IBM Executives Leverage AI for Personalized Marketing
IBMer’s Erin McElroy, Program Director, and Carley Faircloth, Spiro’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to understand their consumer behaviour better, facilitate effective communication, and personalise experiences tailored to customer-specific needs.
The use of AI primarily helps in shaping a dynamic, interactive relationship with their customers, reinforcing IBM’s brand reputation further for being innovative and customer-centric. A portion of their conversation revolved around tailoring marketing campaigns to evoke authentic emotions rather than simply driving sales.
They also discussed the role of automated responses and chatbots in creating interactive brand experiences, striking a balance between efficiency and personalisation. Important areas such as data privacy, transparency and the ethical usage of AI were brought forward, emphasising the need for a more empathetic approach in utilising AI.
A prime example of this AI-centred approach is the Contact Centre Challenge game designed by IBM. The game simulates potential challenges a call center agent might face, with AI stepping in at stressful moments, showcasing its proficiency in executing a multitude of tasks under stringent time constraints.
Post-implementation of the game, many improvements were observed within IBM’s customer care operations, including increased productivity, quicker resolution of issues, and a decrease in task-processing times. The game helped the customer service representatives in shaping a deeper understanding of the customers’ needs, ensuring effective addressing of their concerns thereby leading to heightened customer satisfaction.
The efficacy of this strategy was acknowledged by a leading retail brand’s COO, emphasizing the vital role of using innovative methods like gamification to enhance customer awareness of revolutionary technologies like AI. This serves as a revelation of the pivotal role of digital approaches in building an engaged and knowledgeable customer base.
Both Faircloth and McElroy assert the importance for brands to understand their consumer’s needs and preferences, allowing for emotional connections and establishing real relationships with them. The future of AI in branding, according to them, relies heavily on a company’s understanding of its brand identity, and its ability to use AI to communicate its values effectively while engaging its audience.
