Did you know that the fourth Thursday of each quarter is Get to Know Your Customer Day? So that’s today!
And why should we learn more about our customers? Well, without them we have no business. That ought to be reason enough.
And now that technology is shifting the power from brands back to customers, there are new ways to learn just about everything about your current and potential customers. There are ways to tap into the online conversations about your brand – and your competitors. There’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics tools too. Don’t be intimidated by the concepts – it’s really not hard to understand.
So what is it and why would we need it?
It can give us deeper insights, make predictions and generate recommendations so you can laser focus in on a customer’s need at any point along the customer journey. Customers have so many more purchasing options now brands are realizing that they have to understand and map the new customer journey, immerse themselves in the customers’ lives and become a part of their world.
Here is a great example:
Harley Davidson
When a New York City dealership needed a way to reach potential customers and boost sales, they decided to give AI marketing a try. A one-weekend trial of Albert, Adgorithm’s AI-driven marketing platform convinced them this was the answer – they sold 15 motor cycles that weekend.
How does it work? Albert crunches data from the dealership’s CRM and content from across social channels. Then Albert creates lookalike audiences and runs test campaigns with content – headlines and visuals. Their qualified leads leapt from 1 a day to 40!
The dealership had estimated that only 2% of New York City’s population were potential Harley buyers, however Albert revealed that the market was larger – much larger – and began finding customers they didn’t even know existed.
In the first month, 15% of those new leads were “lookalikes.” These are people who resemble previous high-value customers, calling the dealership to set up a visit. By the third month it was 50% .
Small Business
And in case you think this is only for the big brands, in the Tampa Bay area one lawn care company has figured out how to use this technology to find and service customers. They have a mobile app to schedule and pay for your lawn service. After each service you get a text asking for feedback and rating the service. You can request new services via the app and the system learns more about you and your preferences with each interaction. They can then find lookalikes in the neighborhood and send them offers. It has boomed the business and also brought steady work to the subcontractors he has hired to fulfill the growing demand.
AI and enhanced analytics can deliver a huge advantage by making it possible to find and engage potential customers with highly personalized, targeted content. This closes the insight to action gap and that affects your bottom line.
Luckily these tools are evolving and there are now SaaS offers that make it much easier and less expensive than before. It’s really not that scary or complicated.
Listen to the podcast for more insights and examples.
