Join Karla Jo Helms on the Disruption InterruptionTM podcast as she sits down with Siddhartha Sharad, a customer experience expert, to delve into the transformative impact of digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) on customer service. They discuss shifting from traditional customer service models to AI-enabled strategies, emphasizing the strategic balance between experimentation, employee engagement, and scalable AI implementation.
TAMPA BAY, Fla., July 1, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In transformed organizations, research estimates AI could add up to $1 trillion in annual value, with revamped customer service as a major contributor. This transformation is driven by increased customer acceptance of machine-led interactions, the growing accessibility of related technologies, and an enhanced understanding of customer behaviors through expanding data pools. (1) Karla Jo Helms (KJ), host of the Disruption Interruption podcast, sits down with Siddhartha Sharad, a trailblazer in the field of customer service advisory and a distinguished leader in business transformation, to analyze the profound impact of digital transformation and AI on customer service. They explore how these technologies are unlocking untapped potential and driving unprecedented value. "For me, disruptive innovation is about continuous improvement and driving value for both the business and its customers. The fundamental principle behind this is to keep it simple, identify the problem first, and then focus on execution."
Generative AI Revolutionizes Customer Service
Customer service has long been a critical aspect of business operations, traditionally focused on scale, efficiency, and delivering stellar customer experiences. However, the landscape is changing rapidly with the advent of AI. "The traditional model of customer service involved scaling capabilities by adding more people. But today, finding skilled labor is increasingly difficult, and there are inflationary pressures," Sharad explains. "Now it's about solving problems with technology and data capabilities to position organizations for long-term success."
Generative AI is set to revolutionize customer service by creating a mix of human, automated, augmented, and new high-value tasks. This technology enables companies to provide proactive, personalized service, enhancing customer engagement and reducing costs while requiring human oversight to ensure accuracy and ethical behavior. As generative AI evolves alongside its adoption, it will continuously disrupt industries, offering unprecedented opportunities for innovation and problem-solving, thus empowering companies to gain a competitive edge. (2)
Sharad notes that approximately 30-40% of customer interactions are complex and require a human touch, but the majority are repetitive and transactional, making them ideal for automation through AI.
Transforming Customer Service with AI
Sharad shares how implementing AI in customer service faces challenges, particularly in shifting the perception from a cost center to a value center. He discusses how organizations must move beyond pilot projects to achieve real progress, leveraging AI to enhance productivity, revenue growth, and customer experiences. Success in AI adoption requires effective communication, employee engagement, high-quality data, skilled talent, and sufficient resources, with significant advancements expected to automate up to 70% of customer service interactions in the near future.
Links:
Disrupting the $100B+ US Customer Service Industry Using AI, with Siddhartha Sharad
https://omny.fm/shows/disruption-interruption/disrupting-the-100b-us-customer-service-industry-u?in_playlist=podcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidsharad/
Company Website: https://www.westmonroe.com/
Disruption Interruption is the podcast where you will hear from today's biggest Industry Disruptors. Learn what motivated them to bring about innovation and how they overcame opposition to adoption.
Disruption Interruption can be listened to in Apple's App Store and Spotify.
About Disruption InterruptionTM
Disruption is happening on an unprecedented scale, impacting all manner of industries— MedTech, Finance, IT, eCommerce, shipping, logistics, and more—and COVID has moved their timelines up a full decade or more. But WHO are these disruptors and when did they say, "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT!"? Time to Disrupt and Interrupt with host Karla Jo "KJ" Helms, veteran communications disruptor. KJ interviews badasses who are disrupting their industries and altering economic networks that have become antiquated with an establishment resistant to progress. She delves into uncovering secrets from industry rebels and quiet revolutionaries that uncover common traits—and not-so-common—that are changing our economic markets… and lives. Visit the world's key pioneers that persist to success, despite arrows in their backs at http://www.disruption-interruption.com.
About Siddhartha Sharad
Siddhartha Sharad is a Customer Experience Expert who helps enterprises realize business value through technology automation and artificial intelligence. Siddhartha has built a strong reputation as a strategic client advisor, a true "problem solver" and a business leader with proven experience in fostering innovation-led growth.
Siddhartha's recipe for success is simple: strike the right balance of problem-solving intelligence (IQ), emotional awareness (EQ), and execution focus (XQ). He's honed that formula through hands-on experience running complex transformation projects and managing business P&Ls.
He successfully executed the turnaround of a Pharma & Life Sciences solutions business within 15 months by updating the customer service technology platform, revitalizing the workforce to deliver a better patient experience, and instilling a culture of innovation and change. Results achieved - $8 million in annual savings, 500% growth in the pipeline and a 10-point increase in client Net Promoter Scores.
He holds a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai and a Master in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.
About Karla Jo Helms
Karla Jo Helms is the Chief Evangelist and Anti-PR® Strategist for JOTO PR Disruptors™. Karla Jo learned firsthand how unforgiving business can be when millions of dollars are on the line — and how the control of public opinion often determines whether one company is happily chosen, or another is brutally rejected. Being an alumnus of crisis management, Karla Jo has worked with litigation attorneys, private investigators, and the media to help restore companies of goodwill into the good graces of public opinion — Karla Jo operates on the ethic of getting it right the first time, not relying on second chances and doing what it takes to excel. Helms speaks globally on public relations, how the PR industry itself has lost its way, and how, in the right hands, corporations can harness the power of Anti-PR to drive markets and impact market perception.
References
1. Das, Avinash Chandra, et al. "The next Frontier of Customer Engagement: Ai-Enabled Customer Service." McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 27 Mar. 2023,
2. Daugherty , Paul, et al. "Generative AI Will Enhance - Not Erase - Customer Service Jobs." Harvard Business Review, 3 Apr. 2023, hbr.org/2023/03/generative-ai-will-enhance-not-erase-customer-service-jobs.
Media Inquiries:
Karla Jo Helms
JOTO PR™
727-777-4619
jotopr.com
Media Contact
Karla Jo Helms, JOTO PR™, 727-777-4629, [email protected], jotopr.com
SOURCE Disruption Interruption
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