Six Ways AI Can Help DTC Brands Enhance Their Customer Services In 2022
Mar 28, 2022
10 min read
Table of contents
As we move into 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) will become increasingly important for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. AI can help DTC brands enhance their customer services, including providing more personalized service, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs.
With AI tech constantly improving, brands can offer more personalized experiences that can feel surprisingly “human.” In fact, according to a recent study, 78% of consumers said they would be more likely to do business with a company if it offered a personalized experience.
So how can DTC brands use AI to enhance their customer service? Here are the six ways:
1. The Use of AI in Customer Behaviour and Needs
AI technology can help make a customer’s experience feel like it was crafted just for them. By assessing things like past purchases and purchasing behaviors, AI can help predict what items a customer might be like or interested in or tell them when it’s time to order again. OTT platforms can guide movies and TV series to watch or new music and podcasts to listen to.
This type of predictive personalization is becoming increasingly commonplace as businesses strive to meet the needs of their customers. As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more amazing examples of how it is being used to improve the customer experience.
2. Improve Decision Making
As AI continues to evolve, it's becoming more and more adept at helping businesses predict customer behavior. Thanks to the fact that AI can analyze large amounts of data much faster than a human could ever hope to.
This ability to quickly identify trends and patterns is invaluable for making decisions. After all, the better informed you are, the better your choices will be. With AI on your side, you can be confident that you're making the best possible decisions for your business. 
Source: Unsplash
So if you're not already using AI to inform your decision-making, you're missing out. AI-powered insights can help you take your business to the next level. Ditch the guesswork and start making data-driven decisions today. Your business will thank you for it.
Decision-making now is the time to start. AI can help you make better decisions faster. And that's something any business can benefit from.
3. Boosts Engagement
Omnichannel messaging is quickly becoming a must-have for businesses that want to provide an exceptional customer experience. By definition, omnichannel means providing a consistent experience across all channels. It includes your website, app, social media, customer service, and any other customers' touchpoints with your brand.
What are the benefits of omnichannel messaging? The most obvious is that it creates a seamless experience for your customers. They can move from one channel to another without feeling like they're starting from scratch each time. Omnichannel also allows you to personalize messages for each customer. You can use data from previous interactions to customize content and offers in real-time. That provides a much more relevant and engaging experience for your customers.
Source: Unsplash
4. Effective Marketing
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, so does the field of marketing. AI is changing the way businesses interact with customers and is making marketing more targeted and effective overall.
By understanding customer behavior and segmenting customers based on psychological profiles, businesses can more accurately predict how customers will respond to their messaging. As a result, companies can improve click-through and conversion rates, providing a better customer experience overall.
AI is also helping businesses automate customer service tasks, freeing up customer service representatives to provide higher quality assistance. Overall, AI is making customer service more efficient and effective.
As AI continues to develop, we can expect even more changes in marketing. Businesses that embrace these changes will be well-positioned to succeed in the future.
5. Improve Customer Retention
As AI technology advances, so does your ability to retain customers. Machine learning algorithms can now easily help businesses identify and head off problems that could lead to customer churn by helping to identify problems.
You can pinpoint and prioritize based on real data through AI rather than guesswork. Features like uninstall tracking, for example, turn the loss of customers into something valuable that can help you solve customer retention problems and craft effective strategies to win them back.
AI is thus a powerful tool that can improve customer retention efforts in several ways. By helping businesses to identify customer pain points and target marketing efforts accordingly, AI can make a significant difference in customer satisfaction and loyalty.
6. Boosts Conversion
When we talk about giving your business an advantage, customer service is key. Ensuring that your customers have a smooth, stress-free purchase experience is essential to keep them coming back.
One way to ensure great customer service is to use AI chatbots to pre-qualify leads. By answering customer questions through a chatbot, you can quickly determine whether or not a customer is interested in your product. That helps save time and resources by only sending qualified leads to sales.
Using Chatbots also helps to build trust with potential customers. By showing that you're available to answer their questions, you demonstrate that you're committed to providing the best possible customer experience. It can go a long way in establishing your brand as a trusted source for quality products.
So if you want to give your business a boost, consider using AI chatbots to pre-qualify your leads. It's a free and fast way to improve your customer service that will automatically help you in boosting your conversion rates.
7. Customized Content
If you're like most people, you appreciate good customer service. And if you're also like most people, you prefer when that customer service is tailored specifically to you.
