Combining Human Touchpoints and Tech to Combat Chargebacks

Flawless customer experiences are essential to limiting chargebacks. Happy and supported customers are simply less likely to file a dispute. Placing priority on the customer is one of the best ways to manage the problem of chargebacks. 

With that in mind, the quality of your customer touchpoints takes on greater importance. You create positive shopping experiences through the contact you have with your clients. And customers today enjoy anywhere from 20 - 500 touchpoints in a single sales journey—effective customer-to-business contact is a first-line chargeback defense. 

If you want to improve your customer touchpoints, digital tools are an ideal solution. Technology creates and supports human connection. Whether it's via chatbots or social media, online tools offer numerous avenues for good customer service.

For example, TikTok is one of the digital tools that improve customer touchpoints; 20 percent of users use the app to remain up to date with brands and products. By utilizing this platform, you may build individualized connections while enhancing customer service and loyalty with interesting content and clever marketing initiatives.

On the other hand, too much technology threatens the human element. Customers also want personalized, human contact. You cannot replace your customer service reps with unfeeling robots. How do teams find that balance between digital support and authentic person-to-person contact? 

Let’s rethink the customer touchpoint and explore how you can use tech-enabled touchpoints to limit chargebacks.

What are the benefits of tech-enabled customer touchpoints?

Technology offers several improvements to your customer touchpoints: 

• Scalability: First, technology can automate numerous tasks to better handle a high volume of inquiries. With that advantage, your teams can scale service touchpoints according to customer demand. And often, you can achieve that feat with little to no drop in customer satisfaction. Examples include using chatbots to reduce wait times or deploying triage tools to handle mass service events. 

• Consistency: Second, technology can engage in consistent information delivery. Customers want reliable and accurate answers to their support questions. Digital tools can ensure that brand messaging remains steadfast at all touchpoints. It is an ideal way to limit human errors due to fatigue, mood, or knowledge gaps. 
• Efficiency: Third, technology can process an immense amount of data. A digital tool can rapidly compile data insights that could take hours of manual labor. Data tools also give detailed insights into customer behavior. As a result, support agents can then increase response times and tailor customer touchpoints for a greater speed of business. Such personalized and rapid communication drives better customer outcomes.
• Availability: Lastly, you can use digital tools to create customer touch points that are available 24/7. Humans may tire, but online service solutions give your customers access to support whenever they please.

The value of human touchpoints

Clearly, digital solutions offer plenty of benefits. And with that discovery, it is tempting to throw away your entire customer service team. But don’t remove the human element—it is still a crucial aspect for customers. The tools you use should amplify, not replace current business operations. Human-led customer touch points include several benefits digital solutions alon e cannot provide: 

• Empathy: Human representatives can understand the needs, emotions, and preferences of your clients. Technology may give accurate data responses, but only support reps can emote with the consumer.

• Creativity and personalization: Human agents are able to adapt to dynamic situations. Critical thinking allows reps to handle complex inquiries. For unique customer problems, humans offer personalized help that technology cannot replicate.

• Human connection: Customers often feel more confident when interacting with a human agent. Human contact builds trust, a crucial element in long-term relationship building. 

• Customer demand: Many customers are hesitant to adopt technological change. In addition, not all of your clients may have the skills to manage new digital tools. Without human touchpoints, you may lose access to that market segment. 

To maximize the points of contact you have with customers, you need a balance of tech and human-led elements. The two are not mutually exclusive—you can leverage the benefits of technology while maintaining a human connection. The goal is to use technology to drive an enhanced human experience.

How tech-enabled customer touchpoints can limit chargeback disputes

What does that balance look like? And how can you use those tech-enabled customer touchpoints to limit chargebacks? Here are a few examples where tech adoption can support your chargeback mitigation strategy.

Omnichannel contact

Omnichannel contact refers to giving customers access to your business through multiple avenues. Every website, platform, or company device is an opportunity to engage. Examples include automated notifications, regular email updates, or social media reminders. Through different contact points, you build a holistic presence with clients.

Omnichannel touchpoints limit chargebacks in two ways. First, you get immediate improvements related to increased customer satisfaction. A cared-for and long-supported customer is more forgiving and less likely to use chargebacks as a tool against your business (e.g. due to buyer’s remorse). Second, omnichannel tools help de-escalate disputes. Service reps who maintain close contact can guide and inform customers about options other than chargebacks (e.g. opting for a refund).

Self-service portals

Self-service touchpoints are digital spaces that empower customers to resolve their own issues. Customers can access transaction details, view receipts, or request support through their account. That creates visibility and transparency—an ideal way to defend against chargebacks due to forgetfulness, unclear billing descriptors, or impatience. And as an extra benefit, you can also integrate security into service portals (think two-factor authentication, biometrics, etc). These extra layers of security further can reduce the risk of chargebacks due to true fraud. Robust verification and authentication limit criminal access and allow for better monitoring of suspicious anomalies that might result in a dispute.

Data-collection tools and issue resolution

Data collection tools offer data insights that support business operations. Common examples include automated case management, monitoring solutions, or chargeback management tools. Detailed info about customer behavior makes it easier for support teams to provide expert issue resolution (a crucial post-purchase customer touchpoint). The more insights your teams have, the better your chargeback management.

Enhanced evidence compilation

Evidence compilation tools store, organize, and collect purchase details. Examples include receipts, invoices, and shipping info. The systems do the heavy-lifting of parsing data, freeing up human agents to better defend against false claims. That improves your dispute win rate, and with less labor. More importantly, evidence tools support customer service reps during the representment process, a high friction customer touchpoint. Accurate evidence delivered with empathy can save the customer-to-business relationship.

Using AI to boost human experiences

At Justt, we are well aware of the benefits that come from balancing the machine and human elements. To that end, we employ an AI engine that can assist your human-led chargeback management teams. 

For example, automated evidence retrieval provides support reps with data to better fight false chargeback claims. Plug-and-play systems (recommendations, templates, simple interfaces) allow mitigation teams to scale according to dispute volume. And continuous learning creates an updated knowledge base of chargeback data that assists your business with decision-making and trend predictions. It is a hands-free solution designed to the exact requirements of your business: a technical supplement that boosts the quality of your chargeback teams. 

And with tech-enabled service and chargeback strategies, it is easy to scale the ideal customer experience. Support reps have the tools to deliver exceptional performance: human-led customer touchpoints amplified by technology. The result is drastically improved chargeback management.

Final Thoughts

An effective chargeback management strategy now requires an artful balance between technology and the human touch. On the one hand, your digital solutions provide you with scale, efficiency, and availability. On the other hand, the human element provides empathy, personalization, and dynamic thinking. When combined, you can deliver an enhanced customer experience. Such harmonious points of contact greatly improve your chargeback resolution and dispute defenses.