In order to succeed, firms need to understand what their customers are thinking and feeling. Companies spend huge amounts of time and money in efforts to get to know their customers better. But despite this hefty investment, most firms are not very good at listening to customers. It's not for lack of trying, though -- the tools they're using and what they're trying to measure may just not be up to the task. Our research shows that the two most widely used measures, customer satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Scores (NPS), fail to tell companies what customers really think and feel, and can even mask serious problems.

Acquiring new customers is expensive. Banking services can adopt many customer acquisition strategies to reduce CAC, but the acquisition is challenging when there are too many players in a market. At the same time, customer retention is five times cheaper than customer acquisition. It also reduces CAC by upselling and cross-selling to existing customers. Banking customers are generally not satisfied with their service.

We all want to improve customer retention. If we keep customers happy they stay longer, take up more products, and tell more people about the experience. Here are 3 ways in which AI is helping banks improve their customer retention. AI Interaction analytics examines the specific language used by customers, in web chat or email for example, so you can manage the interaction appropriately and efficiently. It removes the need for manual review of each incoming query and enables you to handle them effectively from the outset.

It's now just over 12 months since we first published research on digital supply chains. Some Forrester clients have made progress with integrated business planning and with control towers. And they are on the lookout for blockchain opportunities. But the most common question we hear is about the role of AI in supply chains. The major applications of AI in supply chains are in demand management, warehouse execution, and chatbots serving procurement professionals.

The online travel industry is growing at lightning speed, with estimates saying it will generate $1,091 billion, globally, by 2022, according to Allied Market Research. To pair with this growth, companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence to speed up processes and bring greater value to their customers. Here are four ways travel companies are leveraging AI to bring their customer service to the next level. "Conversions" in the world of online travel commonly equate to bookings – flights, hotels, cars, and of course, the all important upgrades. Booking travel online can be one of the more complex online experiences with travelers commonly needing to click through multiple pages – home/welcome, flight/vacation search, traveler information, payment, etc, – before they convert to an eventual purchase.

Data science is fast becoming a critical skill for developers and managers across industries, and it looks like a lot of fun as well. But it's pretty complicated - there are a lot of engineering and analytical options to navigate, and it's hard to know if you're doing it right or where the bear traps lie. In this series we explore ways in to making sense of data science - understanding where it's needed and where it's not, and how to make it an asset for you, from people who've been there and done it. This InfoQ article is part of the series "Getting A Handle On Data Science" . You can subscribe to receive notifications via RSS. Enterprises are increasingly realising that many of their most pressing business problems could be tackled with the application of a little data science.