According to industry analyst group Forrester, insights-driven businesses will be generating $1.8 trillion annually by 2021. Indeed, a whitepaper from Squirro also observes that insights into customer behaviours are critical to technologies such as CRM, digital analytics, and business intelligence.
The value of insights
Insight is crucial to differentiating customer experiences, products, and services. Despite this, Forrester's report also found that only one in 10 businesses are currently insights-driven. Firstly, Squirro notes that businesses looking to become insights-driven must focus on customer centricity. However, to place the customer experience at the core of an organisation, customer insight is essential. Those enterprises failing to "follow the insight path" will evidently pay a significant financial price. Thus, the most effective way of beginning and realising this goal is embracing emerging technologies, particularly augmented intelligence. According to James McCormick, Principal Analyst at Forrester, businesses with a system of insights are 140% more likely to have a sustainable competitive advantage. He also added that they are 100% more likely to make improving customer experience a high priority.
Harnessing Augmented Intelligence
Augmented intelligence, or machines enhancing human imagination and intelligence, is the key to unlocking insight and ultimately becoming insights-driven. In effect, augmented intelligence solutions have the ability to improve lead generation, anticipate customer requirements, and enhance the customer experience. Augmented intelligence delivers a complete view of any customer, with insight derived from their most recent earnings call to premium external data sources. As a result, organisations can understand their customers more effectively than ever before. In turn, enterprises can cross-sell or upsell much more accurate and targeted opportunities. Although augmented intelligence is critical to becoming insights-driven, there are other steps that businesses must also take into account.
Becoming insights-driven
For example, evaluating the performance of legacy infrastructure and existing investments is key to becoming insights-driven. As Squirro recommends, the assessment must consider the value of actions the technology is driving to improve outcomes. It is then much easier to determine an organisation's priorities, but it is also worth noting that no single vendor can do everything. Instead, interoperability and open standards will help "unify the vision and bring everything together as one towards the common and overarching goal." Above all, agile businesses are aware that humans and machines are smarter together. In effect, augmented intelligence is perhaps the single most important technology for companies looking to become insight-driven.
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