According to Statista , the number of Artificial Intelligence patents continues to grow. This is demonstrated by the interest of investors in AI startups , whose funding increased sixfold between 2015 and 2020.
The star segment is machine learning (machines that learn without human intervention) and the natural language processing market (speech recognition functions and word or text prediction).
But how are CRM and artificial intelligence related and what positive impacts can it bring to the sales area ?
Advanced analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence can help you meet your customers’ needs like never before. However, this is not possible without the adoption of data capture and business intelligence tools.
In this post we explain how artificial intelligence helps CRM and how to unite them to achieve smarter sales.
- Efficient automation: Artificial intelligence and CRM combine to automate administrative tasks and analyze data, freeing up time for salespeople and providing valuable customer insights to improve sales.
- Predictive sales and personalization: The integration of artificial intelligence with CRM allows you to predict sales results based on past interactions. Additionally, it offers personalized recommendations based on customer data analysis, which improves customer satisfaction.
- Sales pipeline optimization: The combination of CRM and artificial intelligence optimizes the conversion funnel through automated processes, improving efficiency in sales interactions and providing a more agile experience for customers.
What positive impacts can artificial intelligence bring to the sales area?
Without realizing it, you use artificial intelligence every day; Cloud software ( cloud computing ), applications, IoT devices, or even Google autocomplete, are powered by this type of technology.
Another example is the news or product recommendations you receive; which are specially personalized through machine learning algorithms . That is, artificial intelligence that you feed every time you do a search on the internet and establish a preference for a brand, product or service.
Are you already realizing how artificial intelligence helps the sales area ? But what about CRM and artificial intelligence? How do software and technology come together to make salespeople’s jobs easier and customers’ experience better?
The main functions of a sales CRM have to do with automation . That is, with the software’s ability to perform administrative and data analysis tasks that will not only give you more time to dedicate to selling , but will also provide you with valuable insights from your customers so that you can sell more and better.
How does artificial intelligence help CRM?
It’s no longer news, today’s consumers are much more informed than before and trust the knowledge they gain online about products and services before making a purchase.
According to Zendesk’s latest Sales Trends report , 32% of sales leaders say their customers expect sales reps to know the full context of their business and the problems they’re trying to solve .
There is also a clear preference for digital communication :
- 41% of sales leaders say their customers want to use digital channels to interact;
- 38% say their customers want to buy online.
To achieve this, CRM and artificial intelligence are combined in the following way:
- Because the CRM captures customer data automatically , agents are aware of the entire context—sales pipeline. This is known as predictive sales, that is, information at the service of sales helps agents prioritize opportunities with the highest chances of conversion.
- With the help of artificial intelligence, the CRM schedules calls and reminders and gives you an up-to-date visualization of the sales pipeline.
- By combining CRM and artificial intelligence, interactions are more efficient, carried out on wearable devices, such as mobile CRM and smart watches, and significantly streamline the sales experience.
The impact of AI on customer experience
According to Zendesk’s 2023 CX Trends Report , more than 70% of customers say AI is useful for performing simple tasks, generating faster responses, and providing correct information.
This figure reveals a great expectation about AI. In fact, the same study revealed that 7 out of 10 customers expect more interactions with this type of technology in their daily lives and believe that its implementation will improve the quality of service they receive from companies.
They also want AI to provide them with the same level of service as human agents and become more natural over time.
However, 6 in 10 business leaders surveyed by Zendesk believe their companies have fallen behind in the use of AI. In other words, this is the time to take advantage of this investment “gap” and develop a competitive advantage that allows you to take the lead in the market.
Zendesk helps you improve your customer experience with AI
So far you have seen what positive impacts artificial intelligence can bring to the sales area and how artificial intelligence helps CRM. However, to sell more and better you need to focus on one key element: the customer .
With the help of Zendesk’s complete customer service solution , you’ll be able to:
- Accompany the client at all times of their relationship with the company;
- Provide support on your audience’s favorite communication channels;
- Monitor consumer behavior with automated reports;
- Customize interactions at scale;
- Anticipate your customers’ needs based on data;
- Optimize agent work with collaboration and self-service tools.
