Why Should You Leverage AI Algorithms for Personalized Offers and Recommendations?
Aug 04, 2022
10 min read
Being a business owner, it will always disappoint you when your shoppers do not convert. It generally happens when they don't get what they are looking for. You might need to understand that one of the critical factors that drive conversion and customer satisfaction is relevance - the relevancy of suggested products and services.
It leads marketers and retailers, especially online businesses, to broaden their spectrum and shift towards advanced strategies that enhance segmentation and personalization, and leveraging AI Algorithms is one of them. Today, the majority of the companies have enabled AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning tools to automate things and offer relevant content to users. According to Statista, 70% of European and North American decision-makers in online commerce believed that AI could help them with personalization in 2021. With the proper utilization of AI, you can deliver a personalized experience to your customers at the right time and improve customer engagement.
Suppose you are a marketer or thinking of stepping into the e-commerce world. In that case. In that case, this blog could help you understand the significance of AI and machine learning algorithms in enhancing the customized experience for your customers. So, please fasten your seat belts and get ready to experience this exciting journey of AI and its features in personalizing marketing!
The Future is Personalized Content
Whether it's Spotify or Netflix, be it Amazon or McDonald's, we all are surrounded by personalized experiences everywhere, every day. And that's why these brands have attained a position that everyone admires. However, like these names, customers expect the same level of personalization from all the global businesses.
Investing in customized content helps in building customer relationships and enhancing brand loyalty. 91% of consumers prefer to shop with the brands that provide personalized offers and recommendations to them, as per a survey report by Accenture. And why not, especially when you show your consumers what they want to see when you offer the things they want to buy and suggest to them the options they can choose from.
All these things make your customers happy, and happy customers are crucial, as they don't just buy, but they also promote your brand. Always remember, there's one thing that speaks louder than your brand's objectives, ad campaigns, and marketing strategies, and that's the voice of your customers.
But doesn't it boggle your mind why personalization is crucial in satisfying customer expectations? Well, here are some statistics to show that and to make you understand the negative consequences of lacking personalization:
Lack of personalized content frustrates your users.
Yes, that's right. As per a survey report by the Association of Customer Loyalty, 74% of customers get frustrated when they don't find the website content personalized. According to a report by Infosys, 59% of the respondents believe that personalization has a profound impact on their shopping decisions.
No personalization means lower customer engagement.
If your brand does not offer personalized recommendations, you are more likely to lose customer engagement. According to a report by Invesp, 56% of online customers return to a website that recommends relevant and personalized products.
Lack of personalization can make the customers leave your brand.
Well, that's something serious. As per a research report by Accenture, 33% of the consumers ended their relationship with brands that lacked personalization.
Your consumers can say goodbye if you are still using poor personalization tactics.
It's not just about customizing the user experiencing but customizing it using the right tactics to get the desired results. According to the analytics data shared by Smart Insights, 63% of customers stop exploring and purchasing products from brands that use poor personalizing strategies.
It is probably clear to you how not prioritizing and developing custom experience can drive you towards the risk of getting left behind. Therefore, customer personalization is essential to build a personal connection between your brand and the customers.
Wait a minute, you read about the importance of personalization in customer experience, but do you know what customer personalization is? Or are you just caught up in the buzz about what your brand needs and what you are missing, even when you are not sure what it is?
Don't worry if you are in the "not having an exact idea" camp; the following sections will guide you through the idea of customer personalization and how AI algorithms can help you in it.
What's Customer Personalization?
Have you heard about a "one-to-many" relationship? It is a kind of relationship in which one entity of the first group can interact with many of the second group, but vice versa is not true. An entity of the second group can only interact with a single entity of the former group. Confusing, right? No worries, let's understand it through a simple example. A person can own multiple pets, but each one of those pets will have only one owner.
Well, customer personalization also works somewhat in that way. When you send mass emails to your customers and clients, customer personalization makes sure that all of your customers get an email that feels unique to them. For instance, assume an email blast sent to all your customers with their respective first names.
Now, with personalization, you analyze your shoppers' behavior, interests, and requirements and show them the right digital content that satisfies their expectations. It helps brands improve customer engagement, make them valuable, and ultimately results in sales and productive growth. Customer personalization blurs the idea of marketing. It turns out to assist the users in getting the suitable options, best offers, and recommendations based on their habits and taste.
You can look at the example of Starbucks' mobile app to understand the significance of personalization in boosting sales. The company released their application that combines their loyalty programs with personalization, with which the customers can fully customize, pre-order, and take away their drinks from any location. The consumers feel it is helpful, and their interest in the app is easily visible through the results. Presently, the Starbucks mobile app drives approximately 22% of all the US sales for the company.
