As a newbie in marketing technology, many concepts are still, well, new to me. I may have heard of them in passing or experienced them firsthand as a consumer, but it isn’t until I sit down with an expert that I truly know how something works.
I’m sure many of you feel similarly about artificial intelligence (AI). It’s a topic that’s come up repeatedly in the last few years and is currently taking center stage in B2C marketing. To help paint a clearer picture of AI and how you can use it to serve customers, we reached out to Minhaaj Rehman, CEO of Psyda Solutions, an AI-powered data analytics company.
We discussed the key factors of artificial intelligence, how it relates to consumer psychology and when to use it in your campaigns.
What is artificial intelligence?
Leave it to any cinematic work in the last ten years and you’d think the world was on its way to robotic domination. While the actual reality isn’t nearly as drastic, it is an indication of how advanced technology truly has become.
So, what exactly is artificial intelligence?
“It leverages computers and machines to mimic the capabilities of the human mind,” said Rehman. “Evidence of that is your calculator. Calculators make your job easier by mimicking things your brain would do — adding, subtracting — on a larger scale and at a faster rate.”
Brands and consumers are also afforded a number of luxuries in terms of engine power, memory and resources thanks to AI. Things like voice recognition (Alexa, Google Systems, Siri), automated chatbots who take orders and offer advice on products, and recommendation engines that provide suggestions on content customers might like (clothes, food, songs, music, etc.).
Fast-food restaurants have seen great results through integrating AI in their brand strategies. One example is that of Denver’s Good Times Burgers and Frozen Custard, a brand that uses AI to streamline the process of taking customer orders. The QSR usually has as little as three employees working the breakfast shift; the rest of the orders are taken by a chat bot.
The brand seems to have gotten the process down pat. According to datanami, the average customer wait time has improved by 10% to 25%, and the average order has increased by 6%.
With results like these, it’d be easy to assume that AI is the best course of action for all fast-food restaurants, however, Rehman says it isn’t always the answer. You want to be very careful in deciding when to use AI and when you should exercise more traditional tactics.
“Applications differ based on the goals you’re expecting based on your AI implementation. If you want to have faster customer service, you want to help people using domains like voice recognition or product recommendations,” said Rehman.
AI is used in cases where speed is needed, hence Rehman’s earlier example of the calculator. The goal of AI is to ease any friction during the consumer journey. If you can help a customer find a product or service faster, then AI is the best tool for the job. If your customer requires one-on-one care, a more human approach might be necessary.
Artificial intelligence and consumer psychology
Like most things in our society, AI also has its ties to human psychology — the reason being that much of the data analytics collected by AI are highly reflective of consumer behavior.
“If you’re shopping online for shoes, you’re going to browse different categories, you’re going to look at different colors, and over time that computer is going to have all that information about you,” said Rehman.
That information is a reflection of one’s personality — their likes and dislikes, digital usage patterns, purchasing decisions — and it’s this aspect of AI that is especially useful in conversations around consumer psychology.
Computers’ judgments of people’s personalities based on their digital footprints is said to be more accurate and valid than judgments made by their close others or acquaintances (friends, family, spouse, colleagues, etc.). Simply put, AI can be of great assistance in helping you predict when a consumer will buy a product or any other consumer decision.
AI and machine learning technology allow you to use customer information and then refer to social modeling (purchase decisions, consumer behavior, trends) to better support your marketing efforts.
Knowing the basics of artificial intelligence is key for any brand, whether you intend on offering faster services or you want to better understand how your customers interact with your brand.
