customer journey

As traditional brick and mortar stores continue to struggle in an increasingly global economy, businesses have been forced to shift their approach to customer engagement just to survive. While metrics, such as carrying a superior product or offering the lowest price, may have attracted consumers in the past, almost 90 percent of companies are now focusing their competitive energy on providing an elevated customer experience. The successful integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into a front-end interface is one of the most important factors when it comes to delivering the personalized encounters that customers now expect. AI is revolutionizing the customer experience in so many ways, that it’s becoming vital for businesses to adopt AI technologies to stay relevant into the 21st century. The Customer Engagement Process Is Streamlined. AI has improved front-end efficiency so much that over 67 percent of consumers now expect the option of chatbots or messaging apps to help them resolve a problem before speaking to a live customer service agent. The benefit of fusing technology into your business model is twofold: providing a fast and personalized method for resolving common high-volume issues with customers while live service agents can focus on more complex problems that require human intervention; delegating the bulk of consumer interactions to AI, which provides a superior customer experience while improving the cost-effectiveness of your live chat agent training resources. Market Potential for Visual Search Options Has Exploded. As smartphone technology continues to improve, customer engagement has become centralized on pictures and graphics instead of written descriptions. Today’s consumers expect companies to offer phone applications that can search, track, and order past-history purchases while intuitively filtering products and services based on their needs by offering a simple, visually organized format. AI has disrupted the customer experience so much that 72 percent of internet users now expect access to visual content before deciding on a purchase. Businesses that fail to adapt to the “one-touch” smartphone shopping concept, ushered in by technological advances, will likely falter in the current marketplace. Consumer Insight Capabilities Are Rapidly Advancing. An influx of customer data will not be helpful without adopting the latest AI programs to collate it efficiently. A quality Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system capable of tracking purchase data while also building targeted consumer profiles and alerts, such as reminders to send a follow-up marketing email, can dramatically improve your customer engagement. What’s more, an AI-backed CRM system can help you retain more customers while building a brand based on the highly personalized experience that’s expected in a global economy. And with an average return on investment (ROI) of $8.71 for $1 spent on CRM implementation, your business will only benefit from integrating this technology into your consumer interface. AI-powered CRM’s can also be very valuable in information pass-through and ensuring the customer doesn’t have to repeat information at each interaction point, thus significantly reducing customer friction points. While the global marketplace of the 21st century has created a hypercompetitive economy, developing a focus on the elevated customer engagement that today’s consumers take for granted can give your business the best chance of success. Adapting to rapidly evolving technologies by putting them to work for your company is one of the most important ways to improve front-end customer interface. AI systems and software can revolutionize your customer’s journey, which in turn, help you develop a strong brand while attracting and retaining a steady customer base. With over 20 years of experience in providing superior customer engagement solutions across a wide range of industries, Etech is a world leader in helping companies integrate the latest artificial intelligence automation that allows them to compete in a diverse and globalized marketplace. Contact us today to learn how we can assist you in utilizing technology to advance your business. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.