Generative AI (GenAI) is set to revolutionize the Customer Communications Management (CCM) industry, driving profound changes in how businesses interact with their customers. We expect that GenAI will significantly impact the creation, management and distribution of regulated documents and communications such as bills, statements and policies.
According to research by Zendesk, 70% of Customer Experience (CX) leaders plan to integrate generative AI into most of their touchpoints within the next two years. This strategic shift aims to support intelligent experiences that provide humanized journeys, making interactions feel personable and interactive.
These experiences cannot stop within the world of marketing. They need to extend into the world of CCM as we move to a far more customer-centric view of regulated communications, and we evolve into Customer Experience Management (CXM).
So Where Do You Start?
Data is at the crux of using GenAI in communications
Leveraging data is crucial for creating these personalized experiences. Without the data – from behavioral, demographic, engagement and/or geographic data for example – providing deeply personalized communications becomes exponentially more difficult.
Ensuring you have the technology and processes in place to extract and ingest customer data is crucial to a successful strategy using GenAI.
Data privacy and transparency becomes key
Understanding data privacy and transparency in AI decision-making remains a challenge that needs addressing.
Implementing strong data privacy and security measures is needed when using gen AI models. This means having enterprise-wide governance on how the technology is used and ensuring all processes and staff adhere to the strict rules that will need to be put in place to guard-rail any customer data.
Awareness of the AI disconnect
As you start to think about the benefits around AI in regulated communications, you need to be mindful of the growing and notable disconnect between leaders and front-line staff regarding AI strategy, tools and its impact on existing roles.
Being open and including all affected staff will ultimately make for a better adoption and implementation of the technology.
Applying AI to CCM
Data Management
AI enhances data management by improving the quality, security and accessibility of data. Tasks such as cleaning, extracting, integrating, cataloging, labeling and organizing data are streamlined, ensuring that the data used for customer communications is accurate and reliable.
Next Best Message
AI-driven systems can deliver dynamic messages based on customer data and behavior. These messages are designed to prompt customers to take specific actions or increase their spending, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
Content Rationalization
AI can reduce the number of templates and streamline content creation processes, making communications more concise and readable. This rationalization improves the overall customer experience by eliminating redundancy and ensuring clarity.
Hyper-Personalization
Leveraging AI with real-time data allows for the creation of highly granular, customer-specific content. This hyper-personalization ensures that each communication is relevant and tailored to the individual, significantly boosting engagement and satisfaction.
Customer Analytics
AI uncovers patterns in customer behavior, needs and requirements, providing valuable insights that can inform communication strategies and improve customer service.
AI-Driven Bots
Smart bots, powered by AI, outperform traditional deterministic bots by learning from previous interactions. This continuous learning enables them to provide more accurate and helpful responses over time, enhancing the customer experience.
Advantages of AI in CCM
The integration of AI into CCM offers numerous advantages, including:
- Improved customer experience
- Uncovering hidden trends
- Ensuring regulatory compliance
- Facilitating upselling and cross-selling
- Gaining customer behavioral insights
- Increasing operational efficiency
- Identifying dissatisfied customers
- Reducing the number of templates
- Improving call center response times
The Impact of AI on CCM
- Consolidation: AI consolidates similar or duplicate content, reducing the number of messages and templates needed.
- Consistency: Ensures that all content aligns with brand guidelines and maintains consistency across all touchpoints.
- Understanding: Evaluates the readability of communications, ensuring they are easily understood by all customers.
- Sentiment: Maintains the appropriate sentiment in each communication to enhance engagement and improve the customer experience.
Transforming Regulated Communications in CCM
GenAI can add value by incorporating personalized content that makes sense for the customer. This includes:
- Personalized Video: Delivering engaging and relevant visual content.
- Integrated Chatbots: Providing real-time assistance and information.
- Simplified Payments: Making it easier for customers to complete transactions directly from their bills.
- Digital Assistants: Enhancing engagement through interactive and hyper-personalized experiences.
The Customer-Centric Premise: Know Me, Help Me, Value Me
To effectively integrate GenAI into CCM, businesses must adopt a customer-centric approach:
- Know Me: Utilize AI to gather relevant data, ensuring communications feel personalized and empathetic.
- Help Me: Create clear, actionable communications that assist customers in understanding complex terms and actions, boosting their confidence.
- Value Me: Ensure every interaction conveys value to the customer, regardless of their spending level, by leveraging data and touchpoints effectively.
Personalized Communications for Enhanced Customer Loyalty
The Financial Brand highlights other use cases of how GenAI can help personalize communications, such as incorporating product recommendations tailored to individual preferences, as well as using personalization to not only enhance customer loyalty but also increase the propensity to pay on time.
Moving Forward with GenAI
Taking note of the potential applications of GenAI in regulated and transactional communications is the first step towards developing an effective strategy. It is crucial to focus on possibilities rather than obstacles, ensuring a proactive approach to integrating GenAI into the CCM industry.
By embracing GenAI, businesses can transform their customer communications, creating more personalized, efficient and valuable interactions. This not only enhances customer satisfaction but also drives loyalty and long-term success in an increasingly competitive market.
Liz has a true passion for helping organizations identify their customers' needs and consulting with them to satisfy those needs. She is an expert in Customer Communications Management (CCM) and helping clients utilize digital communications to meet their CX goals. As a true specialist in transactional communications, Liz has the ability to help companies make the needed microchanges now that will immediately impact the customer experience, all while putting the steps in place to make the longer term step changes.
With more than 20 years experience in digital communications, Mia helps companies go paperless for transactional customer communications and works to improve those touchpoints through customized strategy and advisory services. She is a thought leader and as an expert in her field, shares her expertise through her consulting. Throughout her career, Mia has been an advocate for improving customer experiences through relevant, valuable and accessible communications. With a strong problem-solving mind-set, she is constantly looking for ways to improve critical customer communications. She is a regular speaker and blogger on digital customer communication, digital maturity and improving the customer experience.
