In the same way consumers can ask questions on the website to find an answer, employees can leverage the same exact database to pull information during a conversation -- be it on chat or over the phone. More importantly, virtual assistant solutions can enable companies to update these resources in real-time across all customer service teams. In the case of a merger, this kind of capability is critical to helping both employees and customers understand the sometimes rapid changes that can occur.

Beyond ensuring that employees have the right information, businesses also need to ensure that they are empowering their teams to work efficiently and effectively. There’s no question that with a customer base of 395 million, customer service teams can’t directly reach out to each and every customer as soon as they need help. However, this also means that customers could be facing longer wait times to receive support, again leading to a number of unhappy people now interacting with an overworked customer service team. By offering the opportunity for customers to self-serve, they can feel empowered to find the answers they need without having to speak to someone. This makes their experience with a business fast, flexible and effective. Should a virtual assistant not be able to offer the best answer to a question, its AI-capabilities are then able to identify which channel or department it should connect the customer to. More importantly, the virtual assistant is also able to share insight from its initial conversation with the customer -- ensuring that the conversation doesn’t restart every time a transfer occurs.

Listen to Customers Reactions to the Merger

While it is important to implement all the necessary strategies to ensure customers have access to accurate information, it's also important to take the time to listen. A customer service resource will never meet every single consumer need and this can be especially true during a merger when there are a number of changes and uncertainties. To offer the best support possible, businesses need to be collecting data on customer interactions and identifying in real-time how their strategy and resources need to shift. The best way to accomplish this is by analyzing data from self-service interactions on every channel the business reaches. Using virtual assistant technology and robust analytics, a business can thereby assess where roadblocks or gaps in information are and easily make the needed changes to ensure they continue to support their customers in the best manner possible. Ensuring that your customer service processes can improve fast to adapt and evolve as business changes shows that, regardless of the structure of the business, the customers still come first.

A merger can be an exciting time for the companies involved, creating new opportunities to grow in a market and better serve consumers. However, for their current customers, mergers can also be an unsettling experience that creates fears regarding their future relationship with the business. By implementing self-service virtual customer assistants to provide continuous access, up-to-date information and effortless support, businesses have an opportunity to reassure customers that they are still the most important asset.