Welcome Roger Dooley, Keynote Speaker and Author, shares his expert insights on how AI is transforming customer interactions, tools for understanding pain points, and the future of marketing as part of the MarTech Thoughts series.
How do you describe your job to a 5-year-old?
I explain new ideas and better ways of doing things to business people by speaking to them in person, writing books and articles, and making videos.
What is the one marketing platform/app/solution you can’t live without? Why?
I’ll go with PowerPoint. Despite the “death by PowerPoint” memes, communicating ideas with a visual component engages people and helps them remember key ideas. Much of the criticism is legitimate – we’ve all seen presentations with dense text and awful graphics. But, if used well, it can make presentations more engaging and make their content more memorable.
What will be the next evolution in marketing technology that we can expect in the coming years?
AI is changing everything. Content and media creation is faster. Customer communications can be more empathetic, more personalized and more effective. Marketing planning and analysing data can be accelerated. The biggest transformation will be customer interactions. Today, people hate chatbots because they don’t work well. They have a limited range of knowledge and functionality and often seem designed as barriers to reaching an actual human. Today, chatbots are evolving quickly. They can learn a company’s knowledge base. They can digest and learn from past conversations. They can communicate with empathy in a conversational way. Customers aren’t starved for human contact; they just want their issues solved quickly. They will welcome bots that communicate easily, answer their questions, fix their problems… all without spending time on hold.
What’s the best approach/tools to understand customer pain points? Especially when the survey response rate is low.
We can’t rely solely on surveys because they often become a pain point themselves. Instead of lengthy surveys, I recommend asking customers one simple question: “On a scale of 1 to 5, how easy or difficult was your experience?” Include an optional text box for customers to elaborate if they wish. This approach will lead to more responses and better insights. Additionally, ask your front-line staff, “What do our customers complain about?” They know best, as they often handle customer frustrations directly. Larger organizations can also analyse call transcripts and chat logs to identify recurring pain points and discover the most effective responses from reps.
How do you measure brand love?
Measuring an emotion like “love” is challenging, to say the least. Many companies use Net Promoter Score as a proxy for brand love. NPS doesn’t measure emotion, but a strong willingness to recommend to friends & family certainly correlates with positive emotion. It’s also possible to dig deeper into people’s unexpressed emotions and feelings using neuromarketing techniques. Tools like EEG, biometrics, implicit testing, and more don’t rely on self-reports or surveys. Rather, they measure unconscious reactions to brands, marketing content, packaging, etc. Until recently, only big brands had access to the tools of consumer neuroscience. Today, though, studies can use smartwatches, device cameras, and even AI to get insights that are affordable for any size company.
Any fun facts about yourself that you want to share?
As I began my business career after college, I also became a co-driver/navigator in auto rallies, including world championship events in the U.S. and Canada. It was an exciting (and sometimes grueling) way to see parts of the two countries that few others reach. I think of that as a precursor to my role today in helping businesses navigate today’s complex world.
Are there any questions you’d like to ask to other MarTech enthusiasts?
What do you do to find out what your customers REALLY want?
A big thank you to Roger Dooley, Keynote Speaker and Author, shares his expert insights on how AI is transforming customer interactions, tools for understanding pain points, and the future of marketing. If you want to connect with Roger, feel free to reach out via LinkedIn!
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Last updated: September 2024
