No Tough Customers: AI Helping Most Marketers Figure Out Preferences, Behavior

There’s a stat about AI that spells out precisely how important the technology is to marketing.

By August of last year, 89% of Americans had heard at least a little bit about artificial intelligence.

In a Q4 survey shortly thereafter, MessageGears found that almost the same percentage of enterprise marketers (86%) were using or are planning on using AI.

All well and good, but neither of those are the stat I’m talking about.

It’s the percentage of those marketers giving the technology a stamp of approval, and it makes you wonder what the rest are waiting for.

“AI is everywhere these days and a whopping 99% of enterprise marketers say it’s making a big difference in figuring out customer preferences and behavior,” says MessageGears in its “The Enterprise Perspective on Customer Engagement & AI,” a research study made in part with Ascend2. “It’s crucial to get on board with this game-changing tech because being skeptical might mean falling behind in a world driven by data insights.”

58% of enterprise marketers are using AI for targeted advertising campaigns, 49% for personalized email marketing, 49% for customer support services, and 49% for customized product recommendations. Other customer interactions and engagement getting high percentages were social media engagement (41%), audience segmentation (38%), and website/app personalization (38%). Regarding personalization, 97% said they found using AI for delivering personalized content and recommendations to be moderately or very effective.

“AI algorithms are like the secret sauce, letting marketers dive deep into customer data,” the study says. “Then, armed with the inside scoop on preferences, behaviors, and demographics, they can fine-tune messages on the fly. With real-time tweaks to content, timing, and more, AI-powered campaigns make sure the connection between a brand and its audience is spot-on and meaningful.”

(Source: MessageGears)

Looking ahead, more than half (53%) of marketers would like AI to be able to help them determine which customers are most likely to make a purchase, and 50% want it to determine which channel is most likely to convert customers.

“At the end of the day, marketers just want more help allocating their time and budget more efficiently,” the study says.