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How Technology is Redefining the Connection between Businesses and Consumers

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The world of customer relations is constantly changing. New tech gives businesses better insights into consumer behavior and shifting preferences redefine the way marketers approach potential clients.

Emergent technology gives consumers greater control over their experience, too. This is particularly important today, as 66% of customers expect companies to understand their needs while a further 82% say they expect retailers to accommodate their needs.

Clearly, consumers show a strong preference for authentic connections and personalization. This means that consumer-oriented businesses must get up to speed with the latest tech like AI-powered chatbots, metaverse branded experiences, and predictive analytics programs.

AI and Customer Service

The recent rise of artificial intelligence has been heralded as the start of a new era for customer service. Programs like ChatGPT boasted a 100 million active monthly user base just two months after launching and competitors like Google Bard are quickly catching up.

Natural language processing (NLP) models are not just for public use, either. Advanced large language models transform the connection between consumers and businesses by significantly improving customer service. Modern businesses use AI to provide prompt, accurate support to folks who log on to their websites.

AI analytics can improve the in-store experience, too. Smart retail is revolutionizing the consumer experience by improving product research and streamlining operations. Over 50% of stores say they soon use some form of “smart” inventory management and 38% are adopting AI in-store. This can build cohesion between brands' digital and physical points of sale.

Advanced Chatbots can be programmed to understand tone and brand expectations, too. For example, subscription services like GPT4 have been used to mimic human-like interactions on popular applications like DuoLingo and the Khan Academy. These same NLPs can be trained using pre-existing conversations by real agents to better address consumer’s needs.

Firms who do decide to proceed with AI-enhanced customer relations can free up time for customer service agents. This is particularly helpful if agents spend most of their day responding to FAQs, but could better spend their time answering more complex queries.

Marketing

Artificial intelligence can be used to better understand consumer trends and predict fluctuations in the market. For example, companies that measure consumer engagement can garner data-driven that help them measure and track the efficacy of their marketing campaigns.

The data businesses collect can also be used to optimize future campaigns. For example, companies that track consumer acquisition cost (CQC) in real-time can tell when exactly their marketing spend pays off. Using this insight, firms can find ways to improve their ROI and produce more profitable marketing campaigns.

High-tech businesses can also use social listening tools to detect conversations about the brand online. This is particularly important for businesses that are concerned about protecting their brand reputation as a swift response can curtail costly customer complaints. Advanced social listening tools trawl the web in search of brand mentions and notify marketers whenever someone mentions their brand.

Metaverse

The metaverse currently has 400 million active users and a global market value of $82 billion. However, many businesses and brands are still unsure of how to interact with consumers in the virtual world.

Event-based marketing in the metaverse can be particularly powerful for progressive brands who want to connect with young consumers. Digital events give businesses a chance to interact with potential consumers and can give folks personalized attention. 

Some brands, like Nike, are even using the space to sell their wares directly. The athletic-wear titan uses augmented reality (AR) tech to make shopping that much easier. Folks who visit their virtual store can “try on” clothes to see how they would fit before actually making the purchase. This gives folks more time to find products that suit their style.

Personalization

Modern consumers demand personalized brand experiences. Put simply, folks don’t want to feel like a cog in the wheel and are looking for businesses that make them feel important. Until recently, however, most brands could not authentically claim to provide personalized marketing.

Today, advanced data analytics empowers personalization efforts. High-tech data collection programs allow brands to wield big data and refine their approach to customer engagement. This means that marketers can create more accurate consumer personas while tracking metrics like conversion rates and customer satisfaction scores.

Ideally, personalization should be part of a wider Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy. This ensures that everyone understands their role and increases data utilization. Using the right CRM can make importing data easier, too, meaning all departments can contribute to producing an accurate understanding of consumer needs.

Conclusion

Emergent technology is redefining the connection between businesses and consumers. No matter the technology, businesses can personalize the consumer experience and garner brand loyalty. In the future, we can expect even more enhanced customer experiences as these same businesses figure out which technologies and tactics work best for customers and how to adapt.