How to create dialogs that customers want to be part of
Using big data to provide customers with the interactions they want and need is the future of great customer experience. We often talk about the power of personalization within this conversation, but today’s customers want more from companies than just individualized engagements. They also expect real-time conversations.
In fact, when it comes to customer service and problem resolution, the most valuable qualities for 75% of customers are either accurate information or efficient interactions. For marketers, being able to provide customers with the information they need in real time is crucial to fostering a mutually beneficial relationship throughout the entire lifecycle.
From acquisition to retention, personalized interactions remain important. However, using what you know about a customer to deliver the information they want at exactly the right time is key to orchestrating a truly valuable experience.
So, how can marketers respond to their customers’ needs as accurately, efficiently and quickly as possible?
Combining what you knew then with what you know now
At the root of real-time customer interaction lies rich data. The more you know about a customer, the better equipped you are to transform insights into interactions across their preferred channels.
To orchestrate conversations that count, businesses must combine their existing customer profiles (based on historical data such as previous buying behaviors, enquiries, complaints, and so on) with the data they glean as the interaction unfolds.
A customer’s historical data, if it exists, can help you predict what they might need next. Nevertheless, it’s an understanding of the actions your customer is taking right now that will help you respond appropriately.
Ultimately, marketers must meet their customers’ actual needs – and this means focusing on more than just predictions.
Analyzing insights for informed decision-making
Traditionally, businesses have relied on post-experience feedback, often in the form of satisfaction ratings and surveys, to create customer profiles and make behavioral predictions.
However, engaging with modern customers needs a more sophisticated approach. According to McKinsey, only 16% of customer experience leaders obtain the level of granularity they need from surveys to tackle “the root causes of CX performance”.
Today, businesses require a more advanced tool, such as a customer data platform (CDP), to convert insights into action when it’s most impactful. With data aggregation and intelligent decision-making capabilities, advanced CDPs – such as NGDATA’s Intelligent Engagement Platform – nudge marketers towards the next-best-action based on a unified view of the customer, as it evolves in real-time.
Tools like these help businesses strike the right balance between personalization and convenience. For example, in the context of e-commerce, a smart CDP can help you engage with customers based not just on their propensity to purchase a particular item, but their intention(s) as they browse the site.
Engaging customers at the right time, in the right place
To enable truly valuable conversations between organizations and customers based on their immediate needs, marketers must be prepared to deliver the right message across multiple channels. By utilizing omnichannel conversations, you can adapt your response as the customer journey develops.
To orchestrate conversations that are not just personalized but also contextually relevant, organizations should look to deliver responses based on both customer profiles and trigger-based events.
Imagine that a customer is browsing a telco provider’s available plans online, and the provider has noticed a change in the customer’s data usage. Offering them the chance to contact a salesperson via a live chat feature could be what they need to make a decision.
Of course, delivering omnichannel experiences relies on a level of intelligence, provided only by CDPs with advanced analytics capabilities, like our Intelligent Engagement Platform. At the base of every real-time conversation is rich data that has been collected, aggregated, and analyzed to guide highly strategic decision-making.
Orchestrating meaningful conversations with our Intelligent Engagement Platform
With our Intelligent Engagement Platform, marketers can deliver communications based on always evolving Customer DNA™ built on both historical and developing data. By consolidating data from all available sets, including third-party sources, our Intelligent Engagement Platform equips you with the most up-to-date information for conversations that make sense.
It also offers a variety of use cases that allow marketers to apply predictive models to their customer interactions, ensuring every engagement is delivered seamlessly and at the most impactful time.
If you’d like to learn more, check out our white paper ‘Real-time Done Right: From Customer Insights to Customer Engagement‘, where Customer Data Platform Institute (CDPI) Founder David Raab discusses why it’s time to get real about real-time data.
Read our white paper
‘Real-time Done Right: From Customer Insights to Customer Engagement’
Have a question about real-time conversations? Let’s chat.
