Unleashing the Potential of Conversational AI

Last week we launched Kipsy , a conversational AI tool that helps sales organizations sell better, in this week’s blog post we wanted to discuss conversational AI more broadly.

So, let’s just start right out of the gate with what conversational AI is at a high level and then look at some of the things conversational AI is doing for businesses.

Simply put, conversational AI is a set of tools that are used at-scale to understand conversations, extract data, create human responses, and automate tasks. All a sales organization’s most important data exists inside of the conversations it has, it’s where you get all the information on deals, status, amount, objections, etc. Historically sales organizations have relied on reps to extract this data. Conversational AI automatically extracts this data from every conversation, email, chat, or interaction you have with a customer. It then leverages the data it extracts to better engage that customer and automate workflows.

Improve Customer Experiences

Conversational AI allows businesses to provide instant and personalized support to customers, regardless of the time or location. It enables round-the-clock availability, eliminating the need to wait for human assistance during office hours. This results in improved customer satisfaction rates and a reduction in customer support costs.

By analyzing past interactions and customer data, AI-powered chat bots can offer proactive and relevant suggestions, resolving issues before customers even reach out for help. This personalized approach not only saves time for customers, but also makes them feel understood and appreciated.

A pertinent example of a company that effectively implemented conversational AI to tailor responses is Sephora. Sephora, a multinational beauty, and cosmetics retailer, introduced a virtual artist chat bot within their mobile app and other chat apps. This AI-powered chat bot uses computer vision technology to analyze user-uploaded photos and provide personalized makeup recommendations, virtual product try-on, and step-by-step tutorials.

According to a case study, Sephora's implementation of conversational AI resulted in a significant improvement in customer engagement and satisfaction. The chat bot was able to boost Sephora sales by 11% after being deployed.

Understand Your Customers Better

Next, conversational AI can capture valuable customer insights and data. By analyzing conversations and customer behavior, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their customers' needs, preferences, and pain points. This information can be used to refine marketing strategies, product offerings, and overall business decision-making.

Conversational AI has the capability to gather valuable customer insights and data. Through analyzing conversations and customer behavior, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their customers' needs, preferences, and pain points. This information can then be utilized to refine marketing strategies, improve product offerings, and make informed business decisions.

With these tools you can capture customer insights by collecting and analyzing data from customer conversations. By examining the language used, sentiments expressed, topics, reactions, and frequently asked questions, businesses can identify patterns and trends in customer behavior. For example, if multiple customers are consistently asking about a certain feature or expressing dissatisfaction with a specific aspect of a product, it signals a need for improvement or adjustment.

Conversational AI can also gather indirect customer insights through analyzing behavioral data. By tracking user interactions, businesses can collect information on which products or services are most frequently sought after, what features are being utilized the most, and which pages or sections of a website are visited the most. This data helps businesses understand customer preferences and can be used to inform decisions regarding product development, marketing campaigns, or website optimization.

When you put all this together it acts as a valuable source of customer insights that can inform every aspect of a business and improve decision making.

Streamline Sales Processes.

One of the key benefits of conversational AI is its ability to streamline business operations through automation. By using conversational AI tools, businesses can automate various tasks and processes, freeing up valuable time and resources for their employees.

In a case study by Conversica, they explain how a manufacturing company used its conversational AI assistant to automate prospect engagement and lead follow-up. The company was able to increase its conversions by 300% (yes you read that right), resulting in a significant boost in sales.

Furthermore, conversational AI can also automate repetitive administrative tasks such as appointment scheduling, order processing, and data entry (more about this in the next section). This not only eliminates human error but also saves time and reduces the risk of bottlenecks in the workflow.

Real-time Visibility

The most important piece of software for a sales organization is the CRM, and keeping it up to date is imperative, yet often neglected. Conversational AI can play a crucial role in automatically updating the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, providing a real-time view of the sales pipeline. By integrating conversational AI with CRM, sales representatives can benefit from automated data entry, accurate tracking, and improved visibility into the sales process as well as spending more time on what matters - selling.

Here are a few ways conversational AI enables automatic CRM updates for real-time sales pipeline visibility:

1. Lead Capture: Conversational AI can engage with potential customers through various channels like websites, social media, or chat bots. It can gather relevant information, qualify leads, and automatically update the CRM with essential details such as contact information, interests, and lead sources.
   
   
2. Progress Tracking: Conversational AI can facilitate automated follow-ups with leads, prospects, or customers. By using natural language processing capabilities, it can understand the conversation context and update the CRM with the latest progress, including notes, updates, and key discussions. This ensures that the sales pipeline is up to date without manual intervention.
   
   
3. Opportunity Management: Conversational AI can assist sales representatives by providing real-time insights into deal progression. By analyzing conversations and understanding customer sentiments, AI systems can evaluate the likelihood of deal closure and update CRM records accordingly. It can also flag potential risks, identify bottlenecks, and suggest appropriate actions to move deals forward.
   
   
4. Intelligent Notifications: Conversational AI can send automated notifications to sales teams whenever significant events occur in the sales pipeline. For instance, it can trigger notifications when a lead shows strong interest, or when a customer interacts with the company website. Automated notifications keep the CRM system continuously updated and enable salespeople to respond promptly.
   
   
5. Data Analytics: Conversational AI, when integrated with CRM, can extract valuable insights from customer conversations. By analyzing the interactions, sentiment, keywords, and patterns, AI systems can provide sales teams with actionable intelligence to optimize sales strategies. These insights can be utilized for forecasting, identifying trends, or refining lead generation techniques.

By using conversational AI to automatically update the CRM, sales teams can access a real-time, comprehensive view of the sales pipeline. This boosts transparency, helps sales representatives prioritize tasks, and enables effective decision-making. With up-to-date CRM data, businesses can improve sales forecasting accuracy, streamline processes, and drive overall sales performance.

Wrap Up!

Now that you know what conversational AI is, next week we will look at some of the top conversational AI companies with products that can deliver the value I described above.