Companies realize the importance of customer journey mapping exercises to gain a comprehensive view into how their customers interact with them. These maps often show points where customers become frustrated with the process and have a poor experience. While understanding the journey map is very important, it’s equally important to know why the customer is on the journey in the first place.

Customers begin journeys with companies because they have a need—an interest in a new product or service, or help with the products they already have. Being able to identify each customer and what journey they’re starting, or already started, is critical to driving superior customer experience, and successful business outcomes.

Picture this typical customer journey for acquiring a new product or service. I recently received an email from a company I have a relationship with, letting me know that I was qualified for a new credit card. I interpreted this as “Take a journey with us, Charlie.” So, I put on my digital journey gear and clicked on the button to learn more. That brought me to the company site, which asked me for my login credentials—email address or phone number. This disappointed me; they sent the journey invite specifically to my email address.  They invited me on the journey, and then forgot who I was.

I started the journey by filling in some of the application information, but stopped short and didn’t finish the journey. Maybe I wasn’t interested; maybe I was confused; maybe my dinner was on fire in the other room. No matter the reason, I didn’t get to the business outcome they had intended for that journey: Sign up for a new card.

Several days after going on that “journey,” I received no follow-up interactions from the company. Apparently, no one was curious about why I didn’t complete their offer. This is a common problem for many companies—it’s difficult to engage all customers who begin journeys and abandon them in the middle. But artificial intelligence (AI) is changing this.

AI can evaluate enormous amounts of data to dynamically manage activities and experiences across a journey. A comprehensive journey management platform uses machine learning to deliver the right engagement offers—at every step—to keep customers and prospects interested and moving forward. The platform uses AI to determine the right time and channel to reach out to proactively connect with customers and make sure they have all the information they need to proceed. And when the moment of action is at hand, the platform uses a blended AI approach to service each interaction.

Automation and bots can evolve, and even service the requests. Then humans are brought in at the right time to enhance the experience. The platform also leverages machine learning to determine the best human resource to deliver each interaction to, such as the person who’s most successful with delivering the desired outcome. To learn more about how Genesys helps companies transform their customer journey maps into real business outcomes, read the eBook: Journey Mapping an Outside-in Approach to Delivering Great CX.