With the advent of AI, businesses now offer creatively customized content to their customers. Whether you're looking for product recommendations, targeted marketing emails, or even just relevant written content suggestions, businesses can now use AI to deliver a personalized experience.
So if you value feeling like more than just a number, rest assured that businesses are taking notice and working hard to give you the best possible customer experience. After all, 90% of US consumers find personalization appealing.
8. Streamlined Workflows
One of the benefits of using an AI chatbot for customer service is that it can help to streamline the workflow. By answering common questions and directing users to online resources, AI chatbots can take some of the burdens off of your customer service team. It allows them to focus on more important customer needs, which results in a better overall customer experience. In addition, AI chatbots can also help improve First Call Resolution rates, as they can provide quick and accurate answers to common questions. That results in fewer calls being transferred to human agents, saving time and improving the customer experience.
Overall, using an AI chatbot for customer service can help to improve the efficiency of your customer service team. By taking on some of the tasks that human agents typically handle, AI chatbots can free up time for your team to focus on more important issues. In addition, AI chatbots can also help reduce call volume, as they can provide quick and accurate answers to common questions. If you are looking for a way to improve your customer service team’s workflow, an AI chatbot may be the right solution for you.
Email Messaging - Marketing Tactics For A Family Law Business
Brand marketing is one of the largest areas where every business invests its heart and soul, just to boost the business revenues and outperform the market rivalry. Businesses like small firms, manufacturing industries, corporate offices, and even legal institutions - every trade rely on effective marketing tactics to prosper gradually. Speaking of legal institutions, a Family Law firm uses marketing methods to generate quality leads and drive them successfully into trusted clients. That being said, there exist numerous marketing methods that can be used to incentivize prospects and attract them to your legal service firm.For instance, you can engage your customers via a strong content marketing strategy, building a content-driven website presence, email marketing, or by making use of Google’s online marketing tools, and so on. Marketing firms bring you closer to effective email marketing for your Family Law firm so you can showcase your expertise to the target audience in an effective and swift manner. Source: Unsplash Speaking of email marketing for Family Law firms, it refers to addressing your target audience via personalized email messaging that enlightens them about the availability of your services, via newsletters, subscription links, etc. Such emails usually function as broadcast messages that not only just knock on a prospective client’s door but also attempt to convince them to take action. It means that with our adept guidance and via effective email marketing, your Family Law firm can tap on the cold leads that are sitting idle and can convert them into clients. Benefits Of Email Marketing The significance of email marketing is subject to its documented form of communication because emails exhibit business credibility and are oftentimes forwarded to expand business reach. With Saffron Edge’s expert assistance, your family law firm can aim at tapping on its target audience sooner, and adopt email marketing as it plays an important role in reaching out to them, even if they’re associated with different devices or platforms. We can help with emails that can be effectively sent to Android, iOS, or Windows-functioning devices, which is why they are considered favorable for immediate conversions. Let’s discuss a few advantages of using email marketing for your Family Law firm: Low-cost method - Broadcasting emails is quite a pocket-friendly method of reaching out to your target audience. Otherwise, mainstream marketing mediums ask for plenty of investment, both in terms of money, effort and time. That being said, there are no hidden costs in email marketing done via Saffron Edge for your law firm or any overhead expenses, other than maintaining your email account. Deliver Your Message Effectively - The main purpose of taking up email marketing is because it allows a legal firm to fulfill its communication in a convenient way. We understand these communication exigencies and we attempt to deliver messages like subscription emails, service availability, etc to your prospective clients easily communicated via emails. You can make use of fancy yet relevant jargon to proclaim your business credibility. Reach A Bigger Mass - Mass broadcasting isn’t a simple task, but when it comes to email marketing, an experienced player like Saffron Edge can proficiently help your Family Law firm reach its extensive target market via email communication. It maneuvers as a simple practice to instantly connect with your audience, all at the same time. How do we promote a new law firm? We follow simple but effective strategies to promote a new law firm. Our marketing strategies include: Creating marketing strategy according to the budget and need. Developing a catchy and Seo-friendly law firm website. Building a social presence and clickable landing pages. What are the advantages of email messages? Email messages are one of the traditional marketing strategies, but it is still in use. This is because they seem more professional and help you target your audience easily without investing too much money. How do we write a law firm email? Our law firm email writing includes: Creating a memorable subject line Keeping things short and precise Ensuring the content is professional Using attractive templates Improving the Email Signature Why choose us? At Saffron Edge, your Family Law firm gets to deliver click-worthy emails to its customer base which not only guarantees a better conversion rate but enhances your brand credibility in the market. The members of our marketing team strike diligently on those target groups where emails are worthy enough to get conversions, for instance, we keenly observe those perspectives who are seeking legal assistance. By sending them business emails, Saffron Edge makes every possible effort to clinch the deal and ultimately increase your Family Law firm’s revenue. We diligently provide customized emails for different target groups that belong to different demographics, regions, service backgrounds, etc. Our aim is to creatively manage communication sources and carry out effective Family Law Marketing for an email campaign to build and upgrade a loyal client base. Saffron Edge’s email marketing team consists of experienced professionals who have previously handled multiple successful projects and ensure that our clients get outstanding results from their online marketing campaigns. With us, your Family Law firm can strategically plan the future of your marketing cycle and simultaneously focus on improving your legal expertise with time to gain a competitive edge. To stay updated with our latest news, subscribe to our daily newsletter and give your law firm a chance to benefit from Saffron Edge’s optimized email marketing action plans. Sign up for free now! ...
