If the past year has proven anything, it’s that digital is indispensable. Businesses must have a digital presence just to qualify as a competitor. To actually compete and remain competitive, they need a digital presence that’s modern, streamlined, and seamless. Delivering a digital experience of that degree, however, is no easy task.
Most everyone scrambled to make the swift pivot to digital when pandemic restrictions were put into effect. Some were successful, but many struggled to measure up to the standards set by brands that had been crafting their digital presence and user experience for years prior.
So, how do those entering the arena or those barely hanging in with their competition reach the same level of digital sophistication as their competitors? The abridged answer is Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI has many advantages but improving the digital Customer Experience (CX) just might be its greatest contribution.
First and foremost, AI improves your understanding of the customer. AI is better equipped to collect data across time and sources that would otherwise be left unexplored. Furthermore, it collects data that’s real-time and comprehensive—Including quantitative, categorical, and time-sensitive data—to create a much deeper understanding of the customer.
The longer AI collects data the better it’s able to identify patterns in customer behavior. Subsequently, it can more accurately predict what they’ll do or need next. It can then suggest relevant content for that next stage, before they take it. This can be a preventative measure as well. If it can see that a customer may have a negative experience when visiting the site, it can devise a method to attempt to redirect the visitor and avoid the negative encounter.
As we shared in our recent eBook, 2021 CX Insights, nearly 70% of consumers and buyers desire to resolve problems on their own. AI-driven chat bots can provide exactly that. With chat bots, visitors can get answers to questions no matter what time it is around the world and find resolutions to problems or challenges without having to contact a sales representative before they’re ready for that step.
In addition to suggesting personalized content and redirecting visitors to prevent negative experiences, AI’s predictive and preventative capabilities are also useful for connecting digital interactions across channels to prevent the breakdown of an omnichannel experience. AI can use gathered knowledge to predict the buyer’s next step in their journey and identify any potential gaps or obstacles that could prevent them from reaching that next step. Once those friction points are identified, AI can provide solutions that will maintain the seamless experience.
AI and machine learning do the heavy lifting, time-consuming work of compiling and analyzing data and automate tasks that otherwise occupy many man hours. When AI is employed, those man hours can be utilized for having human interactions with customers and prospects that prefer traditional channels without sacrificing the interactions preferred by customers and prospects who desire digital channels. This improves the overall customer experience by satisfying both types of audiences.
Artificial Intelligence is the power move anyone struggling to deliver exceptional customer experiences needs to make. AI has the power to deliver critical efficiency and productivity improvements that mediocre CX needs in order to reach and maintain a place among the top CX competitors.