What’s in this article:
- Starbucks uses predictive analytics to increase transactions and tickets and deliver highly personalized customer experiences.
- Airbnb uses AI to power its pricing engine, supporting both guests and hosts with the best possible rates based on property-specific and environmental data.
- Ben & Jerry’s introduced an entirely new product line based on the insights of parent company Unilever’s global AI resources.
The idea that artificial intelligence is important to the future of marketing and sales isn’t new, but the applications of the technology are so wide-ranging it seems like companies are finding innovative ways to implement it all the time. In fact, it’s understood that the field of marketing has the most to gain from artificial intelligence. In a recent study by PROS and Hanover Research, B2B marketers said they believe AI can help companies improve customer service, meet customer demands, increase revenue, achieve cost savings, and stay competitive in today’s market, among other benefits.
This article will explore three specific brands that have effectively leveraged AI to forge deeper connections with customers and turn those relationships into revenue.
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1. Starbucks: Personalization
Coffee behemoth Starbucks has successfully implemented AI in its relationship marketing strategy. The company collects huge quantities of customer data through its rewards program and its mobile app, then puts that data to good use with the help of AI. By applying predictive analytics to information about specific purchases, location data, and consumer habits, Starbucks is able to gently nudge customers toward specific behaviors. In addition to delighting customers with highly personalized experiences both in-store and in the app, Starbucks’ use of predictive analytics also increases transaction frequency and average spend per customer.
Right now, Starbucks customers using the mobile app are likely to receive personalized discounts, offers, and suggestions based on both their personal behavior and external factors like seasonal trends, weather patterns, or third-party consumer data. In the future, Starbucks plans to use their AI-powered personalization engine to deliver recommendations to customers’ wearable devices and even drive-through screens.
2. Airbnb: Real-time Pricing
If you’ve ever booked an Airbnb, you’ve experienced the company’s AI firsthand. Early on, the company found that hosts listing their homes for rent on the site weren’t comfortable setting their own prices. There were too many factors at play to come up with an accurate price, and manually checking comparable or nearby listings was a cumbersome process. That struggle led Airbnb to offer hosts with a real-time pricing optimization.
The pricing algorithm takes into account specifics about the listed home — location, bedrooms, bathrooms, shared or private, etc. — and relevant contextual data like local events, travel trends, and hotel availability in the area. That way, guests are able to find the best possible listings within their budgets and hosts are able to rent their homes for the best possible rates.
3. Ben & Jerry’s: Product Development
One of the most interesting ways Unileverhas put AI to work is in the product development category. With teams of scientists and researchers posted at 26 data centers around the world, Unilever is able to analyze a huge range of sources like social listening, CRM, and traditional market research. That range and scalability has led to entirely new product categories that would have been entirely out of reach through manual processes, like a line of morning-themed, cereal-flavored Ben & Jerry’s ice creams.
Unliver’s AI resources discovered lyrics referencing “ice cream and breakfast” in 50 different songs, which got the gears turning. Then AI-led industry research showed how Ben & Jerry’s competitors were already serving ice cream in the mornings. Together, those AI insights made introducing a cereal-ice-cream mashup a no-brainer. Flavors like Fruit Loot and Frozen Flakes hit the shelves soon after.
From personalization to product development and increased revenue to expanded market reach, the potential for artificial intelligence’s impact on the marketing world is virtually endless. AI is an incredibly powerful tool to help relationship marketers connect with both prospective and existing customers in ways that move the needle for businesses’ bottom lines.