Are you surprised? Customer experience should be one of the highest priorities for any company today; in addition, it is also one of the top trends because having a good product is not enough anymore; it is essential to have excellent customer service that generates a positive impact on the consumer’s perception of a particular brand.

Customer experience is no longer just about the moment of purchase and post-sale. More than ever, companies must pay attention to the customer journey to offer a truly impactful and differentiating service.

With a more digital customer who interacts with brands through several channels, ranging from the website to social media, among many other moments, companies need to have a holistic and transversal view of the customers and the business they can generate because only then it is possible to make better decisions and have a more assertive strategy. A strategy that involves uniquely treating each customer, recommending services or products that meet their preferences or generating needs according to their behaviour is only possible when we know our customers in detail.

Given that consumers leave an increasingly extensive digital footprint, the key is to turn all that data into relevant insights that let you know what consumers want, how, where, and what price they are willing to pay.

Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence solutions allow you to integrate all information, giving a centralized and relatable view and exploring opportunities that bring maximum value to the business.

The power of the recommendation

A company in the retail area with a presence in several countries worldwide, known for being an innovative, young, and cosmopolitan brand, wanted to have a new customer loyalty program. In this context, an Analytics solution was developed that allows the brand to have updated information about customers, stores, countries, and payment methods. With all the information aggregated and updated, the brand can have a personalized and exclusive program for customers, undoubtedly impacting its relationship with them.

Moreover, with all the customers’ interests and purchases historical information, an Artificial Intelligence solution developed a recommendation system that, more than a technique to increase sales, works as an always-updated tool to understand the customers better and meet their needs.

It is a solution based on a virtuous business cycle, i.e., the more people interact with the recommendations made, the more accurate they become and, consequently, the more efficient they are. And the more efficient they are, the more people start using them, and new and more precise information is acquired. This information will be used for existing product offerings and the improvement or development of new ones.

Growing competition and the need to offer a better customer experience are increasing the demand for these solutions. Whether with traditional recommendation engines, which analyse similarities between users or products and items purchased together or with more sophisticated ones, that present highly personalized recommendations considering factors such as time/day, the device in use, the time in the current interaction and the risk of abandonment, among others. Research & Markets data show that this market is expected to expand at 33.0% (CAGR) from 2021 to 2028.

The power of bots

The rise of e-commerce in recent years has led to a growth in the use of chatbots by companies, which increasingly recognize the need for more effective interactions. Today, customers prioritize quick response, efficiency, and convenience.

According to data from Mordor Intelligence, chatbots will be worth around $102.29 billion by 2026.

The reason is that, with highly differentiated customer support, it is possible to offer better customer experiences and, at the same time, reduce operational costs. And here, without a doubt, with the use of artificial intelligence and bots, it is possible to offer this service in a personalized, fast and efficient way.

According to Drift’s 2020 State of Conversational Marketing report, chatbots as a brand communication channel have increased by 92% since 2019. 24.9% of shoppers used chatbots to communicate with businesses in 2020, up from 13% in the previous year.

The same source reveals that most consumers have positive or neutral experiences with this technology and that, in the last year, they were more receptive to interactions with chatbots.

Among the many advantages of using chatbots in customer relations is the speed of response, 24/7 availability, and cost savings.

Using disruptive technological solutions to know the preferences and needs of customers, how to impact the customer journey from the first contact, make accurate recommendations, and have efficient customer service, makes all the difference and is truly impactful for an improvement in the results any company.

The future belongs to the companies that use data to decide, plan and create wiser strategies.