Two of the biggest buzzwords in customer experience are AI and empathy. But are the two concepts mutually exclusive, or can they be used together to create a harmonious customer experience?
Dr. Rob Walker, Vice President Decision Management at Pegasystems, believes customer-facing AI initiatives can be programed to be empathetic. However, empathy is often lacking in customer interactions. It’s difficult for customers to feel empathy from brands when they are being spammed, have to repeat themselves constantly or are forced into irrelevant conversations. The majority of modern customer interactions are driven by AI, and there is a need to add empathy to those conversations.
In order to show empathy in the customer experience, Dr. Walker says brands must make every conversation one-to-one. Many companies fall into the trap of traditional marketing and send the same message to every customer, which often ends up with customers getting multiple messages from different departments of the same company. It’s confusing and overwhelming. A one-to-one conversation focuses on the need of each individual instead of simply blasting them with the same message as everyone else.
Another important principle is to take the customer’s view. Companies need to put themselves in their customers’ shoes and consider if their approach is appropriate or relevant. Just because a company can sell a customer something, should it? Understanding a customer’s circumstance can quickly build and show empathy.
Personal experiences naturally build more empathy. It’s easier for customers to see empathy from a company when they interact with the brand one on one instead of just being part of the masses. AI plays a crucial role in identifying opportunities for a personalized approach. AI allows companies to target specific customers. It can decide the most relevant approach in real time that creates the most mutual value for customers. Instead of human employees having to guess their way through a conversation, AI makes it possible for companies to be more exact in their approach.
Combining AI and empathy to best connect with customers can require a culture shift in many companies. In a truly customer-centric organization, different departments won’t compete with each other because they want to do what is best for the customer.
Dr. Walker recommends operationalizing AI and empathy, but says that brands shouldn’t look too far out because technology and ideas are moving quickly. AI is constantly changing and could soon infer empathy. For now, it is a powerful tool in creating personalized experiences that allow for more connection between customers and brands, which naturally builds more empathy.
Imagine being able to stream anything anywhere without having to worry about bad signals or data limits. Soon connecting to the internet will be as commonplace as connecting to electricity. 5G has the power to unlock limitless computing and impact the entire world, including the customer experience.
Cristiano Amon is the president of Qualcomm, a company that has technology in every smartphone in the world. Amon is considered the godfather of 5G because of his work planning, advocating and creating the technology. He is passionate and optimistic about the potential of 5G to change the way we work, communicate, shop and live.
The most obvious impact of 5G will be super-fast internet, with speeds up to 10 times faster than current levels. With current 4G, customers can experience poor signal areas where they don’t have the power to stream or access the internet as quickly as they like. That trouble won’t be an issue with 5G, as everyone around the world will have guaranteed connections no matter where they are.
The impact of massively increased speeds is enormous. In recent years, even slightly faster internet speeds have allowed consumers to stream music, so they don’t need to buy CDs or download MP3s. The same buying shift will happen with 5G as consumers can stream 4K video anywhere in the world, which means they won’t need to buy DVDs or download movies.
5G will also have a huge impact on social media and allow for instantaneous connections. People will be able to share things in real time and have live conversations around the world.
Gaming could also boom with 5G and cloud-based gaming. Instead of having to purchase expensive computers to handle large games, 5G will allow consumers to play any game on any device no matter the computing power required.
5G goes hand in hand with the growth of AI. Because of 5G’s fast speeds, everyone will essentially be constantly connected to the cloud. Al and machine learning can also build faster connections and flag activities that aren’t normal. Amon says that with this growth comes the need for more protection of our digital selves on par with how we protect our physical selves.
What does this mean for the customer experience? Everything is changing. Consumers will be able to connect with brands in real time and will expect faster service and responses. Connectivity will impact innovation and allow products to come to market more quickly. Brands will also have more data on their customers to provide uniquely personalized experiences just when customers needs them. The world will get smaller as connectivity increases.
Unlike today’s wireless technology that is primarily used in the wireless industry, 5G will touch all industries in both B2B and B2C. 5G will become part of the critical infrastructure and change manufacturing, IoT, healthcare and so many more industries.
Amon says that consumers who like their smartphones today will be very happy once 5G is up and running. Companies will need to match that love and excitement with service and experiences that leverage the power of 5G.
Digital transformation is all about using technology to better solve customer problems. But a new report from global telecommunications company Telstra found that many U.S. companies lean too heavily on the technology side and don’t focus enough on the people behind the decisions.
According to Nicholas Collins, Telstra President for the Americas, digital transformation loses its effectiveness if companies forget about people. Brands need to continually evolve their businesses as technology and customer needs change. Instead of chasing technology, companies need to focus on what they want to be for their customers.
“Technology alone is not a silver bullet for digital transformation. While investing in the right technology is crucial, placing too much importance on the role and performance of technology in digital transformation is a barrier to success,” Collins said.
There are huge opportunities for companies that have yet to start a digital transformation. Collins says it starts with a top-down commitment from leadership. Companies need to strategically decide what they want to achieve through digital transformation. From there, they should assemble the right teams to bring those goals to life. The foundation of successful digital transformation is people, especially through strong leadership and culture. Telstra’s study found that focusing too much on technology can lead to stalled progress and a lack of measurable outcomes.
It’s easy for companies to get caught up in the technology behind the transformation, but the most effective digital transformation simplifies how people work so they can be engaged and better serve customers. As businesses grow, they often add new products and services that only add to the complexity of the company. Collins recommends that companies regularly take stock of their offerings and processes and find ways to simplify. Work back from the customer and what the brand is trying to achieve and then streamline or simplify as much as possible relating to the customer experience.
Digital transformation really comes down to using technology to simplify and streamline how a brand operates interacts with customers. Collins recommends involving the employees who are closest to the customers because they can often provide insights that people who don’t regularly interact with customers might not see.
Digital transformation is a journey, not a destination. No matter where companies are on that journey, there is still plenty of opportunity to grow and develop. But in order to be successful, companies have to think about people and not just technology.