3 Ways to Increase Top Line Revenue with Automated Customer Experience Processes

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Revenue is the lifeline of any organization. Profit grants the ability to invest in the business infrastructure (i.e., the people, processes, and technologies) required to sustain operations.

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One obvious way to increase profit is by decreasing expenses through activities like process automation. What’s not necessarily obvious is how a focus on streamlined customer support processes can also boost top-line revenue.

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Traditionally, most top-level leaders shun the idea of investing in process improvement. It’s incorrectly viewed as a cost and not an investment.

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That’s why focusing on providing a positive and high-quality customer experience yields favorable financial results. Improved operational processes reward organizations with decreased costs associated with returns, refunds, and warranties. It also ensures higher customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and repeat business with minimal upselling costs.

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With recent advancements in AI technologies, the playing field is becoming more level for organizations of all sizes to automate their customer service and support processes. Though there are many ways to do this, this article will focus on three. But first, let's quickly define customer experience.

Customer Experience

Customer experience is the result of a combination of factors including customer service and customer support. For simplicity, we’ll use “customer experience” to collectively include response time, problem resolution time, satisfaction ratings, service quality, and product functionality.

Method #1: Collect Customer Data with a CRM

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software enables you to gather and organize all pertinent information about each of your customers through detailed profiles. These profiles can include both quantitative data (i.e., amount of money spent) and qualitative data (customer preferences and feedback).

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This is golden information considering its use in setting up things like automated reminders to follow up with customers as well as do things like send birthday wishes and making helpful product or service recommendations based on preferences. Having multiple touchpoints keeps your organization top of mind.

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There are many CRMs to choose from depending on the complexity and volume of data your organization wants to collect on customers. Popular CRMs include Salesforce , Zoho CRM , HubSpot , and Pipedrive . ?

Method #2: Document Processes with Transcription Software

The amount of time it takes you to respond to customer inquiries is just as important as your ability to resolve or troubleshoot any reported issues or complaints.

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As you prepare to automate customer responses, consider recording customer experience conversations with your customers. Be sure to let your customers know you are recording the conversation. The most efficient way to record the conversation is via a tool (i.e., Zoom , MS Teams ) that captures the audio of all people involved and issues it as an audio file.

You can then upload these audio recordings to an audio transcription AI tool like Descript, Fireflies, or Google Voice. Some tools even provide a video recording as well which can be particularly helpful with software troubleshooting communications.

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After performing any necessary transcript corrections, upload it as an attachment to that customer’s profile in your selected CRM. Doing so gives an accurate historical record of conversations with the customer as well as provides a baseline for troubleshooting processes that can be used to train others.

Method #3: Automate Responses with AI Technologies

There’s another benefit to having a recorded transcript of customer resolution communications – future automated responses. Transcripts describing a specific issue or problem and the associated resolution can be fed into AI tools like chatbots, generative AI tools like Google Gemini or Chat GPT , and predictive AI tools like Esker AI .

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These “digital assistants” provide the ability to speed your response time to customer inquiries, improve the accuracy of the information provided for resolution, and increase the quality of attention given to customers provided they still require additional support.

Take Care of Your Customers and They’ll Take Care of You

In today's fast-paced business environment, providing exceptional customer experiences is mandatory for maintaining a competitive edge.

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Using a combination of a CRM, documented troubleshooting, and customized AI-powered response tools, you can achieve a breakthrough transformation in your customer interactions. In the video below you can learn more about how a tool like Esker AI achieves this powerful combination to increase both sales and satisfaction.

If this information is helpful, then subscribe to this newsletter to continue receiving strategies, tips, and tactics to enhance your company's operations. You can also schedule a free discovery call with me to answer your specific questions.

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About the Author

Alicia Butler Pierre is the Founder & CEO of Equilibria, Inc. – an operations management firm specializing in increasing enterprise value for fast-growing small businesses. She’s a software inventor, a two-time Amazon bestselling author, and producer of a top 2% podcast .

Alicia also serves on the boards of three education-focused organizations and is an adjunct instructor of Lean Principles at Purdue University . She serves as the USA Chair of the G100’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises. The Process Excellence Network recognized her as a Top 50 Thought Leader in Operational Excellence. A chemical engineer turned entrepreneur, she’s designed and optimized processes for small businesses, large enterprises, non-profits, and government organizations alike.