Enhancing the understanding of the customer journey is important for retailers as it allows for the seamless delivery of personalized experiences that lead to customer satisfaction, loyalty and most importantly, sales. However, the growing frequency, nonlinear patterns and fragmentation of customer journeys present a challenge in achieving this understanding.
This webinar aimed to discuss three strategies to enhance your customer journey by leveraging recent advancements in AI, data collection and retargeting technology. Panelists from TULA Skincare, Blue Apron, AdRoll, Glassbox and Yext were eager to share their insights and experiences with us.
WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT:
- Conversational AI
- Retargeting
- Leveraging Real-Time Data
SPEAKERS:
- Celina Wong, Sr. Director of Analytics and Strategic Insights, TULA Skincare
- Josh Friedman, Head of Digital Products & Merchandising (Fmr), Blue Apron
- Courtney Herb, Director of Brand Marketing, AdRoll
- Greg Dowling Global Director of Business Insights, Glassbox
- Christian Ward, Chief Data Officer, EVP, Yext
Watch the full webinar or read on for the key takeaways.
Conversational AI
The use of AI-powered chatbots has begun to improve the customer experience by delivering accurate responses, autonomously generating content and eliminating chatbot inaccuracies.
Christian Ward at Yext explains how Large Language Models (LLMs) changed everything in regard to the effectiveness of chatbots. They are making it possible for retailers to ask questions and guide the conversation if the original answer wasn’t what they were looking for. Ward describes how at Yext, they have found success in generating conversations by storing information in a comprehensive manner. By having this knowledge base, the generative AI system at Yext can access and utilize the stored information to generate coherent and relevant responses during conversations. This overall allows brands to maximize improvement in customer conversations and experiences.
Retargeting
Webinar participants also learned about how to tailor retargeting efforts to customers at different stages of the buying process. This includes targeting customers who have abandoned their shopping carts, those who have browsed the website and/ or those who have visited in the past. By implementing these strategies, businesses can effectively re-engage customers and encourage them to make a purchase.
Courtney Herb from Adroll takes us through an explanation of the current state of retargeting and how it’s changing. Herb recommends that advertisers explore cookie-free retargeting strategies, optimize first-party data collection and incorporate cookie-free marketing channels. Brands can switch to contextual targeting which allows them to create campaigns around popular search keywords or relevant product/service categories. They also can explore social channels that do not rely on Google’s third party cookies to run retargeting ads. While retargeting is changing, it is not going away and it remains a great strategy for driving awareness, engagement and conversions with a variety of ad types.
Leveraging Real-Time Data
Leveraging real-time data to identify areas where customers are getting lost or disengaged in the customer journey is crucial in creating a seamless omnichannel experience that reduces friction for customers. Josh Friedman, formerly at Blue Apron, shares how leveraging real-time data is especially important around errors, slowness and things that are affecting the intended customer experience. If a company is able to notice 404s or website errors right away then they can fix it quickly and not further jeopardize the customer experience. Friedman also believes that by pairing live data with generative AI, they can create personalized content for different customers in real time.
TULA Skincare shares how during their check-out process they have a section that is reading from real-time data of what you have in your cart to then offer up add-ons to boost the purchase. They are using the data to upsell or cross-sell products that complement or relate to the products the consumer already has in their cart.
Glassbox explains how one of the ways they leverage real-time data is through anomaly alerts. This allows them to quickly identify and address any deviations from normal patterns. Analyzing real-time data can be overwhelming which is why the use of generative AI and machine learning is so helpful in efficiently processing, analyzing and deriving actionable insights from data.
Learning about advancements in conversational AI, retargeting and leveraging real-time data is incredibly important to make sure you continue to understand, improve and personalize the customer journey. For more tips on the customer journey, customer experience and ecommerce growth, check out our Youtube channel.
To register for upcoming webinars, take a look at our upcoming events page.
