Marketers are incredibly excited about generative AI, as the technology makes delivering immediate, personalized customer experiences at scale possible. Marketing’s holy grail — hyper-personal, self-sustaining flywheels that leverage data to eliminate friction on the customer journey— is finally within reach. According to Salesforce research, more than one-half of surveyed marketers were already experimenting with generative AI within a year of ChatGPT’s public release.
But marketers haven’t jumped in with both feet yet, as a staggering 67% question whether their company’s data setup is equal to the task. While large datasets offer massive opportunities for marketers, they also present huge data privacy risks, and not every company has the vendor partnerships and technology they need to keep customer data safe.
Think of generative AI as a brand-new Lamborghini Huracán. Do you have the license and driving skills to handle such a powerful machine safely? Do you have a destination mapped out? Because if you don’t, you could spin out of your lane and end up facing oncoming traffic.
It’s a dilemma because there’s a sense of urgency. Revenue officers are expecting huge results, customer expectations are high and it’s imperative to take customer data privacy seriously. But there’s also no time to lose because 2024 is the year gen AI will finally make it possible to create omnichannel journeys and personalized experiences in the moment. So, as you buckle up and get ready for the ride of your life, keep the following tips in mind.
1. Define The Perfect Customer Journey
You wouldn’t take a long road trip without a destination in mind, and the customer journey is no different. The old rules of the road don’t apply in the age of generative AI because there are so many functions you couldn’t perform just a couple of years ago that are now possible, such as:
- Real-time creation of highly personalized outreach like product offers; and
- Recommendations delivered via text messaging and email marketing.
According to research cited by Forbes Advisor, personalized experiences like these encourage 46% of customers to buy more. So, it’s time to create an omnichannel journey for your customer that perfectly matches your product set and the brand values you believe in. Now that gen AI is here, it’s ready to help you deliver the perfect customer journey.
2. Get Your Data & Tech Stack Right
Are you confident about the origin of all your customer data? Did the customer share it, did it flow into your company via APIs or did you buy it? Are you sure you have customers’ permission to use it? Has the chain of custody been secure? Are you sure your cybersecurity policy covers martech data mishaps?
A terrifyingly high number of data exchanges still happen via email, and processes are only as safe as the personal workarounds people create, such as spreadsheet downloads. Cross-reference your customer journey against your existing vendors and tech stack to make sure you have the expertise and platform you need, including secure and compliant data management that answers all these questions.
3. Start Your Engine & Drive
Marketing technology is moving so fast that you don’t have the luxury of waiting until everything is perfect to rev up campaigns and customer outreach with generative AI. Get on the road as safely (and quickly) as you can and start anticipating customer needs and personalizing messages at scale as only generative AI can. You can start now and build your capabilities at the same time, perfecting your tech stack, vendor relationships and datasets while you’re underway.
Remember how data was going to change everything? To be fair, it did. But until the advent of generative AI, marketing technology was merely scratching the surface of what’s possible with data.
Now the moment marketers have been waiting for is here, so it’s time to start executing on your biggest and boldest brand vision — safely and imperfectly. With generative AI and the right vendors and technology to handle your data, you can make it happen.
Welcome to 2024 — it should be a fun ride.
Tara Kelly is the Founder, President and CEO of SPLICE Software, a customer engagement company that specializes in using big data, small data and AI to create messages that drive customer engagement and the desired call to action.