The Combine Power of AI Algorithms and Customer Personalization
Consider the image available above. What do you understand from it? Just a robotic hand-holding (or offering) a customized cocktail drink, right? Do you get any idea after seeing it? You might have already understood its significance. However, let's discuss the concept behind it anyway.
Suppose you own a club and know some customers frequently visit your place and order the same drink every time. Now, imagine how good it would be if you could record their preferences and when the next time they visit, they could get their drink even before they order it. Well, it would be hard luck for you if they have recently changed their preferences (which generally does not occur). However, if the stars are in your favor, it can make your customers extremely joyful that someone cares for them.
Now, the question is, how would you record the taste and preferences of all your customers. Well, that's when AI and machine learning algorithm will do their job. With the right AI approach, you can record a large quantity of data, gain insights from it, and predict all your customers' wants and preferences. It would also help you predict what product your customers want or what content would interest them. The robotic hand in the above picture is also AI-enabled and works the same way. It made a personalized drink based on the customer's usual choice and taste, probably making them happy.
How does AI work in Personalizing the Content, Offers, and Recommendations for the Users?
AI algorithms in personalization work based on a customer's past experiences with a brand. Let's understand this through Netflix's AI and machine learning approaches to deliver a personalized experience to all its users.
If you are a Netflix user, you can recall when you first registered your account on the OTT platform. It asks for your top 3 preferences of movies or shows that you would like to watch. Netflix will recommend other options that you would probably want to watch based on your choices. Not just this, when you finish a movie, the platform will recommend you some other options under the category "Because you watched that, you might like to watch this…."
So, ever wondered how Netflix does that? Well, it's all the magic of AI. It records your preferences and tries to deliver you the same personalized experience the next time you open your app. According to Todd Yellin, VP (Product) of Netflix, the brand runs almost 250 A/B tests every year, each one of them offering two unique versions of experience to users to see their engagement and reaction over them. Moreover, in 2014, Netflix used approximately 76,897 "altgenres" to figure out what show or movie it should suggest to all its users, not just to customize their experience but to make them return for more.
Similarly, the eCommerce platforms, such as Amazon, derive the users' data by analyzing their online browsing habits, search history, interests, social media posts, and much more. With AI tools and machine learning algorithms, this massive amount of data is processed in microseconds. Every time they visit, a relevant and personalized experience is delivered to each unique user.
Let's get an idea about this through some different features of real-time personalizations using AI and machine learning.
Personalized Marketing and Recommendation
Have you ever searched for a specific clothing item on Google and got surprised when the same thing is recommended on Amazon as well? Well, that's what AI does. It follows you throughout the internet by analyzing your browsing history and shopping behavior and pops out every time to make you purchase that product. The companies will offer you personalized offers and discounts, such as free delivery or a discount coupon code under the "Only for you" category to lure you into buying it. Amazon has been a leader in this area by developing an algorithm that has proven effective in customizing product recommendations since 2000!
Personalized Messaging
It has proved to be one of the most efficient ways to grab your attention with the help of push notifications, personalized emails, and text messages. Enabling AI and machine learning in this area will help you analyze the users' device usage and behavior to learn about their interests and daily activities. With this, you can sit back and relax while your system sends the refined and most customized content to your target audience at the right time of the day. These notifications can be anything from discount coupons to best offers, everything with the ultimate aim of grabbing your customers' attention.
Zomato can be a great example of the proper use of personalized messaging. The company shares the most personalized form of in-app and device notifications to make the users click on it. Remember, the more customized a message is, the more likely it will grab the customers' attention. According to a study, 90% of marketers who use personalization in email marketing increase open and CTRs.
Personalized Timing
Now, this is something different and challenging to achieve when personalization, but not impossible eventually. You can show personalized messages and content to your customers, but not everyone shares the same daily routine. Even a specific individual does not follow the same daily pattern or activities. However, AI and machine learning algorithms help customize the content delivery time based on previous engagements and shopping behavior.
In addition, the system can also analyze the specific days or months in which a particular customer usually shop. For example, in India, people wait for "Diwali Sale" or "Great Indian Sale" on Amazon in the hope of getting better prices and discounts on the products. Similarly, in the US, people look forward to the "Black Friday Sale" to get the best deals on their favorite products. Notifying your customers during these days with personalized offers and recommendations can remind them to visit your online store and shop.