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How Is the BOT Model Helping Global Companies Expand Post Pandemic?
Source: Freepik The impact of COVID-19 has been disastrous. Several people lost their lives, many lost their jobs, and above all, the entire global economy got a setback. However, amidst all these issues, this pandemic somehow resulted in certain improvements on environmental and humanitarian grounds. The same goes for the business sector. On the one hand, Covid-19 made some brick-and-mortar businesses shut their stores. On the other hand, the pandemic has had an indirect positive effect on the adaptability of the business. According to McKinsey, companies are digitizing their internal operations. The fast-evolving landscape for growth has pushed DTC businesses to look for tools and tactics to get an edge over their competitors and combat challenges. One of the key challenges companies are facing is building an agile and skilled digital team that can accelerate their business growth. Many companies hire a digital marketing agency to enhance their online presence and revenue. This is a good strategy, but if your business is expanding, it’s good to go with the BOT model. What Is a BOT Model? The BOT concept is nothing new. Instead, this business model has been utilized by companies for several years. However, BOT has mostly been preferred by the IT sector to increase their capabilities and expand their business. But now there’s good news for D2C brands; Saffron brings you the BOT model designed as per the dynamic DTC landscape. But what exactly is BOT, and how can it leverage your DTC Business? Well, BOT stands for Build-Operate-Transfer. The business model is basically an integrated partnership between the DTC brand and the agency providing BOT service. You know how difficult it is to build a team that stands on your objectives. But you are not alone - around 75% of companies are struggling to optimize their talent acquisition process. This problem can be squared away by BOT. DTC brands like you can contact our experts and let us know your requirements - what type of talent you are looking for, what’s your budget, etc. After understanding what you want, our recruiting team will create Job Descriptions and upload them on various portals and our channels to find the right talent team for you. In addition, we have access to a pool of talent that makes hiring easier and faster. Once we get enough job applications, our HR team starts shortlisting candidates based on your requirements. Furthermore, we will conduct one-on-one interviews and exams, including aptitude and skill tests (per your industry). We also do background checks and test the team/expert on various verticals. After selecting the team/specialist, we will teach and upskill them so that they can cater to your needs. The team/expert will operate from your office but under our control. They will do all your daily tasks as per your business process and workflow and collaborate with your in-house team. Once the team or expert adapts to your business process and you are assured that the unit can deliver the results you want, you can take control of them fully. After this, the team or specialist will be fully yours and work under your payroll. The whole process of the BOT model is divided into three categories: Build, Operate and Transfer. Let’s understand each phase: Build: This phase includes hiring the right candidate(s). Based on your requirements, we source candidates from our extensive talent pool. We vet each candidate from the ground up and upskill them to make them suitable for your needs. We set up a system so that the team/expert will operate from your office under our control in the most effective and productive manner. Operate: In this phase, we professionally manage and handle your team/specialist so that you can focus on your D2C business roadmap and core activities. We have top minds from the industry who will train and scale your team/expert’s skills and knowledge so that they can provide you with the best results. Transfer: It is the final phase in which you decide to take legal ownership of the team/expert. At the end of the contract period, our team will conduct a scanning of each candidate so that you hire only the right talent for your business. This way, you can try a candidate(s) in your work process without paying a significant upfront cost for onboarding, and hire them when you get assured. Through BOT, you can directly hire a job-ready candidate(s) who knows what things can make your business thrive in the competitive digital landscape. Whether you are looking for a PPC expert, content writer, business analyst, growth hacker, SEO specialist, or practice lead expert, we will help you get access to the right talent. How is the BOT Business Model Helping Global Companies to Expand their Operations? Source: Freepik The BOT model allows companies to get access to the right talent and scale up their business quickly. This business model aims to help companies save money, and the time they might spend on hiring. IT firms have been utilizing this business model for years to enhance their capabilities by building productive, agile, and efficient teams. Now, it’s time for D2C businesses to harness the benefits of BOT’s impeccable power. There are various challenges in the D2C landscape, which can be overcome by hiring a suitable employee(s). But you know how difficult this task is. That’s why we bring you