In a recent report from MIT Technology Review, 91 percent of companies with the highest levels of customer satisfaction used some form of AI versus only 42 percent of companies in their industries as a whole. In other words, a MARKETING AI® has a direct, measurable impact on how well businesses satisfy their customers’ needs. Marketing automation is no longer a useful extra; it’s now a mission-critical element of marketing in the modern age.
B2B companies have historically lagged behind their B2C counterparts when it comes to customer satisfaction, possibly because they faced fewer competitors in their niches. That’s no longer the case as larger firms have expanded into new markets and smaller ones have diversified. Everyone feels the pressure now, and B2B businesses that ignore customer service do so at their peril.
Automation and Personalization
When you think of automation, images of precision and efficiency might come to mind, but marketing automation has a warmer, friendlier side to it thanks to personalization. With automation, you’re able to understand more about individual leads and deliver customized service that more closely aligns with their interests.
The automated system does most of the heavy lifting for you by routing leads to the proper nurture programs and assigning them lead scores that show you where they are along their buying journey. Automation also lets you tailor the user experience to leads more precisely so they see email, landing pages, and advertising aimed directly at them.
Integration
One of the biggest complaints customers have about service calls is the need to repeat themselves. A marketing automation system with a centralized database that syncs with your CRM puts complete customer histories at representatives’ fingertips. When a customer calls you with questions or service needs, you’re prepared to answer their questions the first time – no repetition needed.
With sales/marketing integration, your prospects move smoothly through the transition from marketing to sales, an area that many companies have trouble navigating. All too often, would-be customers who have been carefully nurtured through most of their buying journey get dropped at the door to sales without sellers being notified to start their customer care; the end result is a customer who feels abandoned. Integrating sales and marketing also makes it easier for you to meet customers’ needs with relevant upselling and cross-selling.
A Larger Customer Service Toolset
Some elements of a MARKETING AI are unique to automation and can’t be duplicated by any number of customer service personnel. Big data analytics, for instance, are the province of powerful AIs, although the insights they deliver are accessible to the marketing automation consultants who use them. Chatbots are another AI tool that help customers feel cared for while freeing your human staff members for other tasks. When the bot has reached a conversational dead end, it seamlessly hands the customer off to a human representative who can then take steps to ensure total customer satisfaction.
Your marketing automation system does as much for customer service as it does for demand gen and lead nurture. Make your AI part of your customer satisfaction strategy, and you’re following in the footsteps of industry leaders.
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