When I talk about marketing with my customers and at events, I discuss how analytics, including using artificial intelligence ( AI ) and machine learning, can drive improved customer experience. I often say that without analytics, marketing departments might as well just go home.
Technology, data and insights
In today’s world, we are surrounded by data. Companies are trying to collect the right data and transform it into meaningful insights using powerful algorithms. But despite increasing use of technology and increasingly demanding consumers, the basic rules of customer engagement have not changed. In marketing, the equation of “relevance + convenience = acceptance” is still valid. The only difference is that over time, the precise definitions of relevance and convenience have expanded to recognise the importance of tighter targeting and the involvement of real-time technology and more channels.
The basic rules of customer engagement have not changed. In marketing, the equation of “relevance + convenience = acceptance” is still valid.
Most companies have a range of technologies they use to (try to) deliver a consistent customer experience to their clients and prospects. Organisations are doing everything possible to understand their customers, who are their most valuable assets. They are trying to learn about them and predict their behaviour using real-time analytics with high-performing models. The technology allows organisations to use the data, discover the best insights and deploy these insights in daily operations to drive optimal customer experiences.
But is this really true? What about the human factor? I think this could turn out to be even more important.
Technology or talk?
Let me tell you a story to illustrate this.
When my son was born, almost 19 years ago, I opened a savings account for him at my bank and put a fixed amount into it every month to build a fund for him. When he was about 6 years old, he opened his own children’s savings account at the same bank – the lure of the piggy bank, with PIN code security and digital money-counter was too cool to resist. My son used the savings account for a while, but when he turned 12, it became a traditional current account. He never used it as such, because his mother opened another account for him at her bank, but it remained there, dormant.
The day my son turned 18 years old, the money in the savings account that I had opened for him was transferred to that dormant current account in his name, and the savings account was closed. I only discovered that when my monthly deposit to the savings account was refused, and I called the bank to ask what had happened. They suggested that my son should contact the bank because I was no longer able to handle the account on his behalf.
This is where the story gets complicated, and indeed, quite astonishing. The adviser at the bank told my son to go online and apply for a debit card, which was free for students. He could then use the debit card number to create an online banking profile, transfer the money to the account of his choice and then close the long-dormant current account.
Yes, really. A long-term customer (albeit not active), son of another long-term customer, and that was the advice: how to close your account and go elsewhere. Not only a ridiculously drawn-out process for something that should have been very simple, but a huge missed opportunity!
The bank adviser could have asked my son whether he needed to access the funds immediately, or if he wanted to open a student’s savings account or short-term deposit. They could have advised him on how to invest the money for the future – it was a substantial amount by this stage, after all. This could have been an opportunity for the bank to build a relationship and grow a customer with a potential good and predictable lifetime value. But instead he was advised to close the account, so he did.
The future could be bots
Two weeks later, I had a business meeting with the team responsible for customer engagement at that very bank. They showed me all the new initiatives they were launching and how they were using analytics technology (provided by the company I work for) to understand customers and predict their behaviour, including using the latest AI technology to drive smart conversations with customers through digital assistants and chatbots. The contrast with my son’s experience struck me forcibly.
A bot, it seemed, would have recognised my son, collected all the necessary data from his questions, analysed his behaviour, asked the right questions and advised him on what to do with the money in his current account. It would, therefore, have significantly outperformed the human adviser – at least as far as the bank was concerned. My son might even not have been able to tell the difference between a human and a bot on the phone, although face-to-face would probably be a different matter.
And that is the nub of the matter: Would you be prepared to talk to a robot instead of a person? I think the moral of this story is that the human factor is often forgotten in the process of digitisation. The bot might have done better for the bank, but the adviser answered my son’s question, and helped him to achieve what he wanted (the account closed, and the money elsewhere). A combination, though? The human adviser, supported by the bot that recognised my son? Perhaps a very different story, and a better outcome for both bank and customer.
Organisations forget the human factor at their peril. They need to continue to invest in people, get the right personnel to interact with customers, train them well and teach them how technology can help them to get the best out of every conversation. Bots are not the answer to everything, but neither are humans alone.
