There is an adage that says, "knowledge is power." In a sense, that is the driving force behind sentiment analysis implementations - gaining a deeper understanding of the customer.
Since it has been proven that the sales process is all about emotions, having a tool that provides real-time insights into such emotions is a precious asset, both to drive sales and to provide better customer service.
This article will address this interesting topic of how sentiment analysis in Contact Center helps sales and support teams.
What is Sentiment Analysis?
Sentiment Analysis, also known as AI Sentiment Analysis, is a voice technology aiming to "extract" the sentiments derived from a conversation.
AI sentiment analysis uses technologies based on Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), linguistics, and more to achieve its goal. Thanks to the use of these technologies, it has been possible to develop algorithms that give a score to the conversation depending on the inflections in the tone of voice, the speed at which the client speaks, changes in the stress level given by how loudly the interlocutor speaks, specific words used during the conversation, the number of times a word is used (such as "yes,” "no,” "maybe"), etc.
Although Sentiment Analysis is a relatively young technology, it has proven to be a vital piece in the Contact Center since it provides an objective perspective of both the customer's behavior and that of the agent who is attending to him.
How Can Sentiment Analysis Help Contact Centers Drive Sales?
Think for a moment, what distinguishes a good salesperson from a killer salesperson? The ability to empathize with the customer.
An outstanding salesperson knows that it's all about emotions. Thanks to his interpretation of the customer's feelings, the salesperson can persuade the customer about the convenience of purchasing a product or service.
To this end, voice-based technologies such as sentiment analysis have enormous sales potential. It's like assigning a star salesperson to help each call center agent understand how the customer feels.
Moreover, sentiment analysis brings many other benefits to the table. Below we list the most relevant ones.
Omnichannel optimization
At a time when social distancing is the norm, optimizing the omnichannel strategy is vital. In this regard, AI sentiment analysis has a lot to offer. In addition to providing agents with valuable real-time insights, they offer the opportunity to incorporate AI-driven bots that work leads automatically and even close sales without agent intervention.
Sales funnel optimization
Professional salespeople have an excellent nose for opportunities. In the process of closing a sale, they collect enough information to evaluate the likelihood of performing upsells or cross-sells. Like shopping carts that use algorithms to offer certain products to customers based on their selection, AI-bots and cloud-based contact center software can drive this type of sales by understanding customer sentiment. A clearly satisfied customer is a perfect candidate for upselling or cross-selling techniques, for which sentiment analysis is definitely a handy tool.
No matter how advanced the algorithm employed by sentiment analysis is, the human factor is irreplaceable. In this sense, sentiment analysis can be seen as a "virtual coach" that helps in the agent's decision-making. Furthermore, this type of technology can refine agents’ performance by analyzing their own feelings during their interaction with the customer. The result is agents who are more self-confident and therefore able to provide better service.
Improved customer loyalty
Improving the interaction between agents and customers inevitably results in a better customer experience. This, in turn, results in greater brand loyalty. Best of all, this benefit is measurable using sentiment analysis. This technology also allows you to monitor the business’s reputation in multiple channels such as reviews, social media comments, and more.
How Sentiment Analysis Helps Support Teams to Decrease Churn Rates?
Having a tool that gives you insight into the customer's feelings is useful in more than one area. This is the case with support teams. While there are techniques for dealing with unhappy customers, there is nothing like having a "frustration meter" to guide agents through the conversation. Here are some of the benefits of using sentiment analysis in the contact center.
Better handling of difficult situations
Sentiment analysis can definitely help determine the cause of the client's frustration. This is an important step in handling difficult situations, as it allows agents to avoid making the situation worse. In this sense, you can think of contact center software with sentiment analysis as a compass that guides agents in the right direction.
Real-time feedback/coaching
Having an expert by your side is always a great help. As with the case of sales, AI-driven bots can lighten the burden on agents and even support them in their decision-making based on previous experiences. Moreover, thanks to the use of sentiment analysis, agents can improve their interaction with customers and help strengthen brand loyalty and customer retention.
Intelligent routing
AI-driven bots and contact center software can route a difficult case to an expert agent when all else fails. As discussed in the previous section, there is no substitute for the human factor. The added value of sentiment analysis is that it can automate the process so that the expertise of the most skilled agents is fully utilized. In other words, sentiment analysis can help the contact center achieve a more efficient allocation of its human resources.
Enhance customer support
Probably one of the most underestimated benefits of sentiment analysis has to do with its ability to improve internal processes. Analyzing customer response to certain phrases or certain processes can be invaluable in improving agent scripts and, therefore, the customer experience. In other words, next-gen cloud contact center software like Samespace's can help you gain a complete view of your KPIs and significantly lower customer churn rates.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we have made a quick tour of the benefits that sentiment analysis brings to the contact center. This innovative technology not only improves the overall effectiveness of the contact center but also provides valuable insight into customer emotions. This knowledge, used in the right way, can drive revenue, customer experience, and brand loyalty.
If these benefits sound interesting to you, then you should know that Samespace's cloud contact center software provides you with fully customizable AI-based bots with built-in sentiment analysis. Furthermore, Samespace's customizable dashboards allow you to generate advanced reports where you can objectively assess the impact of customer mood and emotions on all your processes.