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Predictive customer service

Predictive customer service

Predictive customer service

In a customer-centric world it’s important not only to serve customers but to anticipate their needs, writes Garry Lee, CEO of RedEye.

Last year I talked about how this is now a customer-centric world, where the retailers that don’t put customers at the heart of their marketing strategy will fail. Well, in 2018, you must also start actively anticipating those needs by giving the customer something before they ask for it. This is where predictive analytics, AI and machine learning become critical. The modern marketer has a wealth of data that they’re barely using, despite evidence demonstrating that those who do outperform their peers by up to 85%1. Predictive analytics enables you to use this data to customise the customer experience instead of using such classic standard responses as:

• Person X hasn’t opened emails: Send a re-engagement email

• Person Y unsubscribes: Try a social campaign

• Person Z has stopped visitng the website: Send them the lapsed customer email series

Using predictive analytics, we can adjust those to:

• An engagement predictive model anticipates that person X is receiving emails at an incorrect frequency, which is automatically optimised

• An unsubscribe predictive model anticipates person Y is about to unsubscribe so you either change the messaging, the frequency or the channel in order to regain their interest

• A lapsed predictive model spots customer Z and engages them with relevant content before they lapse

In 2018, the customer will want to talk to you when it’s right for them, in the channel they prefer. But it’s not just communication across channels that needs improving – it’s vital these are joined up and optimised. For example, if you are going to launch an app, make sure it’s good and don’t just launch one because everyone else has one. I recently saw Foot Locker’s app, which was almost a replica of the website – just a long scroll of products. Modern customers are sophisticated, they know that an app experience should differ from the website – otherwise you’d just open the mobile website!

Compare that to the great work Deliveroo does with its app, which uses geolocation to only show restaurants that can deliver to you. When you purchase, they use Apple Pay to streamline the process and push to tell you that your order’s nearby. Something else that will have a profound effect on the customer experience in 2018 is GDPR. I think it can be a big positive for good retailers but only so long as they embrace it. Don’t try to work out how to ‘get around it’ or ‘do the minimum to avoid a lawsuit’. Instead, show the customer you are a brand that respects their data and privacy. The key to a successful customer experience strategy in 2018 is to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience. This can only happen if you have a joined-up data strategy, with all key data being synchronised in one place. You need a single source of data for managing all customer interactions.

So, let’s enter 2018 with renewed optimism. Do these four things and you can deliver a customer experience that will put you ahead:

1. Have a single view of the customer.

2. Use the power of AI and predictive data to anticipate customer needs, giving them what they want, before they ask for it.

3. Don’t neglect any channel or device –you are only as strong as your weakest link.

4. Become GDPR-ready and embrace it – showing your customer that you care about their privacy

and rights gives you an advantage

About RedEye

Our goal is simple: to help you deliver amazing results. We’re fans of big words like ‘multichannel marketing automation’ but really, we believe that sophisticated solutions can be simple. All RedEye products are driven by a unique Customer Data Platform that combines all customer data – online and offline – into a single view. We then make this vast depth and breadth of data available to you through tools and interfaces you’ll like using. Wherever you are in the process of automating your marketing, the RedEye team is there to help. www.redeye.com

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