Experience Exchange: Turning customer conversations into insights and action

With the number of digital interactions and connected devices today, businesses are inundated with vast amounts of data. The challenge lies in transforming this deluge into actionable intelligence. As discussed in our latest Experience Exchange session, it's not simply about having data; it's about unlocking and applying the insights that data holds to improve how your business functions. 

To capture those insights effectively, businesses must tap into customer conversations across voice and digital channels. Because, as Tom Lewis, SVP of Consulting at TTEC Digital, emphasizes, "Advancing in the marketplace requires harnessing insights from that unstructured data."   

Understand the core of your business

To start (and to succeed), businesses must differentiate between valuable insights that drive growth and mere data noise. Understanding the core of your business is pivotal in this process. Neil Shah, CEO and co-founder of DataOrb, stresses the importance of focusing on key business areas: acquiring customers, retaining them, and expanding their wallet share. "At every one of these lifecycle stages, there are a series of interactions happening,” he says. “And the key point about insights is understanding how they can help you compete better, differentiate and serve value to the customer."

Moving beyond simple data points

Everyone agrees that insights are important, but does everyone know what insights are? As Neil shares, "It's very funny that if somebody makes something in an Excel spreadsheet, they just call it insight." True insights are more than data points; they are statistically relevant and contextually meaningful information that can transform business operations.

Challenge assumptions

As Tom points out, long-standing conventional wisdom can be a barrier to necessary transformation: "You run into situations where someone feels they know their customers well because they've listened to a thousand calls. But analytics often reveal a different reality." 

Neil agrees, adding, “The best way to onboard skeptics is to show them one piece of insight that challenges their assumptions." 

The importance of verifiable insights

AI is invaluable for extracting insights from the sea of unstructured data; but, it’s essential to keep its limitations in mind. "One of the misunderstood concepts in the CX industry is that hallucination is a bug of generative AI. It's actually a feature,” says Neil. “The systems are not trained to ground their decisions in reality. They are built to predict the next possible word. And that works well for writing, but it doesn't scale well for enterprise workflow, which demands full transparency, full auditability."

Neil emphasizes the need for AI systems to comprehend language nuances and incorporate real-world knowledge to ensure accurate insights. This includes maintaining consistency in responses and providing clear rationale and evidence behind AI decisions, fostering transparency and trust in AI-driven insights.

A measurable ROI

The ROI of leveraging unstructured data becomes clear when we consider its impact on customer retention and operational efficiency. "If you retain just 5% more customers, the impact is tangible," Neil emphasizes, illustrating how actionable insights directly drive business outcomes.

Moreover, Neil points out the transformative power of predictive analytics. "This capability shifts businesses from reactive to proactive strategies." By predicting customer behavior and needs in advance, businesses can equip agents to “not just serve, but rather deliver value.” This approach has been proven to significantly boost customer lifetime value (LTV) and overall satisfaction, underscoring the substantial value of investing in advanced analytics tools.

Final thoughts

Given the sheer volume of interactions and data, today’s contact center has evolved from a mere cost center into a goldmine of strategic insights. "Customer insight is a strategic asset. And it can impact everything from product direction to marketing to enterprise operations,” says Tom. 

A move to more customer-centered insights, rather than solely relying on operational data, can catalyze proactive customer service, reduce churn, and improve the lifetime value of customers. Leveraging this full spectrum of data nurtures growth and enduring customer relationships.