Although Alanna has come a long way since entering the title industry, we still have more work to do. The clients who’ve adopted our AI technology so far regularly report back with amazing numbers. Numbers such as percentage of routine calls that get resolved without significant employee involvement. Or decrease in number of employee hours spent on the phone or email with clients collecting simple data or answering routine questions. Or what about the jaw-dropping improvement in average time to respond?
AI Technology in Title Companies
Agents are getting the message—especially once they see what conversational AI can do to improve client service. We can’t help but notice, however, that some of the other technology producers out there—and many of them don’t even serve the title space, to be fair—refer to the process of resolving customer issues with AI as “deflection.”
Deflection. Deflection!
We’re trying to imagine what would happen using such a word while talking to a successful title agency owner—one who’s proud to tell us she’s built her success upon elite customer service. “Deflection” is something one does to protect oneself from an incoming projectile or threat. Or nuisance. It implies the avoidance of something unpleasant.
We don’t know many title agencies that succeed by “deflecting” customer service requests or inquires. We do know plenty who succeed by resolving client requests and satisfying customer inquiries.
If anything, a good technology solution enhances service levels. Never mind 24/7/365 availability (yes please!). Never mind almost instant response and resolution. Those are great. But the real benefit of using tech to enhance service? That comes when a complex inquiry or situation arises. One that even Alanna can’t resolve. And here’s why. Without Alanna, that agency will probably have to make the complex issue wait in queue while staffers resolve simple issues or take time answering routine questions like “when’s my closing?” So the REALTOR or buyer making the inquiry waits for an email or phone call. And perhaps the issue isn’t even routed to someone empowered to resolve the issue—that person’s on the phone trying to correct an errant Social Security number. It all amounts to unnecessary time spent in queue, and rising tensions as the issue lingers, unaddressed.
Title agency clients aren’t meteor showers. They’re not shrapnel. Yes, from time to time, there’s an unpleasant issue or complaint waiting on the other end of the phone. But that’s true just about anywhere, in any profession. The key to winning repeat business and additional referrals? The efficient and effective resolution of those incoming communications. Not the deflection.