I can’t think of too many organizations that wouldn’t benefit enormously by introducing CommBox AI Powered Omnichannel Platform into their customer service processes – from those in automotive to transportation to the public sector. For large and midsize enterprises that need to manage multiple service channels and strive for seamless communications, the CommBox platform succeeds in bridging the gap between automated processes and human contact. We are glad to have it available on SAP Store!
But the strength of the solution and its broad appeal across diverse industries and use cases are just a couple of reasons for the company’s extraordinary growth over the past 18 months, to the tune of – wait for it – 1,600%. How did that happen?
“During the pandemic, customers couldn’t go to the bank, but they still needed banking services,” explained Eli Israelov, CommBox founder and co-CEO, when I asked him about the company’s recent experience and growth plans. “People were shopping online, but they still needed product info and questions answered. But agents were suddenly working from home. They were working in small teams as companies were forced to downsize. And virtually overnight, there was a shocking recognition that ‘digital transformation’ is more than a buzzword; it’s not a nice-to-have, but a critical element for maintaining service excellence. It turned out that the CommBox platform was exactly what was missing.”
That is not to say that customer service is entirely digitalized. Regarding the idea that customer service functions can be completely taken over by bots and artificial intelligence (AI), he observed that about 50% of customer service requests are still handled by live agents, while for the other 50%, customers are asking us to build scripts that address those repetitive, self-service inquiries.
The truth is that for all the talk about AI replacing call agents, that won’t happen any time soon. “To integrate all the interfaces, cover the full range of the customer journey, and do it at scale is really complicated and expensive. No one does that today,” Israelov said.
Protecting Customer Relationships
Behind the scenes, however, some 70% of responses and tasks we track from our customers – including all major core business processes like sales, customer services, and technical support – are repetitive and can be diverted to self-service by automation to reduce the load of the agents while at the same time enable customers to access services 24/7. As the name implies, CommBox AI Powered Omnichannel Platform automates what can be automated and leaves the more complex tasks for the live agents. The platform is designed to recognize the point at which the system is failing to provide a precise answer, and a live agent kicks in before the customer feels any frustration. This way, companies can protect their customer relationships.
But how does it work? I asked Tamir Peled Sasson, senior business development and partnerships manager for CommBox, how the system perceives the right point for the handover. “The customer is choosing options digitally and the bot can identify the intent through option selection and keywords,” he explained. “For example, customers are given choices by our AI chatbots and scripts. If the bot has failed to answer the customer’s questions or complete the needed task, then they can get transferred automatically to a live agent.”
Customizing Customer Service
Peled Sasson noted that the team works closely with individual companies to identify common themes, tailoring the prompts and scripts for their end customers’ buying journey. “We walk along with them as they onboard the platform and build relationships that enable us to stay in front of the technology.” He added that customers can easily launch new service channels to deliver unified service. That includes ticket management, e-mail, bots, video chat, voice, text, WhatsApp, Messenger, and social media – all are covered by a single smart inbox and outbox, without compromising each channel’s native features.
As CommBox continues to scale up to meet demand, the company has added employees beyond its base in Israel, with an especially strong presence in Latin America and North Africa – and it plans to expand further into Europe and North America. I expect that demand will only continue to explode given working with SAP and having a broad overlap of markets, as well as integrating the CommBox platform with SAP Customer Relationship Management and SAP Sales Cloud.
Israelov agreed: “We are seeing a real need for our products within the SAP customer base. And we’ve gained great exposure to the SAP ecosystem, not only customers but sales teams all over the world.” He had a lot to add about working with SAP. “From the first day, we recognized that there was something right in the DNA – that both of our companies are committed to doing what’s best for the customer. We’re working with an amazing portal in SAP Store, an amazing team, and an amazing product in SAP CRM. From our standpoint, SAP has invested in us, and we are investing in SAP.”
It goes without saying that we are mutually excited about the potential – for our companies, for our customers, and for their customers. Join in the enthusiasm and learn more about CommBox AI Powered Ommnichannel Platform.
Bill Rojas is senior director of Business Development and Partner Alliances for SAP Digital Commerce.