3 Reasons Why AI and Big Data Will Fuel The Customer Experience in 2019 and Beyond

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Across industries, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have proven to be powerful tools when it comes to informing companies about their target customers. Gartner predicts that by 2019, more than 50% of organizations will redirect their investments to customer experience innovations.

As a result, many organizations have built teams to collect and analyze data on every step of the customer journey – taking into account where, why and how customers interact with their channels. By analyzing this data in real time, companies are able to keep up with evolving customer demands.

Dissecting every interaction to understand what drives customer behavior may seem like a gargantuan task for many. However, with AI taking analysis to the next level, Big Data teams can rest assured that technology will lead the way to efficiency. Innovative technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) are helping organizations to dig deeper than ever before, analyzing new data sets that previously went unnoticed and gain a comprehensive view of the customer journey.

Here are three reasons why Big Data and AI will be essential in improving the customer experience this year:

A New Approach to Data and an AI Toolset

Many Big Data teams have discovered that viewing AI and automation as a foolproof process is simply a mistake. Brands must ensure that they are coming to the table with a hypothesis or an end-goal before using this technology and still relying on the power of agent insight. As such, it’s essential for analytics teams to take stock of their available tools and combine them with human reasoning and logic. Without fully understanding the goals behind your AI and NLP strategy, the results will lack the context needed to drive actionable outcomes.

Thanks to AI and data analysis technology, companies now have the ability to lift vast amounts of unique data that was previously seen as unusable. This includes voice recordings, chats and more. For example, by tracking customer sentiment and competitor mentions in real time, companies are able to inform customer service representatives accordingly to get customer satisfaction back on track.

This is improving customer experience but also the bottom line. According to thinkJar, 55 percent of consumers are willing to pay more for a guaranteed good experience. That’s why it’s crucial to have a better understanding of the customer experience before a customer complains, or worse, abandons your company without complaining.

Additionally, by understanding what data is actually valuable, organizations are able to reveal crucial insights about consumers. Breaking apart data silos and aggregating data sources across the organization will be essential to affecting customer experience on a larger scale.

The Rise of Cross-Organizational Data Architects

AI and Big Data will be an important part of meeting the demands of customer service at scale in 2019 and beyond. While data scientist hires were common in the customer service industry over the past few years, this hiring wave has finally hit its peak. Now, technology vendors have made analytics capabilities more digestible for a wider set of professionals. Although data scientists’ skillsets are invaluable, organizations are also restructuring teams so that a wider population of individuals can leverage this technology and become data specialists.

As more companies adopt AI and Big Data technologies, more teams will be able to connect the dots across the customer journey and impact customer experience. The rise of the cross-organizational data architect will power the customer experience from the inside out, integrating, centralizing and managing incoming data to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty in real-time.

Widespread Adoption in the Retail Sector

In recent years, the many industries have shifted to become exceptionally focused on experience. The prime example? Retail.

These brands are now looking at what consumers value when they go into stores or shop online – this ranges from convenience, to the speed of transactions to how stores are designed. Gone are the days of filling out comment cards. Now, consumers expect to have their shopping experience catered to them in real time – whether that’s in-store or online.

Thanks to Big Data and AI technology, retailers are now able to use customer journey analytics to target, personalize and segment their marketing efforts and overall customer experience strategies. This technology will in turn power trends that consumers desire such as checkout-free retail, pop-up experiences, and social commerce.

While we can’t predict everything, we know that AI and Big Data will continue making a huge impact on improving the customer experience in 2019 and beyond. With the capabilities to deduce data-driven insights, companies can keep up with evolving customer demands and behaviors.

Larry Skowronek
Today, as Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at NICE Nexidia, Larry is responsible for overall market and product strategy for NICE Nexidia's Customer Engagement Analytics solution. With more than two decades of experience working with contact center tools and management, Larry has a keen understanding of the best practices for managing the evolving contact center. During his career, Larry has led product management, quality assurance, and consulting organizations for contact center management software vendors across the industry.

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