Alteryx CMO Keith Pearce explains how to balance automation and customer experience [Video]

Automation is here to stay, and you need to use it wisely.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not new to the world of sales and marketing, but its applications are growing more than we could have imagined. Companies are exploring the possibilities offered by automation and wondering where it could fit to improve the customer experience and save time and money.

Let's see why striking that balance is now more important than ever.

Keith Pearce is the Chief Marketing Officer of Alteryx and prides himself on being not only a marketer, but a technologist at heart. After a brief stint in the political space, Keith began his tech journey, working for startups. After more than 20 years, he migrated into sales, marketing and customer experience, which brought him to Alteryx.

As the latest in our Industry Insights series, I sat down with Keith to discuss all things automation, AI, data, and customer experience.

What you will learn in this article: How Does Automation Affect Customer Experience? How can AI help businesses save time and money? When does technology become too much? How can companies reconcile everything?

Check out the full conversation below:

How Automation Influences Customer Experience

It is difficult to pinpoint one area in the interplay between sales and marketing automation and customer experience. In fact, Keith sees it on many levels: how it affects costs, the overall personalized experience for the customer, and the balance between human factors.

Cost savings

In this macroeconomic environment, any money saved through the use of a robot is quite advantageous. Businesses want to turn tedious manual processes into automated tasks. Automation can also identify where users are spending the most time so companies can use marketing budgets accordingly.

Personalized experiences

A unique customer experience will not only impress users, but also inspire them to become loyal customers. Sales and marketing automation allows these experiences to be more personalized. These tools allow companies to create marketing efforts that directly target the interests and preferences of their audience.

of consumers expect companies to provide personalized interactions.

Source: McKinsey & Company

The human touch

There is a big debate in the field of automation: will it affect the human experience of sales and marketing or not? People know people, so is it in our interest to trust a robot to know what people want?

When it comes to this aspect, balance is key. Businesses need to know where to start and end when implementing automation and prioritize "not turning too much one way or the other".

When "too much technology" affects the bottom line

There will always be something the AI ​​can't do. From evoking empathy to relating to the human experience, there are simply characteristics that these tools aren't ready for (yet, at least).

So how do you define "too much technology"? Keith thinks it's when it negatively impacts the customer experience.

"You see the backlash when automation gets a little too scary. There's a fine line for businesses to walk."

Keith PearceCMO of Alteryx

Keith also pays tribute to the consumer by saying they are savvy enough to know when technology is being used purely for the sake of cost savings. They know when they are targeted.

Even when companies are transparent about their use of automation, the lack of human support can disappoint people who just want to talk to other people. This frustration alone can do the opposite of why companies invested in the tools in the first place, and it's costing them revenue.

"Companies will suffer more churn if they overdo it," Keith said. If keeping the customer at the center is part of your company's values, it's time to move on...