It’s inarguable: AI is transforming the automotive industry. So why is Bamboo growing?

There are no two ways about it, AI is becoming integral to communications for the savvy automotive dealer or OEM. Hands up. Time to think about retirement. Our industry has taken all manor of bashing recently, from EV fines and finance commissions enquiries to the Mango Mussolini’s latest shakedown. Add that to the fact that we’re very aware that AI can do an awful lot of the heavy lifting these days. Pass me the Saga brochure. Except it doesn’t quite end there. The cruise might have to wait.

For the past two years, our automotive contact centre has been steadily growing, but why? Many of our clients are utilising AI and, whilst you might expect us to throw our hands up in horror, we think it’s a great idea. In fact, we use it too. It’s all about context.

In an automotive world where our groups are increasingly trying to differentiate themselves from the competition, creating the optimum customer experience and engendering loyalty and retention has become absolutely key to success and, sometimes, survival. CSI and net promoter scores are a bigger focus than ever and every customer counts.

We think of AI as a giant, digital sieve, rather than a fix-all silver bullet. In the same way that we utilise electronic data cleanses to remove the dead wood from our clients’ databases: the deceased, the movers with no new address, we utilise AI as that initial sieve for potential opportunities where there is no pre-existing relationship. That’s why we like it – where budget is an issue, it provides us with more qualified opportunities for meaningful dialogue and helps sift out the chafe. Of course, you’ll miss the ones that don’t want to interact with a robot, but it’s a good way to focus budget in the right areas.

When looking at our future strategy, we took a look at consumer research and did a little of our own. After all, we’re speaking to thousands of customers every day. What came out of this was not entirely surprising. Whilst the vast majority of customers are not averse to having a very simple task carried out by a bot, when cost and technical advice become important, they want to speak to an expert.

There’s also the matter of what can, and cannot be successfully automated. For this we stepped outside of the industry for a different perspective. Interestingly, it was a property development company that gave the most illuminating answers. AI is great at unchanging tasks. It could and probably will be used for building new properties where a set of criteria can be applied and followed. What it can’t do is complex tasks that require critical thinking at every step and which have no pattern. And it’s not just about the value of the task. AI can potentially build a new housing estate, but it can’t clear tables and do the dishes.

Finally, there is the human element. We go and watch a team play football and become entrenched in their human story, their struggles, the uncertainty of the result. But would you go and watch a bunch of robots play a game or run a race? Car ownership is the second most expensive undertaking in most of our lives (unless you’ve got kids, in which case good luck ever affording anything). We want the comfort, the human interaction. We want someone on our side who is both able to advise us and accountable for the outcome.

That’s where we come in. Our model, rather than a huge entity carrying out simple tasks that apply to all industries, we provide a strategic, automotive specialist, hub for our clients. Our team comprises of service receptionists and vehicle sales specialists, who provide an on-brand, knowledgeable customer experience for your most precious assets. We dedicate a team to you, which grows and contracts with your needs, relieving the need to carry headcount, manage absences and leave, and deal with the peaks and troughs without further investment in people.

Sales pitch over, there’s still a matter of where to place a finite budget to have the biggest impact. We operate on the basis of customer value. If the customer is worth, or potentially worth, more than the cost of a call: call them. Talk to them, objection handle, reassure and add value. Make them feel like they really matter to you, because in today’s environment, if you don’t, there’s someone snapping at your heels who will.

By Annalisa Meager