Could the answer to understanding the complexity of a consumer’s mind be Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Look, I get it. Humans are complex. But is a machine without a mind of its own really the best way to gain insights on the mind of others?
Well… it really could be. And it’s already happening. AI can provide personalisation across the customer journey and can use predictive modelling to achieve better outcomes at touch-points.
The Journey
The customer journey consists of three stages: pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase. So, how could AI fit with each stage?
During pre-purchase, AI targeting and personalisation through email and ads can be hugely influential. 80% of customers are more likely to purchase a product if the marketing is personalised. Customer profiling enhances personalisation and also create product recommendations. SEO and voice search optimisation can also be used to impact the SERP positioning of the company.
The purchase stage is also useful for profiling, demand forecasting and profit optimisation. Lead generation can be calculated and such data is key in improving a marketers decision making, and for increasing CRO (conversion rate optimisation).
Post-purchase touchpoint like reviews have an endless capability to produce huge amounts of data. Chat bots at this stage can enhance customer service and collect useful data. Sentiment analysis can be used to give data driven insights too to really understand the consumer.
What is a chat bot and how are they used?
Clearly, AI has a well-deserved place in the customer journey. But as both a marketer and a consumer, I’m torn between emotions of excitement and apprehension about how much this technology can do. How about you?
Beth Johnson Marketing 
Great post! It’s amazing how chatbots use AI to speak in a ‘human’ way – getting progressively better with each conversation. I agree that it might feel strange having a conversation with one but at the same time, customers may be more inclined to express their real feelings. I’ve heard about AI being used in healthcare and how patients actually prefer the AI experience to a doctor/nurse because it’s consistent and there’s no judgement. So will be really interesting to see how it will be used in the future!
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Yes I agree! There’s quite a few mental health apps that use AI and robotics instead of an actual therapist, I think this could be great in helping people who don’t feel comfortable sharing things with a human.
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I really notice AI in the pre purchase phase, and I think they are definitely effective. If I get an email saying “something from my cart is on sale”, I usually can’t resist. Seeing ads and emails over and over again, that are personalised to you mean those brands remain top of mind. I’m also torn about how much data they have access too and how they can potentially exploit that, and use it to their advantage. Great post!
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Very true! I always receive emails with product offers that I can tell have been tailored to me by the nature of the product, its kind of like having your own personal shopper who knows your style really well haha.
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Good post! I’ve never really thought about how AI can actually be related with customer journey but I definitely can see a benefit in using AI.
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Thanks for your feedback! Yes it’s definitely something that’s becoming more and more relevant and will be helpful for future marketers to invest time in looking into.
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