Take Away
Marissa Mayer, former President and CEO at Yahoo!, once said, "To me, the future is personalization." Indeed, it is, and you can easily see it every day, everywhere. Today, when every business is striving hard to lead in the digital world, integrating personalization into your marketing strategies can be a plus point. As per the latest report by SmarterHQ, 80% of regular buyers only purchase from brands that personalize the shopping experience for them. Moreover, 86% of marketers have observed a measurable growth in their business outcomes after running personalization campaigns.
However, customer personalization is not as easy as it looks, and you have already seen this through this blog. But, thanks to AI and machine learning algorithms, personalization becomes more automated and effective. Since the future of the online retail market would be more personalized, it is crucial to enhance customer experience and engagement, and personalization could be the key. Therefore, by having a professional and skillful marketing agency by your side, you can retain your customers through personalization and can always be their favorite.
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How to Break The Ice by Promoting Content Through LinkedIn
Beyond all doubts, LinkedIn has emerged as the top professional social platform over the years. With more than 364 million members in over 200 countries and territories, LinkedIn is eventually evolving to be an excellent breeding spot for all business houses to grow their contacts. With LinkedIn, you have a strategic advantage because most of the users are professionals, and so you get a fairly relevant estimate about who your target audience is. Along with that, there are fewer chances of forged- identities, so you are more likely to get a quality audience to your LinkedIn page. Analyzing your LinkedIn page on a regular basis will help you recognize the areas of improvement, and that is how you can formulate the actions required to promote your page (and business) towards a better traffic volume. When your business community page is optimized, you will be able to offer a better engagement with your visitors. That will bring more opportunities to draw valuable traffic and will help you establish trust between your targeted audience. Why Should a Content Marketer Care About LinkedIn? One of every three businesses on Earth is placed on LinkedIn. Individuals like to interact with organizations (and people associated with it) and emphasize on exchanging information and ideas with each other. And these interactions are not merely for fun or recreational joy. Time invested on LinkedIn can bring your business considerable growth. Since all the users have an aspirational mindset here, your timed and well-placed contents, advertising, job posts, etc. reach to sincere minds. LinkedIn's users are great receptors of anything that can benefit their professional growth and help them become more successful. A research shows that more than half of the customers are more likely to buy a product from the company they interact on LinkedIn. You can exploit this opportunity to cultivate your brand worth all over the world. Generating leads and driving traffic from this overcrowded platform can become a child play for you, provided you place your cards at the right time. As a B2B marketer, you can utilize LinkedIn to distribute your content to the most sincere audience worldwide. And not just that, your content distribution can drive traffic to your sites (and blogs) to a great extent. Data reveals that more than 90% of online traffic is driven by Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the last contributing more than 50% of total share. According to Investis IQ Audience Insight Report , LinkedIn directs 64% of visits from all social media sites. Convert Your Leads on LinkedIn Whether you are a real estate firm or some hardware-retail company, you will need a social forum that can fuel your marketing endeavors and thus trigger the sales conversion process. Channelize your efforts here on LinkedIn and you will see a seamless inflow of online audience engagement that will build your credentials and create an unbeatable brand value in the market. Define Your Target Make a precise estimation of your customers’ behavior and preferences by using a proper web analytics tool. LinkedIn sponsored updates are also useful here since they provide you with much basic information such as age, location, gender, etc. Additionally, you can consider targeting on the basis of Job titles, industries (company name, size, etc. ), skills and schooling data and many more such classifications. Analyze the buyer persona to understand the user’s pain points and develop contents that address those areas with a substantial attempt to resolve the issues. The content should be short, to-the-point and should add value to the reader’s time. You can also consider writing completely customer-centric posts so that the reader can identify his interests and issues on a deeper level. Publish The Revised Drafts Once your contents are developed, you need to be careful in publishing them. The content should not just be fresh and informative, it should also add value to the reader. Make wise estimation about the context and relevance of your posts. If the market is saturated with unemployed workforce, you can post job offerings or tips and guidelines about how to get the most bankable employment opportunity. Conversely, when you have to launch your product, you can promote it on LinkedIn, in professional conducts and context. According to LinkedIn’s official reports, 20% of followers are typically reached with one status update. So, on a rough scale, you can consider posting some 20 updates per month. That way, you can expect to maximize your post’s reach to around 60% of your unique audience every month. Content publication empowers you to drive more leads and traffic to your website. With LinkedIn, it is more essential because your audience is more career/business oriented, and thus can become a valuable lead for your business. You have the moment to distribute your contents and push it via social sharing and providing backlinks to draw more user attention to your desired websites. When you are in the distribution phase on LInkedIn, you might also like to cultivate the user-engagement by replying and commenting on their response or taking proactive action to encourage their involvement. ...
