From paper hearts to digital hearts: 5 Valentine’s Day lessons in customer service

Picture this: Four kids huddled around the dining room table, surrounded by a creative explosion of red and pink. Paper hearts everywhere, stickers find their way to unexpected places, and marker caps roll towards freedom. My oldest daughter is writing her name beautifully, complete with an extra heart on every valentine. My son is methodically creating cards while eating an entire box of conversation hearts, and somewhere in the chaos my little girls discovered the glitter, which is also on the dog.

I should be moving them along in their work – we have over a hundred valentines to finish. But watching them work, I realized something: their approaches mirror how businesses handle thousands of customer conversations with AI-powered automation.

1. Understanding your audience

My 9-year-old daughter has the biggest heart, and pays close attention to everyone’s feelings and interests. She started by sorting her list in a way that reflects her connections with her friends, along with her friends’ interests: her figure skating teammates, her Girl Scout friends, the group she stages mini-Broadway shows with at recess, the sports fans, the animal lovers – the depth of interests she knows about everyone is so incredible.

“Mom, I want to use the skating stickers and hearts for my skating friends,” she explained, methodically and intentionally matching stickers to names. “And my cousin really likes pandas and foxes, so I'm using these stickers for her card.”

Her instinct to organize and personalize reminded me of how CXone Mpower uses comprehensive customer data to create tailored experiences. Just as my daughter takes into consideration her friends’ interests to make her cards special, and to make her friends feel special, CXone Mpower draws on detailed historical customer interactions to deliver personalized service, making each customer feel special too.

2. Finding patterns that work

My 7-year-old son loves data, already showing a penchant for engineering and processes. He discovered that his Valentine’s Day cards worked best when he followed a specific order.

“First I fold the paper, then I draw the heart, then I write the name, then I add stickers,” he announced proudly. When his little sister accidentally smudged one of his cards, he quickly adapted his process: “Now I’m waiting for the writing to dry before I add stickers!”

His streamlined but effective system mirrors CXone Mpower’s workflow orchestration.

Like his older sister’s step-by-step approach and personalization, the AI-powered platform coordinates and optimizes service processes, adjusting in real-time when needed.

3. Learning from experience

My kindergartener watched her older siblings for a few minutes – though the prospect of scissors, glue, and glitter were the most exciting part of this activity! After seeing what worked (and what didn't), she created her own assembly line of materials.

“Look Mom!” she exclaimed, practically bouncing out of her chair, “Red paper here, pink hearts there, and special stickers for special friends!” She created her own little production line, beaming with pride at her system. When she realized she gave two of her classmates the same unicorn sticker, she started keeping track of which paper and stickers she’d already used, determined to make each card unique for her friends.

The way she learned and adapted reminded me of how CXone Mpower’s AI continuously learns from interactions to improve customer service. Just as she adapted her approach based on what she observed, the platform refines its processes through continuous learning. The ongoing observations and adjustments get better with each interaction – though with considerably less glitter involved.

4. The joy of creation

At 4, my youngest approached her Valentine’s Day cards with pure preschool enthusiasm. “This one's for Miss Katie!” she exclaimed, covering a heart-shaped paper saturated with glue, along with her favorite stickers and drawings. When I suggested she might be using too many stickers, and too much glue, she replied with preschool wisdom, and a fit of giggles: “But Miss Katie loves stickers and glue!" She remembered which teachers helped her tie her shoes and which friends shared toys, adding extra hearts, stickers, and doily hearts accordingly.

Her natural inclination to make each card special based on genuine connections mirrors CXone Mpower’s ability to maintain authentic, personal touches even in automated interactions. Like my daughter’s heartfelt creations, the platform ensures that efficiency doesn't come at the cost of genuine connection.

5. The power of working together

Something magical happened as our craft-making project continued. My oldest helped my youngest write names on her cards. My son showed his younger sister how to fold papers more neatly. They shared stickers and markers, gave each other ideas, and celebrated each finished card together. Their collaborative effort produced something greater than any of them could have achieved alone – and now we have 100+ beautiful valentines that mean something to each of them, and for each of the lucky recipients.

This teamwork perfectly illustrates how CXone Mpower brings together different elements of customer service automation—data intelligence, workflow optimization, continuous learning, and personal connection—to create a comprehensive solution that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Results that matter

By bedtime, we had four stacks of Valentine’s cards, each reflecting its creator’s unique approach. While quite different in appearance (my youngest’s were particularly... wet and sticky…. with glue), each card carried something special for its recipient.

Organizations using CXone Mpower capture results, while still delivering the kind of personal touch that makes customers feel valued. And Valentine’s Day is a good reminder of consumer demand for a positive customer experience.

The holiday itself has become a boon for brands. Consumers are expected to spend a record $27.5 billion on Valentine’s Day this year, up from last year’s $25.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. With that many customers interacting with your brand, your CX better be top notch to earn their adoration.

Your CX is the ultimate “be mine” plea for customers.

Brands like luggage, handbag, and accessory retailer Vera Bradley are able to accommodate more customers while saving on operational costs. CXone Mpower enabled Vera Bradley to significantly improve self-service to better meet the needs of the 80% of its customers who say they want self-service options for tasks like product returns, warranty information, and product registration. New self-service improvements resulted in at least $50,000 in annual savings, as its new tech solution is less than 4% of what an average agent connection costs.

Lessons from the heart

As I swept up paper scraps and rescued stray stickers (from my shoes, on the dog, and around the house) and corralled the glitter (Oh, the staying power of glitter!)—I began to ruminate on how my kids had unknowingly demonstrated the essence of modern customer service automation. It’s not about replacing human connection with technology, but about finding ways to deliver personal, efficient service at scale.

Sometimes the best business insights come from the most unexpected places—even a dining room table covered in Valentine’s Day supplies. And just as my kids found their own ways to share love with their classmates, CXone Mpower helps organizations find their path to customer service excellence, one interaction at a time.