What do data and a barking dog have in common? Consider this hypothetical contact center conversation. The agent receives a call. A dog barks in the background:
Agent: Hi, this is Dan at Blankenfield Stores. How may I help you?
Customer: (Wuff wuff wuff) Hi, I’m calling about a return. I’m extremely disappointed with my new (wuff) blouse.
Agent: I’m sorry to hear you’ve had a (wuff) problem. May I have your name?
Customer: Wuff. I’m Elizabeth (wuff) Watson.
Agent: Thank you, Ms. Watson. While I retrieve your (wuff) information, it sounds like you have an enthusiastic dog there. (He chuckles) What kind is it?
Customer: (She pauses, relaxes, and replies in a positive tone.) He’s a mix, part beagle and terrier.
Agent: That’s nice. How (wuff) long have you had him, and what’s his (wuff) name?
Customer: Rascal is three (wuff) years old.
Agent: I’ve got a four-year-old Spaniel. Belonged to my brother.
Customer: Without Rascal, I’d be completely mental. He’s such a (wuff) friend. He helped me through Covid (wuff) lockdowns.
Agent: I know what you mean Ms. Watson. Tony does the same for me.
Collect. Analyze. Act.
Later, the call center collects and analyzes this hypothetical call using conversational AI tools. The insights noted that Ms. Watson was initially frustrated and annoyed. Yet, it also finds that – thanks to the agent’s situational awareness – Ms. Watson’s initial annoyance quickly de-escalated.
From this, the contact center senses an opportunity for dog-loving agents to kickstart similar small talk when interacting with customers surrounded by barking dogs. Finding this commonality builds rapport and increases the possibility of positive customer outcomes.
Such an example highlights the power of interaction data, which provides deep insights into sentiment and emotion. Better still, it’s free, waiting to be mined.
“Data is the new gold,” said Fernando Egea, Global Vice President of AI Specialized Sales at Talkdesk, during a thought-provoking webinar.
“Historically, contact centers focused on efficiency and cost reduction. Data is a huge over-looked opportunity.”
With AI tools, managers collect unfiltered customer thoughts and feelings that reveal unmet needs. Such analysis leads to insights and action. With this, companies can course correct, create new products and services, and bond with customers.
“This is about qualitative insights,” Egea said. “Customer emotions drive loyalty. They might forget what you said. They’ll never forget how you made them feel.”
The Fourth Industrial Revolution Brought to You By AI
The World Economic Forum recently acknowledged that Artificial Intelligence heralds the Fourth Industrial revolution, with the potential to solve intractable problems.
One such problem in the CX space is extracting meaning from recorded calls, which is time-consuming and costly when done manually.
Yet, today’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools collect, analyze and provide actionable insights from customer conversations in real-time.
“AI analyzes massive amounts of data,” Egea said. “It looks for patterns and unmatched meanings. NLP is a beautiful thing. It makes you aware, and it helps agents listen.”
This recalls a saying from 19th-century American prospectors: “Thar’s gold in them thar hills.”
Why? Because companies sit on mountains of gold called data, ready to be spun into faster real-time predictions and deeper customer loyalty.
From raw data to revenue, AI will be the way to extract meaningful – and actionable insights.
Watch Egea discuss how contact center data can significantly improve CX by checking out the webinar: Contact center insights: The gold mine retailers don’t know they have
