Data Helps Companies Keep Pace with Consumer Expectations

By Scott Horn, CMO, [24]7.ai

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Scott Horn, CMO, [24]7.ai

"Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” — W. Edwards Deming

Consumer expectations have changed significantly in the last 10 years. Advances in technology and the surging popularity of social media have raised the bar for both relevance and responsiveness. Consumers now expect companies to be responsive to their needs at all hours of the day (including holidays and weekends) and forget offering one size fits all experiences. Consumers want content and offers that are catered to their unique needs and interests, and if companies can’t deliver on this, consumers won’t hesitate to go elsewhere (and probably blast you on social media while they’re at it).

Moments are the points along the customers’ journeys before, during, and after the sale. These journeys—including product comparison, purchase, ordering, bill payment, and others—form the relationship that customers have with your brand. To deliver the experiences customers want, companies must learn how to leverage their data to its full potential and move beyond channel-centric thinking. Instead, adopt a post-channel strategy, where you connect customer journeys no matter where, when, and how they happen.

The Power of Data

Data is the key to understanding your customers. It can help you discover who they are and what motivates them and enable you to offer personalized experiences that align with what they want.

Companies who successfully adopt this people-first approach are the ones who will thrive and those who don’t are ripe for disruption. The good news is that while technology has contributed to higher customer expectations, it has also made it easier for companies to aggregate and analyze their data in order to determine what customers want.

To deliver the experiences customers want, companies must learn how to leverage their data to its full potential and move beyond channel-centric thinking


Data helps create digital identities that help brands recognize them across channels, devices, and time and what these customers are trying to do, however analyzing big data and distilling it into actionable intent is too big a task for humans. There is simply too much data. That’s where AI comes in. Using Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning companies can understand and anticipate what their customer wants, optimize the journey and personalize each moment along the way. Organizations can now easily gain insight from their data, and predictive analytics enables marketers to pinpoint exactly what to do with that insight. The more data collected, the better companies will be able to engage consumers with compelling, relevant offers.

As in personal relationships, every moment matters in the interactions you have with your customers and prospects. The challenge for enterprises is using data deliver the kind of memorable moments your customers expect regardless of time, devices, and channels. Brands that leverage AI to decipher data and understand journeys will be able to deliver intent-driven customer experience that drives brand loyalty and customer satisfaction.

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