AI’s Role in Customer Service Transformation with Megan Glasow

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This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:

1. What role does AI play in transforming modern customer service processes? 
2. How can companies effectively balance automation and human interaction? 
3. What are the risks of automating outdated or inefficient business processes? 
4. Why is a proactive approach important in delivering excellent customer experiences? 
5. How can organizations measure the value of new customer experience technologies?

Top Takeaways:

• Don’t automate what Glasow calls “crap processes.” Before layering in AI and other digital tools, organizations must simplify and improve their existing processes. If a workflow is confusing or inefficient to handle manually, automating it will only spread the frustration to employees and customers more quickly. 

• Transformation is not just about buying new technology. It means sitting down with your customers to understand where they are and where they want to be. It is partnering with your customers to create the vision, the process, and the outcomes together. 

• Frontline employees are frequently blamed for poor service. But the real issue is often the outdated infrastructure and processes behind them. 

• In adopting an AI-first strategy, look across the organization and identify where intelligence, automation, and augmentation can improve efficiency, and customer interactions. Successful companies are not replacing people with AI. They are combining smart, AI-powered systems with capable, empathetic employees.  

• Customers will choose the simplest path every time, whether that’s self-service or talking with a real person. If you make it easy for your customers, they will keep coming back. 

• Use AI as a tool to become more proactive, not just more efficient. Use it to anticipate what customers might need next, so you’re ready with solutions before they even ask. This allows human agents to focus on moments that require empathy, creativity, and understanding.  

• Align your team, from the leadership to the frontlines, around a clear vision for the customer experience you want to deliver. Decide on the experiences you want to create, then mobilize your people and AI to make that a reality. 
• Plus, Shep and Megan discuss why organizations need to be “customer zero” for new platforms they want to implement for their customers. Tune in! 

Quotes:

“When designing your customer journey, consider what should be handled by AI, what should be handled by humans, and how they should work together to enable your employees to provide a more empathetic customer experience.” 

“Great customer experience means anticipating needs, even the ones customers don’t know they have yet, and being ready to address them proactively.”  

“Using AI in customer experience is not just about meeting your customer where they are. It’s about curating where you want them to go and being ready to provide what they need, even before they know they need it.” 

“Measurement is the new change management. You need to create your own champions and stories to build real support for whatever you’re trying to do to enhance your customer experience.”

About:

Megan Glasow is the Vice President of Salesforce at Perficient. With deep experience in the Salesforce ecosystem, she helps organizations drive AI-first transformation initiatives. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.