A lingering misconception, often voiced by marketing and insight teams, is that AI struggles to deliver on the promise of customer centricity. In fact, in our experience, the opposite is true – AI propels us closer to the heart of customer needs and preferences.
In the final blog in our AI myth series, we explore how AI is unlocking new and disruptive insights, enabling businesses to become significantly more customer-centric in a shorter timeframe.
Get authentic, by bringing customer feedback to life in their own language
Let’s start by discussing how AI helps uncover hidden gems lurking within customer conversations. AI empowers us to listen to customers in new ways, analysing not just what they say but also how they say it. It allows us to truly understand what they mean.
The result? Customers sharing feedback in their own words reveals unconscious truths, providing a richer, more nuanced understanding of behaviour than could be achieved by responding to prompted lists of statements. This not only reveals deeper feelings and motivations, but also generates lots of authentic quotes and examples that bring these insights to life and make them easier to socialise.
Think of it like this: a traditional survey might tell you that ‘trust’ is a key factor influencing brand recommendations. But what specifically about trust matters? How does the definition of ‘trust’ differ in your particular category or even for your specific brand compared to others? AI lets us dissect the conversations around trust, identifying the unique ways customers define it and how those nuances vary across brands.
Unlock deeper insights with regular feedback
Since last summer, STRAT7 has partnered with a loyalty company to transform their monthly online Voice of the Customer (VoC) tracking programme. This programme leverages historical open-ended responses and our AI toolkit to automate the categorisation of feedback in each wave. This not only saves significant time, but also frees up resources for higher-value tasks that require deeper analysis.
Previously, manually categorising these open-ended responses (verbatims) was a time-consuming process, often resulting in customer language being lost in translation within business reports. AI has revolutionised this process, boosting team productivity and allowing the true voice of the customer to shine through in NPS reports by extracting the most valuable insights from their feedback.
But the benefits extend far beyond efficiency. This innovative approach enables our clients to identify shifts in feedback, deepen its understanding of the customer base, and prompt further inquiries on critical issues. Essentially, AI empowers us to transform challenges into opportunities for continual improvement.
Allow operational changes to capitalise on customer touchpoints
So, AI has the potential to help you understand which elements of the customer experiences needs improving. By analysing consumer language, you can now also understand WHAT to do. The next step in becoming more customer-centric is to identify HOW. There are multiple opportunities to leave customers with a better impression, from customising your website, to interactions with your staff.
Recently we embedded a segmentation on a client’s database (through machine learning algorithms) and created a segment playbook for call centre staff. When a customer called, staff knew who it was, what segment they belonged to, and their likely motivational drivers. This immediately improved NPS for sales agents who leveraged the playbook in customer interactions.
AI is a catalyst for customer-centric growth
The example of our client’s call centre transformation serves as a powerful testament to the transformative power of AI in driving customer centricity. By equipping your businesses with actionable insights gleaned from customer feedback, it’s clear that AI can have a massive impact on every touchpoint within the customer journey.
Why is this important? In today’s dynamic landscape, customer expectations and behaviors continue to evolve at an accelerated pace. AI equips businesses with the tools and insights necessary to not only stay ahead of the curve by adapting their strategies and offerings in real-time to meet these changing demands.
By embracing AI (in the right way) businesses can unlock a future of sustainable growth and success by consistently exceeding customer expectations.
This concludes our series on debunking common myths surrounding AI.
Whether you’re embarking on your AI journey or already have deployments in place, STRAT7 is here to guide you every step of the way.
Feel free to reach out to us – we’re happy to help you harness the power of AI to unlock true customer centricity and achieve sustainable success. Get in touch.