the BOT service that allows you to utilize the power of the talent right from the first month of your contract with us. Using the BOT, you can expand your team and accelerate your business growth. Here are the major perks of using BOT: Flexibility: With BOT, you can easily adapt to the changing client’s demands and get all the required resources within a short period. You will be able to get everything done better and faster. Scale up team: One of the biggest benefits of BOT is that you can scale your team as per your requirement. There is little to negligible chance of hiring the wrong candidate. We will ensure that you only get the best without having to put in any hassle. Risk control and cost-effectiveness: With BOT, the chance of failing in a new market reduces greatly. If you have started a new DTC business, you should contact our experts now and know how we will help you get the talent you are looking for. With us, you’ll get specialists who know all the ins and outs of digital marketing - without going out of budget. Takeaway! As companies struggle to hire the right candidate due to a shortage of employees and an increasing number of post-pandemic resignations, BOT gives you a way to come out of this problem. BOT is an innovative and flexible way of hiring the right talent that suits your needs and stands high on your objectives With us, you can build a team of digital specialists that allows you to RULE THE DIGITAL WORLD. We are the first Indian company to offer BOT services to DTC brands. We have a network of HR professionals and digital marketing experts who have hands-on experience with all the tactics and tricks that can allow a brand to establish itself as a big brand in the market. We have a big talent pool that allows you to build an agile and flexible team faster. So, contact our experts and know how we can help you. ...
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Why is Headless Commerce the future for Brands and Retailers
With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the eCommerce industry saw a massive rise in terms of sales. Since COVID-19 had shut down retail stores, the online eCommerce world saw a significant transformation. The global lockdown led to an increase in global retail sales. According to Statista, the expected eCommerce growth will reach an industry worth $26.7 trillion by 2022. Increase of $23.6 trillion from 2018! With more and more online shopping options, customers have found different channels to purchase products. Today, there are numerous devices they can shop from: mobile, computers, and intelligent devices. According to a study conducted by Microsoft, around 58% of the shoppers don't prefer buying from an online shop that offers a poor customer experience. Offering seamless, fast, and intuitive user experiences throughout the shopping process are challenging for many eCommerce businesses. Do you know that Headless commerce can create a significant impact on enhancing user experiences? Today, headless commerce is transforming the eCommerce world by offering customer-focused technology that enables online businesses to develop future-proof shopping experiences. If eCommerce brands and retailers want to scale their digital channels, they need a robust technology like headless commerce. Let's understand the concept of headless commerce and how it can offer a future-proof eCommerce solution to online businesses. What is Headless Commerce? Before we jump onto the concept of headless eCommerce, let's find out the features that traditional eCommerce platforms lack. Conventional eCommerce platforms like Magento are developed on a monolithic architecture. It is tightly coupled with the back-end and front-end. It allows businesses to sell their products via a web-based shopping experience. However, customer demands and behavior are changing. Shopping behaviors have changed drastically. With the growth of smartphone users worldwide, more customers tend to purchase or surf across the web through their smart devices. The demand for smartphones is quite evident if we see the figures. According to Gartner, the worldwide growth in sales for smartphones went up by 26% in the first quarter of 2021. Therefore, eCommerce businesses have a multi-channel approach. They need to provide personalized shopping experiences to match the prevailing level of customer satisfaction. If brands and retailers want to keep up with the evolving customer expectations, they'll need a flexible and agile eCommerce solution. The answer to that is headless eCommerce! An eCommerce business with a headless commerce setup will fully decouple the front-end and back-end. They communicate via APIs (the acronym for Application Programming Interface). Headless eCommerce has different features too. It utilizes headless CMS and a headless eCommerce platform to run various operations. These features enable eCommerce businesses to simplify product logistics, inventory management, marketing, etc. They can distribute content through APIs across various devices and channels with just a push button. These features allow businesses to streamline content easily. It will enable them to offer a seamless shopping experience across all devices. Why Should You Consider Headless Commerce? How Does It Make Them Future-Ready? Headless commerce can help eCommerce businesses meet modern market demands. They allow online companies to gain an omnichannel approach and offer personalized experiences. Many