Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly prominent in society, and many forward-thinking marketers will integrate it into their holiday marketing campaigns this year. Here are six ways to do that.
1. Build Customer Profiles That Shape Further Efforts
Shopbrain recently launched an AI-powered assistant in a Chrome extension that helps people find the best prices on the items they want by checking prices at retailers such as Home Depot and Walmart. Marketers could take a similar approach by offering a way for online shoppers to find the best prices on similar products available on a single site.
For example, if a person wants to buy a back massager, an AI tool might ask for the must-have characteristics a person wants, such as that it has to have a heat component, be portable and cost less than $200. Then, the technology could return results that fit the parameters and are in stock on the site. Using the AI tool helps build a customer profile.
If a person doesn’t buy right away, the tool could ask for an email address and send the product results to an inbox. Marketers could then prompt purchases in other ways, like giving a $20 off incentive or offering a gift. That approach recognizes people often research before buying, and keeps the brand top of mind throughout their decision-making process.
2. Automatically Create Email Subject Lines
MailChimp customers in the United States sent 19.8 billion emails during the 2017 holiday season. That statistic shows why it’s essential for email marketing efforts to catch attention and speak to recipients’ needs.
Virgin Holidays, a company that sells vacations, used AI to create email subject lines and found the technology performed up to 10 percent better than humans for boosting open rates.
As the holiday season ramps up, marketers could take data-driven approaches and segment their messaging based on people who have kids or don’t, those from various income brackets or individuals in specific regions. Next, an AI tool could mine through the data before suggesting email subject lines.
3. Make Holiday Shopping More Efficient
Many holiday shoppers strive to buy all the things on their lists as quickly as possible. In 2016, Estée Lauder made shopping simpler for customers in its UK and Ireland markets with a chatbot that allowed them to buy things without leaving the app. They could choose between getting the items shipped to their homes or picking them up in stores.
Marketers can explore similar ways to use AI to cater to customers’ needs via chatbots during the holiday season and throughout the year.
4. Make Online Ads More Interactive
Many kids get LEGO sets as holiday gifts. This year, LEGO has invested in interactive AI ads to encourage more people to buy their products.
LEGO partnered with IBM to use Watson Ads Omni technology in online ads that suggest which LEGO products to buy. People get bombarded with advertisements throughout the year. If marketers use AI to make them especially relevant during the holidays, the payoff could be substantial.
5. Excel at Social Media Channel Management
When people post questions on brand-managed social media channels, they typically expect prompt responses. During the holiday season, individuals might ask for information to help them determine whether to buy specific products as gifts.
AI-driven platforms make life easier for social media managers who would otherwise feel overwhelmed. These tools can tell which user comments need immediate responses and filter out the junk. They can also recommend how to make social media posts maximally relevant.
6. Let Shoppers Buy Things With Voice Commands
Smart speaker owners have options for buying things by speaking aloud, as do people with voice-enabled assistants on their smartphones. Google is enabling people to shop at well-known merchants by using voice commands.
It recently announced more brand partners participating in Google Shopping Actions, including Best Buy and Nike. That means people can buy products with their voices or see them while using any other Google platform. The voice-search component also lets people check their order status or get information about local store hours.
Optimizing for voice search could be a crucial part of a broader marketing strategy, since it facilitates giving information to people on the go. Depending on what they learn, shoppers could alter their plans when deciding which stores to shop at and — in the case of physical stores — when to visit them.
AI Could Make the Season Less Stressful
These six examples are just starting points for how marketers could use AI for enhanced, user-friendly shopping experiences. Some use cases could reduce the stress brands face when determining the best ways to appeal to shoppers, too.