Organisations need to continue to invest in people. AI and bots are not the answer to everything, but neither are humans alone. #AI Click To Tweet
29 Comments
Good insight. Never looked at AI as a way of avoiding "dumb" mistakes like the one the Bank rep made when in touch with your son.
I'm always amazed to see how many people think AI and bots will be the panacea to every short comings a company may have. If the company cannot teach their rep how to correctly handle a customer, I'm not convinced they will be able to train a bot.
Training is key - training for employees, but also training (with data) for the bots. If the training (the teacher for the employees and the data for the bot) is not of the right quantity and quality, the trainees cannot be expected to excel in their jobs.
AI and ML are nowadays very prominent in every facet of life, but not much attention has been given to how to enhance quality of the needed data right from the source – structure, type, format, etc. of the data to be collected. These are very vital in determining the accuracy of action and reaction with regards to AI performance.
That's where human control is still required - especially with chatbots you have to define the task for the bot, what's its purpose, then train it with the correct data, train it again and train it even more, and make sure to monitor progress and quality of service the bot is providing.
Agreed! Total reliance on either, alone, assumes the chosen method accounts for all variables and knows the optimal solution(s) and how they can best be achieved..
This is revealing. The bank could have definitely done better with some AI assistance together with the human touch.
Humans are the best!
Oh, really!
Yes, but I am worried about the fact that ML utilities are only as good as the data they're trained on. Depending how many of a particular case have come up, I can easily see the "correct" conclusion being missed. And once a human learns to rely on the ML utility, they may stop digging to establish that the utility made a mistake.
I agree, once a bot gets lost or is not sure of a given solution, it should be trained to come up with a suggestion for human intervention. Also for bots there an 80/20 rule applies. 20% of the conversations still may require human intervention, especially with delicate subjects. But again, over time the bot will guide the customers in the right direction.
Interesting! I hadn’t considered this aspect of AI before.
Indeed we need both artificial intelligence and human intervention. On the one hand, computers don't make mistakes and can perform calculations a lot faster than humans but only humans can adapt to situations not foreseen when artificial intelligence was developed.
Love the anecdotes. Illustrates the author's point well
It has to be hybrid model until bots (or AI) can completely take over. Technology has to be an enabler first then an alternative.
I went to a talk last night about AI and Healthcare, with very much the same premise. I think its safe to say that the use of AI to support the human brain and not replace it is where we are today.
BOT will be important to allow for 24/7 availability.
What if you son had been a bot talking to the bank bot... When bots will be making more and more decisions between themselves, hiw wre we going to react and what will we do?
I just changed cell phone companies. I made my initial decision and switched one of my phones. Then switch the second one based on price. Each cell phone company in Canada has similar prices and I am talking saving 20$ a month over a two year contract. There was something else behind my switching too.
I like to call phone representatives at all hours of the day. The new company has longer hours. Then the story gets interesting the phone reps at the new company are never rude or in hurry to hang up or send me elsewhere like your human banker did.
The old phone company did that sort of behaviour telling me they did not have what I needed and instead to go to the brick and mortar store. The new company it was mentioned in the news is using customer intelligence software. The reps even know the company did this to improve their approach to customer relations.
The old company is trying to gain a monopoly by lobbying the government regulators to make a less free and diverse Internet.
I actually don't work in a field/business with customers and we do not sell anything. It is interesting to see this marketing but it is not something I know very well.
Thanks for sharing your experience! And I fully agree that the use of Customer Intelligence technology helps drive a better Customer Experience.
Good point and thanks for sharing such an inspiring story. Please keep it up.
Good lesson about training as well.
It is human being who develops the algorithm.
Surprising story, but sometimes that's the outcome from bureaucracy.
Sometimes we are too smart for our own good. We need to continue to remember the basics ... and what it is that we are REALLY trying to do?
Interesting article and a good lesson on the importance of the human factor.
Interesting to point out that we need to keep our mindon both technologies and human interactions. Often we seem to focus more on one or another. The challenge is to get the right balance to maximise the benefits.
The bot might have even been able to notify you or your son when the first account was closed and money transferred as an opportunity for positive customer engagement.
Great article!