We may be living in the digital age, but we’re hardly losing our desire for personalized interactions. In fact, we’re keen on getting customized interactions, especially from brands.
McKinsey documented this phenomenon a couple of years ago. The firm’s research revealed that 71% of consumers want individualized attention from businesses. When they get it, they’re more likely to increase their spending as well as make future purchases. As findings from The State of Personalization Report 2023 from Twilio, a single personalized experience will move the “buy again” needle for 56% of shoppers.
For marketers, the consumer penchant for personalization poses both opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, it’s clear that delivering customized engagements can pay off. On the other hand, figuring out how to personalize efficiently and effectively can be difficult. That’s where AI solutions can help.
AI tools like software, systems, mobile apps, and integrations allow marketing teams to connect with people in a way that has never been possible before. When leveraged in an assistive capacity, AI can ensure that marketing approaches and communications feel authentic but don’t break the bank.
The Top AI Applications for Marketing
Without a doubt, AI has many applications within the marketing realm to fuel personalization. However, five AI applications are particularly becoming more influential as brands strive to show consumers they’re seen, heard, and valued.
1. The ability to predict the future
No one has invented a crystal ball, but AI tools can come close to seeing into the future. Because AI tools work at lightning-fast speeds, they can spot hidden trends within vast amounts of data in seconds. Once identified, those trends can be used to serve up tailored experiences.
For example, many companies are leveraging AI to more confidently reach target audiences without relying on cookies or limited “lookalike” audiences. As Nativo explains, AI can use first-party data to correctly determine when customers are likely to take a certain action, like reordering a product. Armed with this foreknowledge, marketers can send messages (like “time to buy again” email reminders) when the consumer demand will probably be highest.
By being able to get to know your consumer base better, you can anticipate pain points and serve up intuitive solutions. As a result, your customers will feel that you’re aligned with their one-of-a-kind wants and needs.
2. The ability to personalize at scale
Not long ago, personalization was tough to master. It was particularly difficult if your company grew. Now, AI makes individualization at scale a reality for organizations of all sizes.
Amazon is an obvious use case for personalization at scale. Despite having an estimated 310 million customers, Amazon does a solid job of customizing its messaging, and all because of its willingness to rely heavily on AI systems. The effect has led to such heightened customer loyalty that on Amazon Prime Day in 2020, 60% of Prime members only bought from Amazon even though they had cost-effective alternatives.
By being able to personalize at scale, you don’t have to worry about losing the one-on-one touch, even if you end up with thousands (or millions) of customers. This enables you to retain a competitive edge and grow a loyal customer base no matter how large you grow.
3. The ability to automate interactions
Of all the AI marketing applications, automation has been an undeniable communications gamechanger. Automation allows your brand to stay top of mind without requiring your people to be “on call” 24/7. It also makes sure that customers don’t feel ignored or “ghosted” by your brand.
Nearly any repetitive process can be automated. For instance, you could automate your lead generation machine, potentially seeing a 451% uptick in qualified leads. Or, you might want to create automated paths to more effectively move consumers through your sales funnel.
Worried that your automations are going to sound robotic? Many AI innovations leverage natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning. Consequently, they can deploy automated responses that feel streamlined, intuitive, and — best of all — human.
4. The ability to conduct smarter (and faster) research
AI can analyze both structured and unstructured data faster than any person. By running data points through an AI-fueled system, marketers can conduct smarter research. After all, the AI is taking tons of data into consideration.
There are many ways you can use your AI-backed research findings, including to improve your social media listening. AI can scrape popular social media sites in real time to find mentions of your company. This ensures you’re the first to know if something negative is being said. If that occurs, you can swoop in. The faster you react to online concerns about your brand, the higher the chance you’ll be able to control the situation and put out any fires.
An extra benefit to AI’s ability to conduct research is that it can happen in the background and at regular intervals. You and your team don’t have to babysit the process, which means you can spend more time exploring other ways to personalize your customer outreach methods.
5. The ability to help customers help themselves
Another strategic way to bring personalization through AI to your consumer base is with self-service options. Many consumers with problems would rather solve them on their own before getting in touch with your company. As such, consider bringing AI solutions like chatbots into the mix.
Though chatbots shouldn’t replace your customer service agents, they can be terrific first-line assistants. When investing in a chatbot, choose one that’s been programmed to make exchanges seem more human and less machine-like. Picking one trained on NLP can be a good move.
As outlined by Landbot, NLP isn’t just about choosing the right words for the session. High-quality chatbots are embedded with the ability to conduct sentiment analysis, meaning they can “read the room”. That way, the chatbot responses will always be as personal as possible.
At first, delivering personalization might seem like an overwhelming task, particularly if you’re working with a small team and minimal budget. However, existing and emerging AI tech can give your customers the individual attention they crave — and your brand the success it deserves.
