I recently had an "interesting" experience with a customer that I wanted to share.

I was moving deeper into a phased implementation with a nonprofit client:

• Phase 1️⃣ : Get the AI assistant up and running and fine-tune conversation flows for website visitors. Get a feel for how many site visitors were using it.

• Phase 2️⃣ : Integrate with complementary systems in their tech ecosystem for seamless information flow for the benefit of their case managers.

The key integration was with their case management system.

The client had four web forms for program applicants to enter information, and they wanted to improve the experience by having our AI assistant gather this information through natural conversation before passing it to the case management system.

I knew MyRecruiter's capabilities but wasn't familiar with what their case management system could do.

So, we arranged a call to discuss options.

The problem was straightforward:

How can we gather the same information from those 4 application forms and get it into their case management system?

Their vendor's response was equally straightforward:

⚠️ "We'll do it for you for $8,000."

After the call, I immediately contacted my customer to discuss alternatives. I believed we could find ways to do it for free and promised to explore options.

Sure enough, I discovered two viable approaches:

✅ The data could be manually imported into their system. I read the through the vendor's documentation.

✅ I could have an AI agent fill out the appropriate forms once our AI assistant gathered all the application information. So, cool!

The moral of the story?

The best option isn't always the first one presented. By digging deeper and thinking outside the box, you can often solve problems with less time, effort, or money than initially suggested.

From $8,000 to free with just a little problem-solving.

🤝 If you're a vendor, these seemingly small things strengthen your customer relationships and ultimately increase their lifetime value to your business. Plus, it's simply the right thing to do for your customers.