Over the past few years, the rapid development of AI (artificial intelligence) and deep learning opened a window for new CX technologies. Video feedback has emerged as an automated tool that brands can use to better understand their customers’ emotions and sentiments.
This doesn’t come as a surprise if we rely on Gartner’s prediction that by 2025 “60% of organisations with VoC programmes will supplement traditional surveys by analysing voice and text interactions with customers.”
Generative AI enabled companies to develop AI-powered video feedback software to transcribe, analyse, suggest follow-up questions and generate a report all in a few minutes. Impressive, right? Let’s explore this.
What is video feedback?
Video feedback powered by AI is a relatively new tool. Qualtrics launched its first version of video feedback in 2022. The latest one announced in July 2023 is more advanced, with automated analysis and pattern recognition options. It serves as a smart alternative to traditional ways of gathering customer feedback.
Video feedback is a tool which, through communication with customers about their opinions related to products and services, gathers authentic insights. Powered by AI, video feedback is now capable of analysing efficiently huge amounts of unstructured data.
However, if we get back to basics, video feedback has been used in user experience research and other research projects for a long time. The main difference is in how data is being gathered and analysed. We could say that currently there are two main classifications of video feedback:
1. Active reach out and moderated video feedback
This means that a research team recruits customers, organises feedback sessions, adds videos to the software or analyse them manually. This is closer to conducting customer interviews we introduced in depth in one of the previous CXM guides. We can find this type of video feedback applied in usability and product testing, and observational research; just to name a few.
2. Video feedback by customers recruited through channels
New video feedback features powered by AI can do advanced analysis of video content such as sentiment analysis, suggest follow up questions, and identify common themes. We will explore this in the following chapter.
Benefits of video feedback
The most valuable benefit of video feedback is rich qualitative data about consumer behaviour that can’t be otherwise captured. However, there is also a technical aspect of video feedback that eases the process for researchers. Let’s explore some of them.
1. In-context research
The most obvious benefit of video feedback is contextual research. Customers can provide feedback from home, office, car, shop or anywhere convenient. The environment they decide to share informs researchers about their habits, social context, and values. These are all valuable pieces of information about consumers that can affect their attitudes towards brands.
2. Automatic transcripts
We don’t all have the time to sit back and watch videos to grab the insights created in them. Or, to even manually create a transcript from this ourselves. Luckily, AI technologies can automatically generate transcripts at literally the click of the button. This will save precious time, and allow us to skip straight to analysis of what is said in the video feedback.
3. Sentiment analysis
AI can be used in this context to identify and categorise different emotions generated in the media. Using this, you will be able to quickly see if the video feedback tone was positive, negative, or neutral. Again, this is something that can save valuable time in providing an overview of your customer base’s attitudes. With this, you can spot common emotions and thoughts, and seek to improve customer satisfaction overall.
4. Relationship building and personalisation
If a customer is happy to go out of their way and provide video feedback, that already means a good sign of the brand to consumer relationship, and how they value you. This can further mean that they are committed to providing feedback in any form, as they can count on you taking action on their feedback.
If you see customers providing video feedback often in a plea to better the relationship, you can personalise and tailor their experience by showing that you see what they are doing. You can send them emails, thanking them for doing this, and give them discount codes or trials as rewards. Another great way to better the CX, and build the relationship.
5. Remote research
Already during the pandemic, UX researchers proved the value of remote interviewing. Feedback providers find it convenient to talk from the comfort of their homes and are often more authentic with what they share. On the other hand, businesses can access a wider pool of people across one or more countries depending on the market their cover with their services.
6. Customer journey analysis
With video feedback, CX practitioners in the future won’t need to create customer journey maps and spend time on complex processes. However, human analysts are still needed to make sense out of complex maps and suggest improvements.
Video feedback and AI
New AI-powered video feedback analysis software can summarise video interviews and identify key insights all in a few minutes. This advancement brings new questions about the role of researchers – both in the private sector and academia. The skill of identifying patterns and connecting dots was the skill that social scientists would sharpen over years and be valued. But now, this can be easily substituted by a machine.
Hopefully, this only means that the skills of observation, human connection, and understanding cultural context will stay unique to social scientists and get more value as technology develops.