Creating Outstanding Customer Experiences with AI

Andy Hanselman is a recognised expert in helping businesses deliver outstanding customer experiences by ‘Thinking in 3D’! and has kindly allowed us to share article an he has written about Creating Outstanding Customer Experiences with AI.

CREATE ‘OUTSTANDING’ CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES WITH AI!

Imagine the situation….. You’ve arrived in London for a 3 day HR conference, your purse or wallet is missing and you’ve got no cash! It happened to a client of mine who arrived at Kings Cross station and discovered that she had lost her purse (or it had been stolen). Luckily, she had enough change to get a taxi to her hotel which had been prepaid by her company. Once in her room she quickly got on the phone to the various banks to cancel her cards and what a dreary and painful experience it was.

All she got were dull, monotonous, ‘scripted’ automated responses from the people she spoke to: details were taken, passwords repeated over and over again, cards cancelled, new ones eventually ordered and boxes ticked – it was all very depersonalised and ‘robotic’.

She then called First Direct, and after explaining her situation, was immediately asked ‘Are you OK? Are you safe? How are you feeling?’ which was a nice start. She explained her situation, what had happened and where she was, and the card cancellation process quickly got underway with the replacement card ordered to be sent home immediately. Then, the First Direct lady asked ‘But what are you going to do for money in the next couple of days if you have no purse or cards?’

‘I’m not really sure – I’ve not even thought of that yet!’ came the reply from my client. ’Well, I’ve had a quick look on Google maps and about 350 yards down the road from your hotel, there’s an HSBC bank – If you tell me what you’ll be wearing tomorrow, I’ll give them a ring, get them to look out for you and you can collect £250 that I’ll have waiting for you!’

Now, THAT is an ‘outstanding’ customer experience and it was all down to AI. No, not Artificial Intelligence, but an ‘Authentic Interaction’! An individual ‘stepping up to the plate’, taking responsibility and interacting with a customer in an authentic way that ‘delights’ them, makes them feel valued and creates loyalty and word of mouth recommendations.

I’m definitely not knocking Artificial Intelligence, and used correctly, it really can be a very powerful way of supporting and enhancing Outstanding ‘Authentic’ customer experiences and there are some forward thinking businesses using it really well and it has some real tangible benefits. It’s just not the ‘magic answer’ (yet!).

I speak at conferences and seminars up and down the country and regularly ‘rant on’ about creating ‘delighted’ customers. When some people hear it for the first time I sometimes see the look of despair saying ‘Oh no, he’s been to Disneyland for his holidays – it’s going to be one of those seminars!’

Authentic Interaction’ is not ‘Have a nice day!’, ‘Missing you already!’ or ‘Buy One, Get 10 Free!’, – obviously, it’s got to make commercial sense (anyone can give stuff away!)! It’s not a gimmick, and it’s certainly not a ‘one off’!  In truly customer focussed businesses, it is an integral part of the culture and make-up of the business. It’s ‘the way we do things around here’ like it is at First Direct! No wonder they are the most recommended UK bank.

What exactly is ‘Authentic Interaction’? My definition is..

“Creating a genuine personalised experience that makes a customer feel really valued”

How do the best businesses do it? Well, my 30 plus years of researching, working with, and learning from, truly customer focused businesses shows that they take a ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’ approach! These 3D Businesses strive to ‘exceed their customers’ expectations’, and the scary thing is that in many sectors, that can simply means delivering things ‘on time, on budget and in a courteous, personable and friendly way’!

I believe that there are 5 key ingredients of ‘Authentic Interaction’

• ‘Make It Easy’: Be easy to deal with and do business with by being alert and responsive to customers, making sure you ‘know your stuff’ and proactively identifying and removing the blockages to ‘outstanding’ customer experiences in your business (recognising that could mean YOU!)
• ‘Show Me You Know Me’: ‘Personalise’ the customer experience with genuine ‘Authentic Interactions’ that make your customer feel valued in every aspect of their journey (even if you’re in the accounts department – hey, this is revolutionary stuff!)
• Take Personal Responsibility To ‘Delight’ Them… Don’t just meet their expectations but proactively find ways to exceed them.
• Spot And Deal With Disappointment …. Not all unhappy customers complain, so you have to actively spot them. You then have to deal with their issues and complaints effectively and find ways to proactively take away their pain and problems… as quickly and painlessly as possible.
• Be Consistently Human, Genuine… And Authentic… Do it every time to move your customers from being ‘Delighted’ to ‘Devoted’. That means creating customers who have high expectations and consistently get a great experience – they’re the ones that come back for more, spend more and tell other people!

So what does it all mean? For individuals, it means having or developing those skills, attitudes and abilities that help you interact ‘Authentically.

For business leaders it means ‘Thinking UBER’ (No, it’s nothing to do with taxis!), but ensuring that ‘Authentic Interactions’ are a ‘way of life’ with:

• Everyone Understanding the attitudes and behaviours expected to make it happen.
• Systems, policies and processes being Built to positively reinforce and enhance ‘Authentic Interactions’’ with customers (that’s where Artificial Intelligence comes in!)
• People Engaged, Empowered and Enabled to deliver ‘Authentic Interactions’ and…
• Those Authentic Interactions’ being Reinforced, Rewarded and Recognised consistently!

Is it all worth it? According to The Marigold 2024 State Of Loyalty Report, 84% of European customers say that their favourite business treats them like an individual. Exploding Topics 2024 report that 60% say they are more likely to become a customer after a personalised experience. They also report that 71% feel frustrated by impersonal experiences, so it’s clear, many businesses still have a long way to go to create those ‘Authentic Interaction’! How do you measure up?

For mor information on Andy Hanselman and his speaking work please visit is webpage or contact us on 020 8854 7247 or email enquiries@scampspeakers.co.uk