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Google Search Algorithm Leak: What does it mean for Search Rankings?
In a recent incident that has created a stir across the digital marketing world, detailed documentation from Google’s Content Warehouse API has leaked, revealing the underlying workings of the Google Search algorithm. This leak, considered by many to be the largest in the history of search engine optimization (SEO), offers profound insights into the factors influencing search engine results pages (SERPs), ranking, and SEO practices. With insights shared by industry veterans such as Rand Fishkin and Mike King, CEO of iPullRank, the implications of this leak are vast and multifaceted. Understanding the Leak What is all the fuss about? An automated bot called yoshi-code-bot released thousands of documents reportedly originating from Google’s confidential Content API Warehouse surfaced on Github on March 13. Before the public release, these documents had been discreetly furnished to SparkToro co-founder Rand Fishkin earlier in the month. Why is it important for Marketers? In 2023, the SEO community was informed of an extraordinary revelation when Yandex’s search ranking factors were exposed. This incident provided invaluable insight into the potential workings of Google’s ranking algorithm, offering those knowledgeable in SEO an unparalleled opportunity to understand their implications. This event quickly became one of the major headlines of the year. Google API Leak Notes What exactly happened? An automated bot called yoshi-code-bot released thousands of documents reportedly originating from Google’s confidential Content API Warehouse surfaced on Github on March 13. When? Rand received the information on May 5th, 2024, and released it publicly on May 27th, 2024. However, the API information seems to have already been leaked. What’s Inside? 2,596 Github modules with 14,014 attributes (considered ranking factors). Who shared this information? Erfan Azimi, CEO and director of SEO for digital marketing agency EA Eagle Digital posted a video claiming responsibility for sharing the documents with Fishkin. Google does not employ Azimi. How does it affect your SEO practices? The recent Google Search Algorithm Leak marks a transformative moment in the SEO community, unveiling intricate details of its operational framework. The documentation specifies 2,596 modules along with 14,014 ranking features across various Google services, presenting novel insights and confirming various speculations: 1. Site-Wide Authority: The recent leak sheds light on “siteAuthority,” confirming Google’s use of domain authority in rankings, contrary to earlier statements. While Google previously downplayed its significance, the recent leak suggests otherwise. At Saffron Edge, we’ve consistently advocated prioritizing Domain Authority and enhancing site health (Learn more about SEO ). This strategy has yielded improved rankings and now finds validation in the newly surfaced information. 2. Influence of User Clicks on Rankings: In an unexpected turn, it appears that systems like NavBoost employ user click-through data to adjust rankings, challenging Google’s prior assertions to the contrary. This has been observed in our test projects at Saffron Edge over time. We implemented various click-through strategies, resulting in 37% of websites experiencing enhanced ranking outcomes solely from these methods, without changing the keywords in meta titles or descriptions. 3. New Site Evaluation: The documentation emphasizes a “hostAge” function, hinting at a system that could restrict the exposure of recent websites—a concept akin to the disputed “Sandbox” effect that Google has historically denied. Since the Panda and Penguin Updates rollout in 2012, we have successfully assisted numerous websites in overcoming the repercussions of those stringent algorithm changes. It is now confirmed that the “Sandbox” phenomenon continues to impact new websites. Learn more about the Sandbox effect. 4. Use of Chrome Data: The leak reveals Google uses Chrome user data to influence search rankings, contradicting prior denials. It highlights the significant role of user interactions in shaping search outcomes, prompting a reevaluation of SEO strategies that may have overlooked the impact of Chrome Data. 5. Modular Architecture of Ranking Systems: Rather than functioning as a monolithic entity, Google’s ranking mechanism operates through a composition of microservices, including Trawler for web crawling, Alexandria for indexing, Mustang for the initial ranking process, and SuperRoot for handling queries. 6. SERP Adjustment Functions: Before the final presentation to the user, search engine results pages (SERPs) undergo adjustments via functions like NavBoost, QualityBoost, and RealTimeBoost for optimization. 7. Panda Algorithm’s Comprehensive Scoring: Panda employs a sophisticated scoring system influenced by user interaction and backlinks, which is applicable across various levels, such as domain, subdomain, and subdirectory. 8. Significance of Authorship: The document verifies Google’s practice of monitoring and retaining data on authors, emphasizing the importance of the authorship of content in determining search rankings. With the introduction of the EEAT expertise feature, Saffron has implemented these modifications for numerous clients (authorship pages), resulting in improved rankings and performance of their articles under the umbrella of Semantic SEO . 9. Implementation of Demotions: Specific factors like anchor text mismatch, user dissatisfaction with search results, and the use of exact match domains can lead to ranking demotions. 