We're diving headfirst into generative AI, spurred on by business publications, consultants, and AI vendors eager to showcase its potential. The driving force behind this rush to automation is often the promise of cost savings by replacing customer-facing roles. But as we implement amazing technologies such as Einstein GPT, we need to pause and ask ourselves two critical questions:
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- What is the real cost of this cost cutting?
- How can we use generative AI to enhance, rather than diminish, Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)?
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When my father passed away last week, I returned to London to find my mother heartbroken after losing her husband of 60 years. In the days that followed, our family was enveloped in a wave of support—from friends and neighbors bringing food, to the gentle kindness of strangers in our community. This outpouring of love reminded me that in life’s most difficult moments, it is our human connections that help us heal, offering a comfort that no machine or automated system could ever replicate.
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But as I navigated the practicalities of this loss, I encountered a stark contrast. When trying to extend a rental car in the midst of my grief, I was bounced around by automated systems that didn’t understand the urgency of my situation. It wasn’t until I spoke with Hector—a real, compassionate person—that the problem was resolved with both care and efficiency. Hector didn’t just solve a logistical issue; he recognized my humanity, something AI simply couldn’t do.
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As we rush to embrace AI in business, driven by the promise of efficiency and cost savings, we must pause to consider what might be lost in the process. AI can handle routine tasks, but it can’t replicate the empathy and understanding that define truly meaningful interactions. In a world where automation is seen as the future, we must not forget that some moments demand a human touch—a touch that not only solves problems but also fosters the connections that make us feel seen, understood, and cared for.
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Increasing Customer LTV
We often think of AI as a tool for cutting costs, streamlining operations, and boosting efficiency. But what if we flipped that perspective? What if, instead of merely using AI to reduce expenses, we leveraged it to deepen our connection with customers, to show them we care? When we invest love into our customers, they return it—through loyalty, repeat business, and an increased customer lifetime value (CLV) that positively impacts key performance indicators across sales, service, and marketing. In a world where human interaction is increasingly scarce, AI can be a powerful ally in making every customer feel valued, provided we use it wisely.
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By utilizing AI to free up time for human agents, we give them the breathing room to engage more deeply with customers, to understand their needs, and to provide thoughtful solutions that go beyond the transactional. This isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about creating memorable experiences that turn one-time buyers into lifelong customers. The key is not in replacing the human touch, but in enhancing it—using AI to give our teams the tools and time they need to foster genuine connections.Â
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Here are some critical questions to guide this approach:
- What opportunities exist in the customer-facing process for empathetic interactions with human team members?
- How can we use AI to save time for human team members, allowing them to be more attentive to customers?
- How can we equip human agents with more information about the customer and their situation to offer more personalized responses?
- How can generative AI encourage customer service calls or visits to physical branches, rather than merely automating them away?
- How can we measure the increase in repeat sales resulting from human interactions, and ensure this metric becomes a core part of our strategy?
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These questions challenge the conventional wisdom of automation, urging us to consider not just the cost of AI, but its potential to enhance happiness—for both customers and the teams that serve them. A "Love" KPI might sound unconventional, but in a world where human connection is increasingly rare, it could be the most powerful metric of all.
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First Steps with Hubbl Process Analytics
Hubbl Process Analytics is our labor of love, created to help business analysts and Salesforce administrators have more meaningful conversations with business users. With Hubbl, you can create a shared visual of your processes in just minutes, validating experiences and sparking discussions about new possibilities. The best business analysis is always a powerful display of empathy.Â
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As you plan your generative AI implementations, we are offering our humans to help you analyze your processes in supporting the "Love" KPI. We’ll help you identify the loops of frustration in customer interactions and build a strong business case for investing in the time and care that turns your most valuable customers into loyal advocates.
