Why Conversational AI Can Improve Your Digital Transformation Strategy

Kate O’Connell of Interactions discusses how Conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) can bolster your digital transformation strategy.

Digital Transformation has become the “it” topic for senior leaders across all industries. In fact, according to IDC, direct Digital Transformation investment spending will approach $7.4 trillion between 2020 and 2023.

In addition, with the digital native generation entering the consumer stage and the majority of consumers becoming more connected, the pressure for digital transformation is on. 

Brands who don’t embrace digital transformation risk falling behind, losing customers, and maybe even becoming irrelevant.

Some well-known brands have already disappeared because they were too late to the game and surpassed by competitors who were already seeing results from Digital Transformation initiatives.

So, it’s not surprising that 85% of enterprise decision-makers say they have a time frame of two years to make significant inroads into digital transformation or they will fall behind their competitors and suffer financially, according to IDC.

What Is Digital Transformation?

Digital Transformation (DX) is the process of using digital technologies to create or optimize business processes to improve the company and customer experience and meet changing customer demands and market requirements.

In other words, it’s the process of restructuring how and where a business meets its customers in order to fit the needs of the digital-first age. 

Digital transformation requires removing silos and shifting the way of thinking—and working—across the business as a whole.

It not only means adapting to new technologies, but also taking into account the changing needs of customers, shifts in society, and changes in industries.

Digital Transformation for Customer Experience

Customer care is often the number one way customers interact with brands. So it’s no wonder that over 60% of Digital Transformation initiatives and pilots focus on improving customer experience, engagement, and retention, according to McKinsey. 

Over time, we have seen businesses respond to the rapid pace of technology and other disruptions mentioned above. If you look closely, you will see an evolution of Digital Transformation for customer experience. As this evolution progresses, each version has its benefits, but the result has never been a seamless experience for the customer. 

For example, with the rise of SMS, social media, apps, and more, many brands have implemented multiple channels to keep up with the changes in the way their customers communicate. But often these channels are handled by different departments. This causes the experience on one channel to be inconsistent with that on another.

Also, for the most part, if a customer begins a query on one channel, she can rarely carry a conversation to another without having to start from the beginning. This leads to disjointed, and often frustrating, customer experiences. So what does successful Digital Transformation in CX really look like? And how can you get there?

Achieving Digital Transformation Utopia With Conversational AI

The good news is that you can achieve a stronger customer experience through a strong Digital Transformation strategy that includes Conversational AI.

Many brands are already doing this today with Conversational AI applications, like Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVA).

For those who have been successful, the result is a channel-less, connected journey where customers seamlessly move through various channels:

• Without losing the context of the conversation
• Getting a personalized experience every time, everywhere
• Using the most optimal channel for them based on their preference, history, and transaction type

Successful Conversational AI applications can create a better experience for your customers in the three following ways.

1. Maintaining Context

Conversational AI applications can provide an omnichannel customer care experience that maintains context as customers move across channels. Customers can resume conversations they paused on the same channel or on a completely different one without having to repeat themselves or start over.

2. Personalized Experience

Seamlessly integrate Conversational AI into backend systems and pull existing data to make every interaction a personalized experience. There is no need to ask customers for information that they have already provided that can be found in previous interactions and data. This delivers a personalized experience so customers can feel valued. 

Personalization can also optimize the customer experience by remembering channel preferences to offer a faster, more efficient, and convenient experience every time. 

3. Channel Optimization

Applications powered by Conversational AI can easily scale across channels and offer a consistent brand experience no matter where you customer is. Create a better experience for customers by offering the best channel based on the scenario, transaction type, customer history, and their preferences. 

Author: Guest Author