10. Link Value Classification: Google distinguishes the worth of backlinks with a metric known as “sourceType,” reflecting the classification basis on the indexed location of a page. 11. Originality and Content Positioning: Emphasis is placed on the originality of concise content and the strategic placement of keywords, suggesting a priority for key content to be presented early in the text. 12. Speculations on Algorithm Updates: The documentation spurs speculation regarding the connection between the Helpful Content Update and a feature termed “Baby Panda,” as well as the potential implications of Neural Semantic Retrieval (NSR). 13. Content Strategy Recommendations: In light of these revelations, the author recommends dedicating effort to crafting high-quality content, promoting it effectively, and continuously employing experimental and analytical SEO strategies. This comprehensive leak confirms several long-standing theories within the SEO field and offers an unprecedented glimpse into the dynamic nature of Google’s search ranking mechanisms. Let’s break through your revenue hurdles We find your primary growth blockers, build expert-led strategies, and provide custom data-driven solutions to help you hit your revenue goals. Set up a 1:1 strategy call Reactions from the Industry Rand Fishkin’s Analysis: A long-time SEO expert, Rand Fishkin, suggests this leak could level the playing field for smaller websites and content creators. By understanding how Google evaluates and ranks content, these entities can better optimize their sites to compete with larger competitors. Check out his LinkedIn post for more information. Insights from Mike King: In one of his recent posts , Mike King, another prominent figure in the SEO community and CEO of iPullRank, emphasizes the potential for a shift towards more transparent SEO practices. If the leaked information is accurate, it could lead to a reevaluation of black hat techniques and a stronger emphasis on authenticity and value in web content. Conclusion In conclusion, recent leaks reveal mismatches between Google’s public statements and actions that have sparked significant concern within the SEO community. This evidence has led to increased skepticism and a more critical approach toward Google’s influence on SEO strategies, highlighting the need for greater transparency and accountability in Google’s operations. Embracing these insights responsibly, focusing on creating high-quality, relevant content, and adhering to ethical SEO practices will be key to navigating the post-leak world of Google Search. ...
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How An Ideal Social Media Calendar Looks Like
With the aid of a Social Media Calendar, your content marketing campaign can be more organized, planned and easy to optimize. A good social media content marketing calendar is expected to appear in such a manner that it curate and create content, and also, help develop your marketing editorial strategy. Using a content calendar, there is every surety that your marketing process would receive a new change. It automatically helps to cut extra-time out of your content marketing strategy and undoubtedly helps allocates your resources wisely. Below are useful tips to help you figure out how a good marketing calendar should look like, understanding the rudiments and know-how will assist your journey to creating a classy content calendar. Legibility Social media content calendars should be written in such a way that it can be simply read without a legend. With regard to the number of personnel in your marketing team, it is always advisable to leave your calendar legible as to allow others make proper use of it. On the other hand, this helps to prevent minor erratum that may occur in the process of documentation. Clear update on Publications Your final decision on your monthly post volume is another essential element to consider. if you plan to publish twenty-five posts every month, then note it down, keeping in mind the timing. You can easily break it down in such a way that it fits in all the thirty days of the month, skipping one or two days before another posting day could be a wise idea. This process will help circulate the posts within all the days of the month and hence trigger your sites traffic. Paper Plan The easiest way to set up a content calendar is by using separate sheet to organize your monthly activities. Breaking the procedure down by daily or weekly would not also be a bad idea, though this depends on the volume of content you hope to publish. In the event that you have more than one copywriter, your calendar ought to reflect which of your writers is in charge of developing, publishing and perhaps promoting each content. This way, you have a full control of your daily, weekly or monthly activities, and should also plan ahead. If on the other hand, you have a network of social media platforms, for example Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. the whole procedure would be easier for you. Your social media icons can easily be incorporated into the contents, perhaps beside the title of each post. On the long run, this helps to streamline your content and social media strategies simultaneously. Dates are relevant You've most likely encountered this: you go about your day, just to acknowledge part of the way through the evening that you overlooked a decent friend’s birthday, simply because you saw the update on Facebook. It feels awful you’ve overlooked it all alone, however,it would feel a great deal more terrible to miss the birthday totally without no reminders. Sorting out all your contents in one place is a shield, as Facebook updates—it exists to guarantee you don't miss creating content significant for occasions imperative to your niche, industry or perhaps press release launch dates. ...
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