Using customer data to make smarter decisions is the future of digital marketing.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) allows marketers to gain deep insight into customers’ needs and behaviors.
According to a recent study from Deloitte, 47% of marketers surveyed plan on using AI in their advertising strategy this year.
And as AI technology becomes more accessible and affordable, at least 87% of marketers will use it in their company within the next two years.
While marketing is constantly evolving, companies need to adapt to new ways of reaching out to potential clients if they wish to remain competitive on a global scale.
Digital marketing has been revolutionized during the past decade with the advent of Big Data.
But while more data is always welcomed by marketers, there are also many challenges when it comes to managing multiple sources of information.
With personalization taking center stage in most digital marketing campaigns, leveraging emerging technologies such as AI can be the solution to help companies achieve their business goals without drowning in an overwhelming amount of data.
It will not be a surprise if AI becomes the most sought-after skill set in the marketing industry over the next few years, and both CMOs and marketers must understand how such technology can help them improve business results.
According to Forrester Research, real-time customer insights are now accessible by anyone with the right tools, and this means new opportunities to innovate.
AI can help marketers gain a better understanding of their customers’ behavior patterns and preferences based on real-time data analysis.
Data is not always enough when it comes to turning those insights into a profitable customer engagement strategy. Human touchpoints are needed to drive engagement and make AI-driven campaigns work.
Businesses need to leverage a range of tools to engage potential customers in the right manner, which is why marketing automation platforms are so popular today.
According to The Drum, marketers will have an average of 50 digital channels at their disposal over the next five years – more than ever before.
And as budgets continue to be stretched, the challenge of allocating resources across multiple channels will become even more complex.
AI-driven decision management tools allow marketers to make faster decisions and act on growth opportunities in real-time. Marketers can now focus their efforts on things that matter, such as customer engagement.
Consumers are connected and empowered like never before, and brands need to be relevant in the digital space if they want to stay competitive.
According to a study from BIA Kelsey, companies are rapidly embracing digital transformation strategies driven by customer experience initiatives. Digital marketing is becoming an integral part of business strategy for many top global enterprises.
AI-driven platforms can help marketers tap into the power of customer data and turn it into actionable insights.
Today’s consumer is constantly connected, seeking instant gratification, and eager to share their thoughts and opinions across multiple channels.
Having real-time access to data can be a game-changer when it comes to delivering better customer experiences and increasing engagement. 83% of global marketers feel that data-driven insights are more important now than they were in the past.
By leveraging AI, marketers can enhance their customer experience strategy and engage consumers at every step of the sales funnel. For example, companies can use this technology to identify leads and deliver personalized messages during different stages of the buying cycle.
This can prove to be a very effective approach since the majority of consumers make their decision in just five minutes after viewing a website. Marketers can then follow up with relevant messaging throughout the decision-making process.
AI can enable marketers with real-time insights, which can be used for personalization and engagement across multiple channels, including direct mail, email, and social media.
By analyzing customer data in real-time by account or purchase history or location, AI platforms can assist marketers in making smarter decisions about the type of content they are creating for each channel.
They can also optimize ad campaign performance based on analysis of CTRs, CPCs, and conversion rates for multiple channels.
In addition, AI is helping companies better understand customer needs and preferences so they can then provide relevant messaging at the right time.
By using AI to analyze metrics such as online behavior patterns, transactions, and purchase history over time, marketers can develop a more personalized and predictive approach to engagement that moves beyond one-off campaigns.
Suggested Reading: 5 AI Tools For Web Design and Development
Following are some real-life examples of AI-driven marketing in action:
Cybersecurity company Webroot used AI to analyze behavioral patterns of web users and deliver highly relevant content to more than 100 million visitors by adding a dosage of artificial personality into the mix.
This approach helped improve customer retention rates, as well as drove sales.
According to Webroot, 90% of customers who interacted with the AI returned to the website two weeks later and became paying customers.
A few years ago, U.K.-based insurer RSA launched a chatbot on Facebook Messenger that used artificial intelligence to help people deal with their insurance claims.
This was followed by another chatbot that helped customers track the status of their insurance claims.
The company says that within a few weeks of launching the chatbots, they saw an increase in question submissions from consumers using these digital assistants.
For example, over 250 people used the first bot to submit questions related to car purchases and sales instead of calling RSA’s call center for help.
Results also showed that the median time to answer a question using the chatbot was 40 seconds, compared to call center wait times of 30 minutes or more.
Examples like these show how AI can be used by marketers and brands to provide better real-time customer support across multiple channels.
In addition to improving customer support and retention rates across multiple channels, AI can also help marketers better understand the different groups of people that make up their target audience.
This is possible by analyzing a company’s entire customer base, segmented by demographics, behavior patterns, and other important factors.
Using AI, marketers can then classify customers into different groups based on their needs and preferences.
AI systems can then be used to provide customers with tailored messaging based on these classifications for companies to improve engagement across the entire decision-making process.
For example, marketing software provider Outbrain uses AI to segment customers based on their interests and then provide them with content that is relevant to these preferences.
The company classifies web users into more than 500 segments and delivers personalized content across multiple channels.
Outbrain’s AI platform uses this information to make recommendations for content that is likely to be of interest based on the visitor’s previous behavior and habits.
The system then gathers data on each user category, which in turn provides marketers with a much better understanding of what helps them reach their target audiences.
Examples like these suggest how AI can be used in digital marketing to better understand and serve customer preferences.
When AI is deployed in the right way, it can be a powerful tool for companies looking to improve their marketing efforts.
That said, some challenges must be dealt with before more businesses start using this technology at scale.
This includes making sure that AI technologies provide results in a way that is consistent and meaningful.
In addition, AI must be implemented to detract from the interactions between marketers and customers by introducing gimmicks or resorting to overselling.
According to Gartner, there are also some technical challenges related to the appeal and adoption of AI technologies in general, which still need to be addressed.
Although AI is present in several digital products, it’s difficult to find cases where the technology has been implemented in a way that provides value.
Businesses must consider how they will implement AI before incorporating it into their overall marketing strategy.
AI technologies can be used by marketers to improve customer support by using customer data to offer customers the most relevant help possible.
However, before businesses implement these technologies, they need to consider how the technology will be used and if it will provide value in return.
A lesson from all of this is that the use of AI in marketing should involve a combination of specific applications and not rely on one technology to solve day-to-day marketing problems.
Ali is a digital marketing blogger and author who uses the power of words to inspire and impact others. He has written for leading publications like Business2Community, Inc. Magazine, and Marketing Profs. When not writing, he enjoys spending time with his family.