I struggle with networking, especially at conferences. Give me a breakout session, a workshop, even a vendor demo over a room full of people in lanyards making small talk any day. Walking up to a group of strangers and just... beginning a conversation? Necessary, but not easy for me. It also tends to be where some of the most significant learnings are when you are hearing from people about what’s working, what’s not working and what’s on their minds.
Saying yes to something different
When a colleague suggested we try something different and join the 5K fun run at Customer Contact Week (CCW) Las Vegas, I was non-committal. I packed my sneakers and came with no expectations.
At 6am on Tuesday, we met outside the hotel. Assuming my spot at the back of the crowd, I ended up walking next to the customer service leader for a global consumer electronics brand. I’d never met her before, and before I knew it, we were deep in conversation. We engaged in some get-to-know-you patter: where are you from, what do you like to do, what brings you to the conference and an early morning 5K. We talked about the stuff that everyone in the space seems to be thinking about: limited budget and resources, balancing internal teams and BPOs, and that sinking feeling that the tech stack will collapse if one more thing gets added to it.
The AI conversation is everywhere
We also talked about AI. It's omnipresent at every gathering these days. The AI conversation is not just related to the contact center industry but to jobs, the economy, our kids – everything. From a business perspective, we touched on where it’s going (and how fast), the pressure to show ROI, and how important it is to be staffed correctly for the changes that are taking place.
For any organization to make progress on adoption, one thing I have been repeating is this: these tools are a piece of cake to put together but are more challenging to fine-tune. Every AI tool comes off the shelf with a bright, shiny bow of promise, yet they all have to be customized to really benefit your business. Even then, your digital agents and bots require feedback, direction and fine-tuning.
To even get to adoption, you need to prove your case for investment. That means it’s critical to understand your business and use cases well enough to model impacts of an AI-IVA or other agentic application, or you will struggle to get funding. (I’m happy to talk to anyone about how to structure this).
The best experiences aren't always planned
I only had a few hours on the actual show floor at CCW this trip, but I left with more clarity than I usually do. The big takeaway: It all started with a walk I almost skipped.
Blue Orbit Consulting has been transforming contact centers for over 15 years. Interested in implementing new technology or AI tools into your customer service operation? Let’s talk.
