Your
Customers’ Biggest Problems Aren’t Unique. Use This 1 Simple AI Method to Fix
Them Fast
The most valuable data-centric
businesses today understand that the game has changed again.
EXPERT OPINION BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS @TULLMAN
Jun 22, 2026
Time is the scarcest
resource in our lives. Data may be the oil of the digital economy, but the
timeliness and contextual delivery of that data is what creates real value. One
of the things I learned in my first business—providing market-based vehicle valuations
to auto insurers—is that it didn’t matter how fresh and accurate our data was
or how quickly we responded to inbound inquiries. What mattered is whether the
folks asking for the answers were accessible and available when we got back to
them with the information. The when and where of the data delivery (context)
was just as important as the what (content) in the final analysis.
Driving our people crazy
to meet certain performance standards, arbitrary operating metrics, turnaround
times, or other contractually mandated service levels was simply stupid if the
results didn’t matter to the customers. Not everything needed to be instantly
available or made into a crisis or a fire drill if no one was going to
appreciate, recognize, or compensate us for the extra effort. Youthful and
aggressive enthusiasm eventually led to painful experiences.
It took a while to get
the flow and timing correct in that business, but the core offering–real-time
and precise valuation information as opposed to the stale, generalized
historical data that was the industry standard–radically changed the way in
which claims for lost or stolen vehicles were settled in the auto insurance
game. Today, 44 years later, that business, CCC Intelligent Solutions, is still operating as the unquestioned industry leader,
works with every major insurer, and is worth billions. The most important
lesson we learned is that a one-dimensional emphasis on the speed of delivery
or the quantity of the data alone often creates more undue stress rather than
building value.
Today, the most valuable
data-centric businesses understand that the game has changed again. Now,
the key and central concern is capturing vast amounts of data regarding
relevant activity—in the moment, at the edge and from both employees and their customers—and
then converting and communicating it back to the team members as immediate,
actionable instruction. The clearer and more immediate that any strategic
inputs can be, the more accurate and valuable the decisions relying upon them
will become. The only right time is real time and right now.
And, with considerable
assistance from AI tools, we’re seeing the emergence of companies like Pulse that are developing systems to provide real-time data
flow, extensive and timely analysis and actionable feedback that can be used
effectively to inform and improve employees’ qualitative behaviors
rather than simply their quantitative decisions.
These new systems
function as intelligent filters, flow managers, and ranking agents so that, by
the time the often overwhelming and unmanageable volume of customer feedback
data is parsed, parceled, and prioritized, any business can turn
scattered, duplicative and unhelpful volumes of customer inputs from multiple
sources spread across their entire organization into sorted, identified,
consolidated and actionable categories and clear, next-step instructions and
directions.
These new systems
reinforce what we’ve known for decades but help to organize and deliver better,
more timely and comprehensive solutions. Three key areas of addressing customer
issues and concerns really stand out, and I believe that they are true of almost
every business.
A small number of
recurring problems and errors cause the bulk of issues with customers
As many times as you
tell your team how, when and what to say, they still forget, quit, freelance,
get bored, and get upset or distracted. Automated and interactive scripts,
dynamic checklists, sidebar chats and prompts can constantly provide and
reinforce the right messages, paths and online responses to issues and
objections. Training and practice are helpful, but not as valuable or effective
as real-world experiences and immediate feedback.
Problems are rarely
unique to individual, unhappy customers. Solutions need to address root
causes and then be quickly circulated to the entire team
Solving one-off problems
with unhappy customers is necessary, but it’s not sufficient in the long run as
a strategy for overall improvements in deficient processes and unsatisfactory
behaviors and/or product performance. Even more importantly, once a broader fix
is determined and in place and applicable to all customers, it’s critical that
the solution (either what’s working or what’s not working) be immediately
transmitted to the entire team and incorporated in all of the supportive tools
and materials, all future interactions, and all new changes and product
enhancements and improvements.
All of us are smarter
than any one of us
It’s hard to overstate
the value of aggregated, collated, and carefully analyzed data collected from
literally millions of conversations, transactions, interactions and
dispositions when you’re trying to continually enrich and enhance the
customers’ experience and your product or service’s brand, reputation,
consistency, and value. Tools like Pulse’s Feedback Intelligence OS put all of
this accumulated knowledge and experience directly and immediately and
intelligently into the hands of your key decision-makers with actionable
instruction and guidance.
The goal today is to
make all your people smart as fast as possible and Pulse may be one of the best
and most cost-effective systems out there to move your business quickly down
the path to improved results and better satisfaction inside and outside of your
business.
