The Evolution of Conversational Customer Experience

Ask any company whether they are customer-centric or customer-oriented, and they will invariably say ‘yes’. But, delve deeper into the inner workings and mechanisms, and the truth shall unveil itself.

At this point, one must understand that the basic premise of customer centrism is keeping the customer happy throughout the process - everything starts and ends with the customer.

Say a corporation does not provide the desired solution to a customer and fails to continuously track the ever-so-changing market expectations. Another scenario is where an enterprise fails to understand what needs to change constantly to retain the best option for the customer. In both of these cases, the customers shall walk away.

So, let’s begin with the basics.

Understanding the crux of CX

The core is that humans invariably seek a new and better way of resolving their issues, even more so through the path of least resistance. The gamut of customer experience has been at the forefront of most business-led conferences. Leading in is the evolution of conversational customer experience (CX). In essence, enterprises are offering ‘Voice of Customers’ (VOC).

So, how can CX be defined? There is no concrete answer. Much depends on the type of vertical, clientele, and their needs and requirements. CX is crucial to customers’ decisions through the interactions customers go through during the journey.

Introducing Conversational CX

The crux of conversational CX is to render strategic insights regarding customer decisions. Today, there are AI platforms that fulfil this function. The portal engages in open dialogues with customers, as opposed to fixed questionnaires. The overarching purpose is to help customers interact with enterprises about support, transactions, and commerce. These get driven through dialogue-based experiences.

Customers struggle with all sorts of issues, discrepancies, and queries. It is often challenging for companies to know which specific experiences are the make or break for customers. Some issues shall throw the customers over the edge. Yet, with others, consumers may power through.

Drawing a line

Now, there is a fine line in conversational CX! It is being able to understand the experiences which your customers can tolerate or do not care about much. The other end comprises those which can push customers away from your enterprise. And this distinction is what mires most modern-day corporations.

Today, corporations must pedal the metal and identify the experiences that cause customers to drop brands, like bad habits and ones that magnetise them to continue doing business.

The secret to a good CX is not offering perfect or seamless interactions at each touchpoint but knowing what matters to the companies. Beware not to fail or underperform in that aspect.

Stats and trends to get by

According to Gartner, over 50 percent of BFSI corporations have already invested in new technologies, such as conversation AI as their top preference. This one helps deliver tailored experiences at scale. Today, customers expect businesses to know their needs before and reach out through the right portals at the correct time. To this end, companies should get on top of the crucial data analytics trends.

Adding agility to operations with unified data

The current ecosystem comprises several storage solutions such as data lakes, warehouses, and databases. Structured datasets stem from company CRM, while unstructured datasets stem from third-party vendors. What these disparate digital systems do is create data silos. These prevent one from realising the full potential of client touch points.

Data gets gathered from diverse channels, platforms, and systems. Companies, hence, need to seek ways to centralise and standardise it. Once done, data gets queried, accessible, and triggered, facilitating real-time decision-making. This shall then empower the gamut of conversational CX. Anyone who has endured online purchasing will admit to being bombarded at every step. It usually happens through the most efficient, custom, and direct advertisements and marketing one can fathom. Enterprises are focused on advertising precision through consumer behaviour, remarketing, or retargeting ads. A typical example is studying social media profiles to gauge what customers want.

Translating omnichannel data into actionable insights

Corporations must know their customers to provide relevant and valuable experiences. However, this is no easy feat. It requires understanding behaviours, goals, preferences and needs. An additional data point can completely change a brand’s understanding of an audience or an experience. As per recent research, up to 82 percent of marketing experts witness new and shifting customer journeys fuelled by data insights. Enterprises that successfully convert data into insights identify crucial touchpoints and create custom experiences that leave a lasting impression.

Preparing for a cookie-less future

Before cookies, ad space was akin to the “online highway billboard”. Today, it has transpired into personalised experiences. Cookies rendered marketers new techniques to track visitor activity and gain a deeper understanding of website users.

Real-time, scalable personalised experiences

Today, products and cost are not the only competing parameters. Customer experiences mark a new entrant. The most enticing and enthralling content piece shall only elicit customer action if the timing is right. Real-time personalisation involves companies delivering contextually relevant content to every prospect at any interaction point. Personalising information in real-time, including offers and recommendations, begins with a real-time, 360-degree view of customers. As per research by HBR analytics services, only 15 percent of enterprises have access to a 360-view of customer data. Of this, 50 percent cite corporate and data silos among the main challenges in using data-driven insights to drive exceptional customer experience.

Data silos prevent brands from maintaining the customer context throughout the journey. Let alone provide a consistent and hyper-personalised customer experience. A recent survey reveals that 75 percent of customers are willing to shell out more funds toward businesses providing good CX. Also, exceptional CX is no longer optional. It needs to be embedded as a top priority.

Examples of Conversational CX

For the pioneers and initiated, the playing field is expansive and potentially infinite. Several brands have begun to unlock the value of providing conversational customer experiences.

Unilever

The brand had set up a conversational campaign through a WhatsApp chatbot and experienced 14x higher sales.

UNICEF

UNICEF curbed the donor churn by 33 percent after streamlining communication through a conversational omnichannel approach.

BOLT

The brand witnessed a 40 percent rise in conversion rate through driver registration journey optimization with conversation channels and automation.

The afterword

CX has come a long way since 2008. From limited dial menus and ineffective Intelligent Voice Response system and speech systems to leveraging AI and automation in chatbots. Many of us have endured major shifts in business-to-consumer communication. Also, with magnates, namely, Google and Apple, planning to mitigate third-party, the future rests upon consented first-party data.