Leveraging data and AI for exceptional customer experience

Allan Christian at Precisely explores hyper-personalised communications

 

Every customer is talking – but are you really listening?

 

Today’s consumers leave behind a trail of preferences, behaviours, and expectations. The organisations that thrive are those who can turn their data into dialogue, and that dialogue into loyalty. Hyper-personalisation is quickly becoming the differentiator between those who keep up and those who get left behind.

 

Generic communications no longer meet customer expectations. Today’s customers want to be treated as individuals. As a result, organisations are under pressure to create digital, personalised, communications that enhance customer experience, regardless of the time and channel. 

 

This is no easy task. Personalisation requires robust platforms capable of producing personalised and interactive customer communications - combined with a careful yet deliberate approach to collecting and connecting the right data points. Increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a central role, analysing customer behaviour at scale to inform content, timing, and channel preferences that drive better outcomes.

 

When executed effectively, organisations will be able to build an individual profile for each customer, while enabling a path for continuous improvement and refinement over time. 

 

Such hyper-personalisation strategies help customers feel that their needs are being prioritised. For many customers, personalisation is the deciding factor in whether they will repeat purchase from an organisation. In fact, 82 per cent of customers believe personalisation is important or, in some cases, essential to their customer experience.

 

And with 71 per cent of consumers expecting personalised interactions, and 76 per cent frustrated by inconsistent communications across channels, the imperative for a hyper-personalised, omnichannel approach is clear. So, how can organisations achieve it?

 

 

Hyper-personalised communications start with great data

One of the most significant obstacles in achieving the detailed insights required for hyper-personalisation lies in the collection and maintenance of customer data. It needs to be effectively integrated, governed, maintained, and enriched for maximum insight. AI thrives on this foundation, using structured and unstructured data to tailor communications in ways previously impossible through manual segmentation alone.

 

Customer data must also be carefully safeguarded, firstly to meet increasingly stringent regulatory guidelines, such as GDPR, but to also build customer trust. Balancing hyper-personalisation with privacy expectations is critical, especially as customers become more aware of how their data is used.

 

Ensuring the accuracy, consistency, and context of the data is critical to building personalised communication strategies that can be trusted to deliver meaningful value.

 

Historically, highly regulated industries, including banking, financial services, healthcare, and telecommunications, lagged behind other consumer-facing sectors when it came to personalised customer communications due to data privacy constraints.

 

Fortunately, today’s cutting-edge customer engagement platforms give highly regulated organisations the power to unlock the full potential of encrypted customer data, delivering deeply personalised experiences at scale, all while staying firmly aligned with strict privacy regulations.

 

Such solutions also include built-in archiving and governance features, helping organisations to drastically accelerate communications creation and archival, improve customer satisfaction with more interactive experiences, and strengthen compliance with user-friendly governance controls.

 

 

Alternative data in highly regulated industries

First adopted by financial services firms, alternative data, such as data from invoices, can also help to provide a more complete picture of shifting consumer behaviour and market trends – particularly in highly regulated industries. This can simplify a diverse range of personalisation strategies. AI models can incorporate these new data sources to further refine personalisation efforts, opening the door to new engagement strategies. 

 

Consequently, by having this data, organisations can give their consumers the flexibility to choose the exact methods and channels from which they receive information from companies. Omnichannel consistency is not just about being present on multiple platforms, it’s about intelligently adapting content to the channel the customer prefers, at the time they’re most likely to engage.

 

The types of alternative data used will vary depending on the industry. For instance, financial institutions can leverage transactional data to spearhead personalised spending communications. Meanwhile, in the insurance industry, technical language can make communications difficult for customers to understand. Insurers are often required to break down complex policy documents filled with legal jargon into easily digestible segments. 

 

Alternative data can then be used to clearly explain the degree of cover each consumer has purchased in the form of a personalised interactive video, improving both customer understanding and overall experience.

 

 

Effects of unreliable data on customer experience

Despite all this, the fact remains that even the most advanced personalisation strategies, including those powered by AI, will falter if the underlying data is flawed. Data integrity is the cornerstone to successful customer communication – without it, organisations can suffer from the effects of churn. 

 

When a customer receives an inaccurate, erroneous, or out-of-date communication, they will often complain or potentially look for alternative providers. After all, there is a wealth of alternative organisations who can provide accurate communications. 

 

With customer expectations reaching new heights, one bad experience is enough for organisations to lose them. In fact, according to recent research, 55 per cent of customers would stop buying from an organisation after having multiple bad experiences, even if it’s a company they were previously loyal to. This is exacerbated by the prevalence of social media, as a poor experience can trigger public discussions on the issues faced, causing substantial brand image implications.

 

 

Building the foundation for success

To unlock the full potential of hyper-personalisation, organisations need a customer-centric strategy anchored in data integrity. That means adopting unified platforms where communications can be tailored, automated, archived, and audited - securely and at scale.

 

AI can accelerate this transformation by dynamically adapting communications in real-time, allowing businesses to respond to customer needs with unprecedented speed and precision.

 

When powered by high-integrity data, personalisation becomes more than a buzzword. It becomes a differentiator - enabling businesses to create experiences that delight customers, foster loyalty, and drive lasting growth.

 

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Allan Christian, SVP & General Manager of Engage at Precisely 

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Supatman