Sometimes how a customer speaks to you is just as important as what is being said. A compact label for this type of refined communication is customer sentiment. As more customer service software solutions are placing an emphasis on sentiment, it should come as no surprise that companies are looking to leverage this “hidden code” in communication to work smarter and more efficiently.

In the data-driven corporate world we work in, metrics are everything. And, thanks to so many technology solutions on the market, getting information is easier than ever before.

Too often, customers rush to the phone whenever an issue or question pops in to their mind. While having customer conversations is great, too much communication can be harmful and have a negative impact on your business.

When evaluating software, it’s easy to fall back on what you’ve done in the past. Your work computer likely has Windows and the Office suite installed directly on the machine, so why shouldn’t you have software for sales, customer support, marketing, or other industries right alongside it?

Running a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) company is fun. It’s usually created by a couple tech enthusiasts with a great idea and extensive coding knowledge. Getting those first few customers feels amazing, and your core focus is on making them happy. They’ve got your cell number and you’re just a phone call away for anything they need.

Of everything a business-to-business (B2B) company must be great at in order to grow, delivering personalized customer support at scale needs to be a priority. You know this. But, knowing something and doing something to make it happen are two different things. Making customer support personalized, then continually improving upon the experience is what truly shows your customers that they are a top priority for you.

The fundamental principles that define effective customer service apply across all industries and business types. But certain distinctive characteristics of the business-to-business (B2B) environment can have a huge influence on your approach to training customer service team.

Last year, we highlighted some of the key customer service trends to watch in 2018 and many of them came to fruition. The shift in perception of AI and automation was arguably the most significant. Once a thought of the distant future, many companies began adding these concepts to their workflows and roadmaps.

Once again, for the third year in a row, here are 7 customer service trends to watch in 2019…

1) B2B self-service will become more interactive – Thanks to an increase in on-demand video content in their personal lives, customers are more frequently asking for the same in the business world. As a result, more companies are doing less telling through text and more showing through interactive guides and customer service video content to get messages across.

It’s no surprise that AI (Artificial Intelligence) is really starting to make an impact in the customer service industry. How companies interact with customers is being strongly influenced by this emerging technology. Sure, the “chat bot” comes to mind immediately, but even that has taken a backseat to larger uses of AI which still involve (and improve upon) the human element.

Customers often seek out service because they have a problem and they want a person to empathize with them and make it right. Even with extremely sophisticated AI, a chat bot won’t be able to relate to a human experience, especially if it’s fueled by an emotional attachment.

So, how is AI changing the customer service industry to enable agents to make these human-to-human moments more impactful? Here are a few ways…