
Photo: @criene via Twenty20
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from Bill Hanifin, managing editor, Wise Marketer, first published on Forbes.com.
In our experience, the one-to-one relationship aspect of true loyalty marketing isn’t possible to create at scale, nor even sustainable at present levels, without the disciplines and tools that are central to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
At its most basic level, AI can automate simple, repeatable tasks and accelerate pattern recognition. This opens the door to marketing efficiency and hastens the fulfillment of the promise to provide “the right offer to the right person at the right time, in the right channel.”
It also delivers personalization, meaning practical ways that a brand can demonstrate that it is listening to its customers across their digital footprints (website visits, purchases, searches, posts, reviews, etc.), learning more about what they want and formulating offers for products they actually want instead of what the brand wants to sell. This is the essence of how data-driven marketing can build trust with customers and long-term loyalty.
Enhancing your analytics engine with AI can make it possible to optimize individual experiences at scale. Next-generation analytics, fueled by AI, can make hyper-segmentation possible (i.e., homing in on more precise groups of customers who share specific attributes and behaviors).
As a next step, dynamic content can be optimized for delivery across channels in a timely manner, with the result being a delightful customer experience and higher satisfaction levels.
Customers are becoming more aware of the value of their data every day, and what it represents to the brands they patronize. Delivering a highly personalized experience communicates clearly to the customer that their favorite brand “gets it,” meaning they might just wonder how the brand managed to connect with them in a natural, organic way that encouraged them to visit, purchase, recommend it, etc.
Loyalty marketing is focused on creating long-term, mutually beneficial relationships that transcend the era of segmentation-driven campaign management.
The next time a discussion of AI breaks out in a meeting, don’t avoid the topic due to the unknowns, but embrace it through a belief that it could spark the ultimate revolution in marketing analytics at a time when we seem to need it most.
BrainTrust

Georganne Bender
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking

Evan Snively
Director of Planning & Loyalty, Moosylvania

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