AI and the Untapped Power of Customer Data

Today, the amount of data is so big that it's hard to conceptualize. Even more challenging to fathom is how to sift through the sheer volume of raw data and make it usable. The job is too much for people to do alone. This is where AI comes in. AI analyzes data to find patterns, draw conclusions, and make predictions.?

This is especially useful for B2B companies' customer data. Clicks, views, past purchases, searches, demographics, and more can be used to find patterns and predict what customers want. Keep reading to learn how AI can help you harness customer data to guide marketing strategy.?

AI and Personalization

AI can segment audiences to deliver content tailored to their preferences. By drawing on past behaviors, interactions, user profiles, and predicted needs, AI personalizes the content that users see. Individualized content helps customers receive the right information at the right time and in the right format.?

Companies have found success in tailoring content to different segments of their target audience, as well as individual users. Some examples:

• JPMorgan Chase, an investment banking company, used AI to improve and tailor its marketing copy to different customer segments. These ads saw a 450% increase in click-through rates compared with other non-AI ads that had click-through rates between 50% and 200%.?

• SEE, the packaging company that invented BUBBLE WRAP?, used AI to tailor packaging materials suggestions on the website to different customers. Prior to AI, many orders had to be done over the phone so customers could confirm they had the best options for what they were shipping. With AI assistance, 80% of those orders can be done online. Existing customers who have tried the new ordering system using AI personalization have found success: 83% of orders are now placed online.?

• Certinia (formerly FinancialForce), a Services-as-a-Business (SaaB) solution, used AI to personalize content recommendations to users on their website to increase engagement and accelerate the buyer's journey. With AI personalization, they saw a 65% increase in total accounts engaged, with 3.9x more page views and 7.3x longer web sessions, in addition to an increase in repeat visitors.?

AI and Content Creation

In addition to personalizing content for segmented audiences, AI can create content for your target audience - or segments of your target audience - more broadly. AI uses data from your existing customers to generate content topics and ideas. It can also go beyond idea generation and create outlines or even full content pieces – just be sure these are human-reviewed before posting! Some examples of businesses using a data-driven AI content strategy include:

• Kellogg’s uses AI to look through trending recipes that include cereal and use this data to create social media campaigns with these recipes that highlight their own cereals.?

• Wrike, a collaborative work management platform, used generative AI to create ten times as many SEO blogs in 30 days as they did before using AI.

• Stanley Black & Decker, a manufacturing company, found that their local partners lacked the skills, resources, and time to launch individual marketing campaigns. So, they used AI to create optimized Google Search ads for these partners. This led to a 49% decrease in cost per lead and a 163% increase in local dealer leads.

So, which tools are best for content creation? There are several different options—Atomic Reach, MarketMuse, Acrolinx, and BrightEdge, to name a few. Figuring out which tools to use is important, so take the time to decide what you want the tool to do and then find one that best meets your needs.?

AI and Analysis of Current Strategies

How do you analyze customer retention? Or the conversion rate of leads to customers? If you have your data in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, such as HubSpot or Salesforce, AI can use this data to improve your strategies.

For customer retention, AI can look at data like purchase history, account activity, and social media engagement to identify customers at risk of customer churn (losing a customer). When looking at conversion rates of new customers, AI can analyze what types of companies are not converting and when in the pipeline that’s happening. Your team can look at this information and brainstorm the why. Are these leads outside of your target audience? Are they receiving not enough, or too much, communication? Or is the content they’re receiving not right for that stage of the buyer’s journey?

Many AI tools use predictive analysis and analytics to understand customer acquisition and retention better. Some examples include Rapid Miner, Birst, Perceptive AI and Sisense. Here again, the options are numerous. Please just be sure to take the time to research and figure out which tool is best to help you achieve your goals.?

Privacy - A Word of Caution?

With power - in this case, the power of your customer’s data - comes responsibility. 88% of generative AI users were concerned that their information could be shared. Trust is crucial for B2B companies. How do you use the valuable insights from customer data while also maintaining trust with existing and potential customers?

AI is booming, but it’s still uncharted territory. Beyond adhering to data privacy laws, there is little precedent for how to effectively and ethically use AI in marketing. One of the best things you can do is be open and transparent about how your company uses AI. Have discussions with existing and potential customers where you explain specifically how you’re using AI. Encourage questions and discuss any concerns they have. You can also give people options to weigh how their data is used so they feel like they are part of the decision.

AI enables us to tap into data in previously impossible ways – and use this data to accelerate marketing strategies that improve ROI. Continue to respect customers' privacy and be transparent in your AI use. You may find that not only do you have usable customer insights to guide your marketing strategy, but you’ve also built up another level of credibility and trust.