Editorial
The Gist
- Break free of “the way things are done.” Look for inspiration from unlikely sources, such as what companies outside of your industry are doing, and lean into the diverse experiences and perspectives of your team.
- Be agile and open to change. Customer expectations are a constantly moving target, so being willing to experiment with new initiatives — and scrapping practices that are no longer serving customers — is necessary to keep up.
- Never underestimate the power of human connection. AI and other emerging technologies can provide tremendous value but must be deployed strategically. When customers reach out during a real time of need, a chatbot doesn’t cut it.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies are rapidly changing how customers interact with companies. And while AI certainly has its place, especially when it comes to providing more efficient and accurate services to customers, it also has the potential to create a homogeneous experience across different brands.
For this reason, it is more important than ever for customer experience leaders to bring creativity, connectivity and agility to their organizations.
Here are three ways for brands to stand out — in a good way — amidst the rise of AI:
Table of Contents
- Be Different → Differentiate Your Customer Experience
- Be Flexible → Build Flexibility Into Your Customer Experience Strategy
- Be Human → Balance AI With Human-Centered Customer Experience
Be Different → Differentiate Your Customer Experience
Every industry has its version of “the way things are done.” In order to differentiate your organization from competitors, you have to be willing to look beyond that and try something unexpected. My tried-and-true approach is to look at what other industries are doing well when it comes to customer experience and adapt it to your own organization.
Borrowing CX Ideas From Outside Your Industry
My team wanted to find a way to help process claims that was convenient and accessible for customers, and we found inspiration from an unlikely source: A well-known pizza delivery and takeout restaurant and its pizza tracker. So, we created a “claims tracker” that allows our customers to follow their claims’ progression in real time, from initial review to verification and payment.
Being willing to stand out requires a few things: leadership buy-in, psychological safety and a culture of curiosity. It also helps to have a team with diverse experiences across different brands and industries.
Personally, I did not “grow up” in the insurance industry; I started my career in marketing and sales for consumer packaged goods and food and beverage companies. I’ve also worn many hats within my current organization, including marketing, operations and IT.
There is no one, universal path to a successful career in customer experience. Building a team with an eclectic background and holistic view of the business can help avoid the “tunnel vision” that flattens the customer experience across different brands.
Related Article: Human First: How Aflac Combines AI With Authentic Connections
Be Flexible → Build Flexibility Into Your Customer Experience Strategy
Your frontline customer experience employees are the experts on your team. They interact with customers every day and understand their challenges and needs better than anyone else. It’s important to listen to them, learn from them and give them the freedom to try new things. Customer expectations are constantly changing, and in order to keep up, you must be agile, willing to abandon practices that are no longer working and open to taking a test-and-learn approach for new initiatives.
Letting Frontline Employees Shape CX Innovation
My organization has a team of customer experience professionals who work exclusively with our policyholders who have received a first-time cancer diagnosis. Originally, the plan was for employees to rotate on and off the team to avoid stress and burnout. However, these initial team members loved the work and felt they were making a difference for customers, so the plan was scrapped.
I meet with this team on a regular basis, and I’m always surprised and impressed by the ideas they come up with given their proximity to our customers. Most recently, these employees suggested sending care packages to policyholders to let them know we’re thinking of them. They just began a pilot program for this initiative, and early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
It's another way we can live up to our companywide value of supporting our customers during their times of need, and it’s an idea that came directly from our customer-facing employees, not a focus group or brainstorm.
Related Article: Verizon on the New CX Equation: AI + Agent Experience = Loyalty
Be Human → Balance AI With Human-Centered Customer Experience
Investing in AI and other emerging technologies is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s a requirement for any company to keep up with customer expectations. In today’s fast-paced world, customers have become accustomed to receiving answers as quickly as possible. For low-stakes interactions with companies — for example, updating your contact information — most customers prefer the ease and efficiency of using an app or online portal.
When Automation Helps — and When It Hurts
But not all interactions are low-stakes, and in those cases, it is absolutely essential to give customers the option to speak with a real human being. When someone has received a serious diagnosis, is facing a financial setback or is navigating another difficult situation, a chatbot simply will not do. This is especially true for companies in the insurance industry — we often hear from our customers on their most challenging days — but just about every company will have customers who contact them during their greatest times of need.
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In moments like these, most customers will want human-to-human connection, and empathy is a powerful force that cannot be replicated through technology. It is up to every customer experience professional to ensure that customers always have the option to reach out and know there is another voice on the other side.
With the availability of increasingly sophisticated AI tools, it’s an exciting time to be a customer experience leader. As these tools continue to evolve and become more widely accessible, it’s important to make sure your company is using these technologies wisely and in the ways that provide the most value to customers. At the time same, leaders must continue to lean into their creativity, ingenuity and, above all, humanity to ensure their brands stand out in a sea of sameness.
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