In our previous post, we discussed expectations of digital-first users. We also laid out a strategy to meet their demands by leveraging a new breed of solutions powered by AI. Once you start understanding your organization will be affected by these changing cultural and technical forces, you can be proactive to face these challenges head-on.
All organizations are struggling with staffing shortages, and strained resources to meet these expectations. Sales teams in particular are under tremendous pressure to grow. They need assistance in the form of quality lead capturing, and efficient workflows to scale. Read on to learn how to automate the process of generating leads for your business through your own website, or other digital property.
A Transcript of Every Customer Journey
Imagine receiving quality leads that contain a complete transcript of the questions they asked, and the concerns they have before you engage them. Wouldn’t you be in a better position to close? This is the power you have when you allow users to have conversations with you via an intelligent virtual assistant. Imagine this scenario:
A user is searching for a product or service you offer, and navigates to your website for more details. They notice a ‘chat’ button in the corner, and give it a try. They’re suddenly impressed with the capabilities of the AI-powered assistant, so they ask some questions, which leads to a natural flow into a conversion. This passive user wants ‘Pricing Information’, or ‘A Quote’ from you. They naturally segue from passive to active, and present a lead opportunity to follow up with.
In the scenario just described, an assistant can detect the user’s sentiment, and intent to purchase, then present a lead form as a conversation. Lead form as a conversation? Yes, everything is a conversation with this AI-powered approach. Users are not forced through the same gate as everyone else. They ‘choose their own adventure’ so to speak, and are in charge of their engagement with your organization. When they’re ready, you can capture their information in a natural flow by collecting their information for a live hand-off, or direct followup. This exchange is more inline with what digital-first users want, and arms your organization with the ability to automate, and score these leads to be most effective. Here’s an example of a simple exchange with a local roofing company.
Automate your Sales Workflows
Automating your lead capture process is all for naught if you can’t also automate the workflows for followup, and management of relationships with prospects. That’s why a complete solution includes integration into your existing CRM systems, Take for example the scenario we described earlier. A prospect is asking informational questions about your product or service, which leads to a ‘buying question’. This subtle transition needs to be automated into your backend systems to improve your responsiveness and ability to scale.
Closing the loop on your workflows is a straightforward activity, but requires a commitment. When you don’t automate the followup process for your leads, they become frustrated by your untimely followup and likely choose a competitor.
When you embrace a digital-first approach for your users, you can leverage your website, social media, and texting channels to collect their information and route it to the appropriate sales staff for immediate followup. Then, your first live interaction is a personalized conversation with a higher chance of becoming a sale. This approach also builds a profile of the user, and allows you to track not only their first engagement with your organization, but also any followup activity.
AI for SMBs
As a small or medium sized business, you may think you lack resources to implement an AI-powered experience to assist your sales process. That would be a mistake, you need to transition to a digital-first organization in order to serve your users.
You don’t need a massive budget, or technical expertise to automate sales. In fact, you can gain competitive advantage over other organizations that fail to see the opportunity. By augmenting what you can do with a one or two person team, you’re well on your way to increased sales and better customer retention.
Whether you’re a large or small business, you likely see opportunities to improve and scale your process. Contact XAPP AI if you’d like to increase your sales velocity using our turnkey solutions that can be launched within a few weeks.
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