By Fred Cunha, VP of Video Network & Support, Extreme Reach

No matter the industry, today’s business world is more automated than ever before. We’re seeing increasing examples of “business chatbots” deployed to assist customers, and sales of automated kiosk technology is expected to be worth more than $30 billion by 2020. This digital-centric, “self-service,” model has many advantages. Customers get added convenience, cheaper prices and more rapid delivery of products and services.

 Within all of this automation, the service aspect of customer care seems to have gotten the ax, an oversight in a world where 89% of businesses primarily compete on customer experience. When something goes wrong, this largely-automated online model is a disaster waiting to happen. Despite its challenges however, there are some companies in the advertising industry that have resisted the temptation to automate their customer service, and are finding success as a result.

Practically everyone can empathize with the annoyance of struggling to get in touch with a human being when dealing with an automated business. If you’re lucky, some automated business providers have a phone number you can call to get in touch with a customer service representative. But frequently, today’s automated digital companies do everything possible to minimize human contact. Have a complicated or less-common problem? Often the only solution is to start a conversation with a software-based customer tool or send an email and wait for a reply.

The same applies in the B2B TV ad business, where factors like quality and attention to detail can make or break a campaign. A customer service department staffed by live human beings is key.

We run into situations on a regular basis where the automated online model would fail. As recently as this week, a TV station received traffic instructions to run a couple of spots the next day –  but was missing the actual creative. Their first step was to email our support team at 3:12 PM. Within five minutes, one of our support specialists had replied with a list of agency contacts the TV station could reach directly to resolve their initial issues. At 8:26 PM, the station texted me, as they were unable to get a hold of any of the shared agency contacts. I worked with our video account management team to get a hold of the agency, and by 9:11pm the spots were at the station and a crisis was averted. Needless to say, both teams were really happy with the outcome.

Can you picture a situation like this being handled by the automated online model? 

Automated businesses often struggle with customer service responsiveness. While these digital-first companies may be extremely efficient at sending you the right order, or automating an ad buy, automation-focused firms slow to a crawl when they need to address unexpected problems. Need help right now for your campaign that goes live tomorrow? “Send an email and we’ll get back to you within one business day” isn’t going to cut it. When your TV campaign hits unexpected roadblocks, it’s important to have 24/7 customer service.

Finally, the biggest hurdle seeming to face high quality customer service stems from a general lack of flexibility on the part of customer service teams. Even when you manage to get in touch with a human being, the solution to your customer service problem is often based on a pre-written script. This approach is useless in situations that require creative problem solving, and it can leave customers feeling like they don’t matter. For an example of how rigid customer processes can backfire, just look at the recent passenger scandal on United Airlines, a situation that escalated out of control due to rigid company policies for dealing with passengers. For companies in the TV advertising sector, where delays can mean campaigns miss out on events like the Super Bowl or lost sales during key holiday sales periods, it’s critical that customer support teams are given the authority to find the right solution, regardless of the complexity of the situation.

We’re entering a brave new world, where digital-focused businesses offer a huge opportunity to serve their customers in a more efficient, cost-effective manner. But the hidden danger of this model is that it is not currently built to be resilient, adaptable and responsive when things go wrong. Automation has the power to offer huge gains, but in the high-stakes world of TV advertising, high-quality, human-powered customer service matters now more than ever.

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