Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 11 | Page 61

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FEATURE: SAAS behaviour to better customise functionality to their particular set of preferences. In turn, this hyper-targeting can support customer loyalty in the face of growing competition. Predictive analytics Predictive analytics may be the most vital of all AI capabilities, as ML empowers an enterprise to identify and analyse not just what customers are doing now, but what they will do in the future. The combination of historical data working in tandem with advanced analytics can track and form patterns to identify what a consumer’s next step will likely be: open an email, renew their subscription, buy a new product, or disengage from your brand altogether, for example. As any SaaS company decision-maker knows, it requires an immense amount of intel, effort and manpower to keep customers engaged with their product, especially over time as their needs change. AI enables companies to refine and automate many of these customer experience processes, such as training and onboarding, marketing campaigns, upsells and most importantly, ongoing customer service. Customer personalisation Customer service AI platforms like chatbots, which respond to and troubleshoot customer inquiries automatically, enable customer service departments to take on between 30-40% of additional inquiries, according to experts. In addition to more individualised email campaigns and other customer communication, AI supports such features as voice control and natural language processing and can acutely track user That’s great news for revenue retention and churn reduction, as some 42% of customers show a heightened interest in a purchase following a positive customer service experience, according to a Zendesk study. Likewise, 52% say even one negative customer service experience will send them packing. Supplementing AI technology with your customer service team can target the seamless cross-section between convenience, problem-solving and human experience. www.intelligentcio.com Consumers demand personal experiences tailored to their unique needs. If they don’t receive it from your business, they’ll go elsewhere. And let’s face it, simply developing and installing a more complex series of features on your consumer app or interface may do little else but muddle the customer experience with extraneous options. This depth of data can help you better personalise your marketing communications, segment and refine your customer database and further customise the user experience before they make their next decision in the buying cycle. This active-instead-of-reactive approach can ostensibly help you identify customer needs even before they do. Pricing model disruption The traditional B2B SaaS pricing model operates on a per-seat basis, meaning the more users you have registered on the account, the more revenue you ultimately accrue. Investing in AI capabilities, however, is designed to streamline and automate much of the end-user’s experience with the software, likely requiring fewer people needing access to it. This may improve your end-user experience and save your client IF YOU READ ABOUT AI AND ROBOTICS, THERE ARE HORROR STORIES THAT THEY WILL DO AWAY WITH EVERYONE’S JOBS. BUT WE DON’T BELIEVE THAT. WE JUST BELIEVE IT DRAMATICALLY IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY. INTELLIGENTCIO 61