Satisfaction does not always equal loyalty. Customer survey data can tell you that “everything is great” regarding a customer’s experience with your product, meaning they are satisfied. But that doesn’t necessarily translate into lifetime value for that customer.

Instead, that lifetime value comes from helping customers transform the way they operate their business and then consistently delivering updates and following through on roadmap items to continue evolving the customer’s business. Driving lifetime value means always having an answer to the question of “What have you done for me lately?”

Game-changing technology often includes components that are automated for the customer or user. Today, many companies are looking at how to use artificial intelligence to make their technology more responsive. Look at the opportunities for chatbots to respond to simple questions and direct people down the right path in order to save that time that staff spent on the phone. But how much automation or AI is too much? How do you know when you have taken automation too far?

When you are evaluating the amount of automation that should be present in the technology you deliver to customers, there are three important questions to consider:

1. Will The User Feel A Loss Of Control?

In health care and other industries, automation can pose a threat and has the potential to make a user feel like their job is at risk. Who wants to pay for software that might take your job? The ideal level of automation is less about replacement and more about enablement. It helps users be better at their jobs, giving them analytics to make sound decisions for the business and freeing them from repetitive and monotonous tasks so they can be more strategic. People want to use technology to improve their jobs and lives, but they want to control the technology — not have the technology take over. That’s the sweet spot for automation.

2. Are There Enough Points Of Engagement?

This is an interesting one to consider when building technology because our natural inclination is to think that customers just want something they can “set and forget.” But remember, satisfaction does not equal loyalty, so “forget” is a scary proposition.