According to recent PwC data, 86% of business executives consider AI to be a “mainstream technology” at their companies in 2021. Moreover, those who have already adopted AI solutions, tend to be more optimistic about their company’s growth despite the pandemic: 25% expect to increase revenue, compared with 18% for all companies.
There’s little doubt AI-based solutions have been increasingly pervading business operations in recent years. So, how can companies drive their marketing and sales conversion by adopting AI technology? Let’s see.
Virtual agents
Virtual agents powered by conversational AI can communicate with customers via voice, which involves understanding their requests, analyzing them, and responding to them appropriately. In case a voice agent cannot understand or resolve a customer’s issue right away, it asks additional questions to clarify the issue or passes the inquiry to a human agent, if necessary.
Unlike the IVR bots that are only capable of recognizing voice commands, modern conversational AI solutions can hold full-fledged conversations in natural language as well as detect and mimic emotions – so that only a small percentage of customers realize they are actually talking to a robot. Besides, voice agents never get tired and always follow the instructions, unlike human agents, which makes them an ideal tool for communication with customers.
Data analysis
What AI is especially good at is processing huge volumes of information. Given the amount of data an average business generates and gathers daily, there’s no way a human analyst can handle it manually. With the help of AI, however, it’s possible to process large chunks of information to analyze and predict consumer behavior and draw insights that can help improve your marketing and sales strategy.
AI-powered data analytics solutions have become increasingly popular lately as they can automate the process of turning raw data into meaningful insights. AI Analytics uses machine learning algorithms that can perform analysis and detect patterns very accurately. For example, when forecasting product demand, AI can reduce errors in supply chain networks by 30 to 50%, according to McKinsey.
Personalization
Personalization has become a golden standard in our digital reality. Customers now expect highly-personalized experiences regardless of the industry, company size, and the context of interaction – be it an online ad or an email newsletter.
By processing data collected from customers with AI algorithms, companies can deliver content, services, and products that are relevant to the target audience. The users are more likely to be interested and purchase something that is relevant to their needs and interests, so using AI to maximize the percentage of such matches can dramatically boost your sales.
Marketing campaign optimization
According to a Business Insider’s report, 51% of marketers use at least one AI tool.
They leverage data and technology to launch marketing campaigns that allow them to achieve a company’s goals more effectively. The most common usage scenarios are market research and real-time campaign analysis.
For example, Google’s new Attribution tool can help you draw much deeper insights from your marketing campaigns than before. Other possible applications include AI-fueled advertising platforms that analyze user behavior to display relevant ads at the right time or personalize marketing messages depending on the recipient.
Customer support automation
Efficient customer support is crucial when it comes to meeting your customers’ expectations and driving sales. According to the statistics, 44% of customers will not spend more than 2 minutes waiting on the phone. This is why minimizing response times is key to improving customer experience and, therefore, increasing revenue.
Conversational AI-powered agents can boost the call center performance and efficiently free human agents from many routine tasks: instantly replying to users’ requests and incoming calls, guiding through registration or installation processes, assisting with common issues, etc. Besides, with conversational AI solutions, you will be able to provide instant support at any time and day of the week and in any language, your customers might need.
Final thoughts
If used appropriately, AI solutions can be of enormous benefit for both businesses and customers. There are numerous ways how companies can utilize AI to increase customer loyalty and boost revenues while delivering exceptional customer service and personalized experiences.
