Editorial
The Gist
- Embrace core values. Ensure AI trends align with your brand's core values and mission for genuine representation.
- Customer-centric focus. AI implementations should enhance the customer experience, making users feel heard, helped and special.
- Stay agile with AI. With rapid tech evolution, businesses should remain flexible, avoiding long-term commitments to quickly outdated AI systems.
While AI trends promise a future of efficiency, I'm here to confront the overlooked question: How does it truly address our clients' most pressing needs?
Picture this: You're whisked into a company's strategy meeting, all eyes on innovation. You're circled up, when in walks that executive, going on about the latest AI chatbot find. For a moment, every exec's face lights up with childlike awe — as if they've just been handed a magic wand.
They've been convinced this tech is the golden ticket to slashing wait times and give their brand the upper hand in the market. And honestly, who wouldn't be tempted? We’ve all been there. But it's time for a reality check from someone like me — marketing strategist and AI integration consultant with 20 years experience.
Promise: This is not about putting a damper on your enthusiasm. Rather, it's about grounding our strategy in something more than just the allure of the next big thing. Let's peel back the layers and figure out how you can make better decisions around AI trends in your company.
AI Trends Tip No. 1: Know Who You Are: Hamilton or Burr
You know the line from Hamilton?
"If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?”
Navigating AI trends is a lot like that Hamilton stance: The brand champions need to understand its ethos before it ventures into an electrifying dance number. It’s time to revisit those core values and mission statements we all hold dear. You know, the ones the CMO trots out once a year like some sacred ritual. They're not just pretty words — they're essential to ensuring that the AI chatbot world genuinely represents what we're all about. On the contrary, a “Burr” would just proceed without revisiting, possibly overtaking the decision team with new faces minus core ethos experience and training, just roll the dice on output.
Let me explain.
Imagine you're in that call center, gunning for efficiency with the latest AI software. But pause — does our mission really boil down to being the quickest draw in the West, or is it about delivering unmatched customer engagement? Anyone who's ever felt rushed off a phone call knows faster doesn't always mean better.
Real talk: What is your brand promise? And how is AI going to really solve a problem that gets you closer to delivering on this?
While so many companies are missing the boat with integrating AI into their interfaces by forgetting to align execution to core purpose, I encourage companies to embrace a very specific piece of research that can be a game changer. McKinsey throws a spotlight on the need for keeping the human touch in AI-enhanced services, noting a whopping 75% of customers juggle multiple channels during their journey. This nugget of wisdom tells us that AI chatbots need to fit into a broader, more human-centric customer service strategy, one that complements rather than replaces the personal touch. Anyone else itching for a team huddle asap to discuss this? I’ll bring the fringe collars and white wigs.
Related Article: How AI Integration Can Power Better Human Experiences
AI Trends Tip No. 2: Do Your Customers Make Your Heart Flutter?
At the core of every decision we make as business leaders, there's one truth we can't ignore: The customer's experience is everything. I’m pretty sure this is the tattoo you receive upon completing an MBA program now.
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So, when we bring in something shiny and new, like chatbots, they’ve got to do more than potentially just speed things up to meet this tattoo business truth. New customer interactions should create an impression similar to a first date, making each user feel uniquely valued and as if they are the sole focus of attention.
As a marketer, my teams are charged with the psychology mind job of making customers feel heard, helped and special — and hello, that’s personal! So how do you do this when implementing anything new? You have a secret weapon. It’s time to ramp up the feedback loop — the king for perfecting the customer experience and your systems.
Digging In
The good news is that McKinsey's digging into this, showing how smart use of data and getting those real-time vibes can flip the script on customer interactions. So, the research says that feedback isn’t just nice to have for companies — it’s crucial.
Herculean Task
From my firsthand experience, I've seen that getting feedback through surveys is honestly a Herculean task and low response rates can be the norm. Engagement is incredibly hard to come by, but it's absolutely crucial.
Now, with AI technology becoming more integrated into our daily business operations, there's never been a more critical time to strengthen those feedback loops. Make this No. 1 priority with your teams: Tighten up how you listen and respond to your customers because it can make all the difference in staying ahead and delivering experiences that truly resonate. It's not just about collecting data — it's about making every piece of feedback count toward better service, especially in a bot world.
Related Article: AI Integration Enhances Decision Trees for Better CX
AI Trends Tip No. 3: Are We Headed to Oz?
Back to McKinsey's latest dive into AI trends for 2023. It shows we're on the brink of some big changes, thanks to AI tech. Especially in places where brains beat brawn — like banking, healthcare and education — the forecast is for major shake-ups. In simple terms, if you thought AI was a big deal NOW, you haven't seen anything yet. Businesses, take note: It's time to gear up for a ride because AI trends about to change the game in a big way in the next two to three years.
Speeding Up
Then there's the "McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2023," painting a picture of a tech world speeding up like never before. Imagine this: A future where your fridge is smarter than yesterday's computers and apps get built in a day. Remember how your grandmother spoke about the computers being the size of gymnasiums and doing the work of your basic calculator? And then you would laugh and think, “Geez Grandma, you must have been so behind back then.” Gulp.
Tech Is Essential
For businesses, this means keeping up with tech isn't just nice to have — it's essential. And it's not just about knowing the latest gadgets but creating a work vibe where everyone's up to speed and ready to roll with the tech punches.
Related Article: AI in Customer Experience: The Impact on Customer Journeys
Bottom Line It For Me – Let’s Not Buy the Wedding Ring Yet
So, what's the bottom line here, fellow geriatric millennial Grandpa? With AI trends and tech evolving at lightning speed, locking into big, bulky systems might not be the smartest move. The next year or so is looking like a wild ride, with tech trends popping up and fading away fast.
I tell my clients to stay flexible, do not commit a large portion of the budget to AI tech investments that lock you in because the truth is — in six months, there most likely will be a consolidated version of that option at a better price point. Stay agile right now, learn as much as you can, invest in AI training for your teams, and you’ll ride this disruptive market.
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