The new deal in customer relations in the age of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is often presented as the driving force behind a revolution in customer relations. The customer journey, machine learning and chatbots are all tools designed to improve the customer experience for companies. But isn't the real differentiator in customer relations the ability to develop human intelligence?

Eurogroup Consulting, in partnership with the Institut National de la Relation Client (INRC), publishes the new edition of its white paper, Feel more, commit more: the new deal in customer relations in the age of artificial intelligence. This version, updated in light of the recent health crisis, presents the viewpoints of operational staff and trade unions on developments in their profession.

CUSTOMER LOYALTY: A GROWING CHALLENGE FOR ORGANIZATIONS

Building customer loyalty is key (compared to the investment required to win over a new customer): which means knowing how to respond to customer expectations at all times. Faced with ever-increasing customer demands (immediacy, 7/7, ultra-personalization...), the professions that ensure and manage customer relations (salesperson, telephone advisor, technician...), which could be called customer inter-actors or customer connectors, must absolutely and permanently adapt.
Some will say "An ongoing challenge", while others will comment "Nothing new so far; patience, we're getting there".

AI partially meets customer needs

Either before they are even expressed (e.g. personalized marketing campaign), or in direct response (e.g. via a chatbot-like "intelligent" advisor at any time of the day or night), or as a facilitator of customer interaction (e.g. prediction of types of breakdown to anticipate the resolution of an incident).
AI frees up the time of some of the inter-actors, giving them more time to meet the expectations of customers who have a strong need for a human relationship.

This added heat is eagerly awaited

A symbol of proximity, intimacy and authenticity, as well as territorial anchoring, regardless of urban or population density, this indicator is a key factor in the success of our business. a symbol of collective success and therefore shared between the 3Cs: Customer, Employee and Corporate.

New dimensions to take into account

To enter this new era, we need to be ready for another transformation triggered by AI. Indeed, beyond the technological leap and paradigm shifts induced, this transformation is profound and affects all customer-facing professions (front / back). It is also new in terms of the fields it touches: culture, professions, processes, tools, skills... All this is quite classic for a transformation, but ethics/CSR, business model, emotions, privacy by design, are the new dimensions to be taken into account.

Towards a new transformation in customer relations

But above all, emotions are the new skills to build and develop to respond both to the most complex customer situations, and to the employees (advisor, bot coach, ...) who need to be supported in the exercise of their professions. Thus, these transformations through AI go hand in hand with an approach of amplified change management which rests on 5 pillars: giving meaning, co-constructing, cooperating (in the sense of operating / producing / exercising together), relying on a community of ambassadors and using a neutral third party to dispassionate debates).

And what if, perceived in this way, AI were a gas pedal for Human Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence in particular? What if added warmth were the new indicator of commitment, making it possible to measure 3+1 Cs: Customer, Employee, Corporate, Citizen?

And what if emotion and socio-emotional skills were seen at their true value?... Beyond putting the customer back at the heart, our conviction is that we need to put emotion back at the heart of everything (organizations, industries, territories, etc.).

THE CHALLENGES OF THE COVID CRISIS 19

The Covid crisis and its twists and turns have confirmed the acceleration of the movement towards AI both through our exchanges with the ThinkThank and its constituent members and confirmed through the Eurogroup Consulting barometer conducted with its international network Nextcontinent :

Factually, periods of confinement have physically distanced customers from points of sale, places of customer experience and human interaction, and have forced the hand towards other existing remote channels, and even led to the emergence of new ones (livestream shopping).
During and after, changes in behavior are unavoidable: new channels, digital/physical hybridization again and again, but also a return to proximity (physical and emotional), with customers expecting more when they travel to live a unique experience and feel pampered.
Mechanically, if we look at the other side of the coin: the role and use of digital technology and the power of AI have become increasingly important, affecting operational and managerial teams, as well as those in the know.
One player (the Chief Data Officer) is coming into his own, and teams are reaffirming the need for support.

The extension of our work to other stakeholders (operational staff and those representing them, such as trade unions) has enriched and enriched our thinking:

Tails (expert): the role of the Chief Data Officer is asserting itself and strengthening to cope with the multitude of data and business opportunities involved, because the need for control, legal and ethical security of data exploitation is essential, as the CNIL fines are pretty hefty: they are in the spotlight and will remain so.
On the other side (business team): operational staff and trade union organizations corroborate the importance of getting them on board and mobilizing them, as is customary but never sufficiently done! We understand them: faced with a subject that can sometimes be a source of anxiety or even fantasy, it's all the more important to explain, give meaning to and involve them, in order to demystify.

On behalf of the entire Eurogroup Consulting team, I'm delighted to take you on this odyssey, which, like Ulysses, will last at least 10 years, with its adventures, twists and turns, headwinds and allies of all kinds. Let's sail together to discover this enhanced white paper.

CÉCILE GOUESSE

Partner, Eurogroup Consulting

And at managerial level?

Indeed, customers and citizens are aware of the developments enabled by AI, of the impact on Customer Relations, and therefore of the challenge of helping them to move in the Latin sense of the word, to set themselves in motion and to work on emotions. And here too, expectations are high of the local manager: "So, how can you help me? Can you guide me, accompany me along this new path?" which also implies a need for new skills of all kinds (expectations are higher for facilitation than for expertise)!