Forming strong customer bonds with AI

CCS Influencer Will Lorenz says that depth of relationship between people is quicker and efficient because of AI. 

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with CCS Influencer Will Lorenz. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Alex Tolle: Hello, I'm Alex Toll with coatingscoffeeshop.com and I am here with Will Lorenz. How are you will? 

Will Lorenz: I am great enjoying sunny Florida here. 

Alex Tolle: Oh, I'm so jealous. Enjoy it. So our February question for coatings coffee shop is how can you ethically integrate AI into your operations to improve efficiency without compromising trust transparency or the human element? 

Will Lorenz: Well, that's first of all, quite a mouthful of a question. So I'd have to say that first. My company is excited about AI, but we're we're walking rather than running. So we're we're new to this space and trying to figure it out, I think from our perspective you know we wanna see when we do put in information to AI that. You know, we got the right response back. I think it, you know does a great job of searching all. Answers and things out there and and analyzing things, but sometimes it finds inaccurate information. So that's our concern. 1st is integrating something that might not give us really the best answers and then you know we value our employees and our customers. And so we're certainly not going to embark upon something without doing a lot of testing and making sure. You're, you know, holding up to the right standards of a family run business. So you know we're we're just really kind of gonna see how it unfolds. I think when we look at, you know, information to analyze our business particularly you know data that we generate internally, we're we're very comfortable with using a platform to to see how are the Met. Work against industry, things like that. But you know, we get to the human side of it. 

We wanna make sure that. You know we we've got things that are responsible. Yeah. Our success comes from our people, our technology and our relationships. And and we're always gonna try and marry that together. And you know, AI can add to it. We're excited if it's something that's not ready for our industry or business or we're not ready for it, then you know we're just gonna kinda take it slow or or even hold off in in 2025. So I think that's our our fair answer for it. 

Alex Tolle: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's important to not just dive right into it and let it, you know, take over. Just use what you what you feel is right for your company and let it help you use it as a resource. 
But don't fully rely on it quite yet. 

Will Lorenz: Exactly. I mean, I think you know we see opportunities with let's say robotics and things with regard to automation that AI can help those tools get sharper faster. 

And so, you know, we're looking at those investments that which AI will enhance it. But as far as you know, kind of replacing humans in, in our organization, no, we don't see that right away. We don't see that as being our people are important and you know they have a. Good sense of what? When their conversations are working with people, they have an understanding what their real needs are, whether it's spoken or unspoken, and and we just don't wanna sacrifice that. That depth of relationship for just a quicker, efficient answer out of AI. 

Alex Tolle: Yeah, absolutely. I totally agree. Well, thank you so much, will for answering the February influencer question.

Will Lorenz: Thank you, Alex. Have a great time and and make it down to Florida. It's warm and nice down here. 

Alex Tolle: OK. I'll see you in Texas soon, right? 

Will Lorenz: You bet you. Thank you.