Engage with empathy: Improving customer experience with artificial intelligence

Abstract

Change is inevitable, and sometimes transformation happens gradually. At other times, as the global pandemic showed us, it happens without warning. Either way, traditional marketing tactics have no place in modern customer experiences (CX). So how can brands build trust and develop deeper relationships through ever-changing sentiment or market conditions? They need to show customers that they understand their unique situation and can provide tangible value. Marketing and customer engagement practitioners can achieve true one-to-one engagement with artificial intelligence (AI)-powered, ‘always-on’ models that continuously engage customers during calculated ‘moments of need’. Legacy marketing techniques will no longer be sustainable in a rapidly evolving business landscape riddled with data constraints, regulatory challenges and labour shortages. Organisations need to move away from data silos and channel-specific strategies and instead rely on a single ‘brain’ that helps orchestrate engagement with each customer. Brands can survive only by moving beyond sales and mixing additional messages that support retention, service, nurture and resilience actions into their marketing framework; only then can they deliver truly personalised customer experiences across channels while always remaining sensitive to their circumstances.