small businesses can quickly meet small customer demands through their small online shop and a website. However, the problems start rising when their business scales or expands to new platforms. Comparing headless CMS and traditional CMS The most significant advantage of headless commerce is that it allows businesses to create content once and utilize it across all channels. With traditional content management, eCommerce businesses were not allowed to do so. Headless eCommerce setup will enable enterprises to: Handle storefronts across multiple channels. Offer enticing UI and apply visual editing. Use technology to boost performance & security. Develop flexible, customized storefronts. Focus on customer solutions The Key Benefits Of headless commerce 1. Improved user experiences As mentioned above, the headless setup allows eCommerce businesses to manage content using two critical components. These components enable your business to maximize users' experience and integrate a headless CMS with your eCommerce platform. Once you integrate your content with your headless CMS, you can quickly deliver the same content across multiple channels. Therefore, your brand will be able to provide an omnichannel experience. Source: Unsplash You also get a centralized content management system that is very helpful in creating multilingual content to internationalize your offerings. You get to modernize your CMS by adding social media services with an API. How does that benefit you? With an omnichannel approach, marketers use language as a marketing tool to engage new audiences from new markets without spending loads of money on a translation team. 2. E-commerce Personalization E-commerce personalization can help your eCommerce business to cater to individual needs. You can offer services that align with your customer's intent. It also allows companies to provide context to different customers from various other channels. 3. Enhanced security and performance Stores developed on the top of a headless architecture tend to load faster than traditional architectures. They also offer a greater level of security. How do these things affect customer experience? A fast-loading website that is responsive to its viewers has a more significant influence on them. Source: Unsplash When a website loads quickly, it adds up to the user experience and boosts the organic and SEO performance of the website. Today, many eCommerce storefronts are developed using statically-generated sites. These websites have increased efficiency because a headless configuration works relentlessly to reduce the website's loading time and boost performance. As loading time decreases, businesses offer a better user experience that improves quality scores and decreases ad spend. 4. Flexibility and faster deployments The headless architecture offers high flexibility and complete control to front-end developers. Developers can curate user experiences from scratch as per their customer demands and help you meet your eCommerce store needs. Front-end developers working with headless don't have to worry about back-end limitations because they cab fetch enough data from an API call. When we talk about smaller-to-larger changes, a front-end developer can operate independently via any back-end system. How Does that help your business? It allows you to make efficient storefront updates. 5. Quick time to market Unlike the traditional architectures, a headless commerce setup is entirely indifferent to the kind of technology you are using. The headless commerce setup shall remain independent of any future changes too. Due to this reason, developers get a lot of freedom regarding their decisions related to technology. How will that benefit your team? When developers get the space to make decisions, your marketing team has more time to take new initiatives and create new marketing campaigns. Hence, your marketing team has more time to work across multiple channels across various devices. 6. How do you decide when to go headless? Many businesses struggle to find the best time to shift to headless. It can be difficult for your business to realize the best time. If you have a custom eCommerce platform or eCommerce solutions like Shopify, WooCommerce, or Adobe Experience Manager, having a headless architecture can make your business more manageable, efficient, and profitable. A CMS/eCommerce solution is very reliable compared to the above cases. There are a few questions that you must ask yourself before implementing your headless eCommerce architecture. What are your targeted devices? What technology do you want to use? Do you expect redesigning at some point in time? These questions are critical to ask before taking your first step towards headless commerce. Conclusion Do you think you want to implement headless eCommerce for accelerated growth? If you are planning to do so, wait no more! With the propelling rise of eCommerce adoption among customers, brands and retailers need to provide their shoppers with a notch higher online shopping experience. Headless commerce allows you to deliver an enhanced shopping experience and increase eCommerce efficiency at scale. At Saffron Edge, we can help your business adopt necessary technological changes. We have built over dozen custom-field types with headless eCommerce. Get in touch with our experts and initiate your practice towards a future-proof eCommerce business. ...
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