of all the real-customer reviews and seeing profiles of people that you actually know following the business. Also, because of all the personal data Facebook has the ability to make the customer’s experience personal. Your personal data will determine what comes up on your page, statuses, suggestions and advertising. On another note, communication has never been easier especially with such easy access to videos as customers can actually see how your business works.
Do we really want Facebook to replace our call centres?
Looking at all the pros of Facebook, conclusion is that I’m still not 100% convinced that Facebook will take over our call centres. It will definitely help out and make our jobs easier and the customer experience better, however I still think that most customers prefer that personal experience where they are speaking to an actual person rather than an automated system.
‘The simple truth is that technology is still a poor substitute for human interaction’ – Robert G Thomson
