Why Businesses Need to Integrate Cognitive Computing in their CRM

Implementing cognitive CRM instead of a traditional CRM tool will help enterprises add the human element that is necessary for systems managing customer relations.

We are all aware of the benefits of CRM software. They integrate every data in a single place, bringing centralization. Also, the data can be accessed remotely with cloud capabilities. Although CRMs are used for marketing purposes, they lack the human touch that is essential in such activities. A traditional CRM follows a basic set of instructions depending upon the data fed and functions like a machine without any intelligence of its own. They thus fall short in handling customer relations. Cognitive CRM proves to be much more effective as it adds human reasoning that is required when dealing with customers.

The Benefits of Cognitive CRM

Analysis of human emotional states: Cognitive CRM systems with NLU and NLP capabilities can analyze the tone of the voice of the customer and understand human emotions. Based on it, the CRM system can offer real-time guidance to agents to better converse with customers. 

Engagement with customers: Cognitive CRM tools can follow-up with customers based on their responses on emails and other communication methods to determine the best time to call or message customers or to send follow-up responses to emails based on the customers’ reply.

Reduction in customer complaints: Cognitive CRM tools deliver relevant and easily understandable solutions to common cases related to the industry, autonomously. The customer care executives don’t have to spend their time on common issues as cognitive CRMs reduce the number of complaints that reach customer care executives.

The Roadblocks to Cognitive CRM Implementation

The need for large volumes of high-quality data: Cognitive computing solutions require a huge amount of well-structured, high-quality data to work. If a low amount of data is available, or if the data is unstructured and of low quality, the cognitive solution is of little value. However, a large amount of data is already available regarding human cognition, and the amount of data keeps increasing with use.

The cost of implementation: Naturally, cognitive CRM solutions prove costlier than traditional CRM. Thus, employing cognitive CRM might not be feasible for small and medium scale enterprises. Agreed that cognitive CRMs are costly, but organizations can expect a better ROI over time with CRMs when compared to traditional ones.

The never-ending question of ethics: There is a fear among individuals that CRMs may completely replace the human workforce. However, cognitive computing technology acts only as an assistant to humans and is beneficial for guidance purposes only. Cognitive computing is the next step in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Using CRM will enhance the way enterprises manage customer relationships. Enterprises can look for methods to integrate cognitive computing into their existing CRM solutions. Or they can deploy new solutions altogether, replacing the existing one. They can use other technologies like blockchain in CRMs in conjunction with cognitive computing. Irrespective of the choice, enterprises should partner with an experienced service provider to ensure a smooth transition to a intelligent CRM model.