“Conversational AI is changing fast and is imperative for brand differentiation,” writes Matt Smith. “As these technologies spur new business models and market expansion, don’t be caught off guard. Marketers need a continuously evolving conversational brand strategy with customer experience at the center so they can keep up with how customers engage with conversational AI technologies and help influence overall business strategy.”

Excerpts from MarTech Advisor’s article:

“Creating a better customer experience means focusing on experience before IT. Talk to your customers through focus groups or surveys, and observe how they engage with the functions where you are considering conversational AI.

Once you’ve identified their needs, build a journey map, test different scenarios, and go back to your customers to confirm your approach. Only then is it time to evaluate technologies.

Together, marketing and IT can determine what technology to apply, which channels to use and which devices to focus on within those channels. A collaborative relationship between marketing and IT is critical to ensuring each side understands enough of the other to effectively develop successful conversational AI initiatives.

Leveraging external partners with relevant experience in design, implementation, journey mapping and building interfaces in multiple environments can accelerate your company’s ability to offer end-to-end conversational AI capabilities and increase competitive advantage.“

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