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A
I-powered personalisation seems
to offer the prospect of fulfilling –
at the level of the individual – the
very definition of marketing: creating,
communicating and delivering offerings that
have value for customers.
Marketing and merchandising professionals
could be forgiven for wondering where this
development leaves them. The answer is that
AI reaffirms their place in the driver’s seat,
fully in control, adding value where AI cannot.
That’s not to deny the likelihood that AI will
prompt a significant and undoubtedly large-
scale realignment of roles and responsibilities
in many organisations. AI drastically reduces
the resources required to interpret data, build
and manage static segments, deploy and
manage internal campaigns or devise content
and product permutations.
Conversely there’s a greater role for AI-
trained data scientists – whether in-house or
third party – who can use their technical skills
and curiosity to push the boundaries of what
AI can do.
Taking a broader view, successful marketing
is heavily dependent on context. Applied AI
is, by definition, less successful at analysing
context. Empathy, creativity and even
broader problem-solving skills are missing.
The capacity to synthesise business goals,
devise strategies, select KPIs and orchestrate
tactical marketing efforts – this is all the
domain of humans.
Ultimately, the algorithms at the heart of AI-
led personalisation are computer programs,
written by humans. Determining the right
algorithms to use, the desired output and
determining their role in the purchase
process is a job that only a marketer or
merchandiser can do.
When you combine the expertise of
marketers with the algorithms of AI,
however, you can present relevant, engaging
experiences at a level that was never
possible. Content and campaigns can now
be personalised at the individual level. This
is important because engagement and
conversions are increasingly linked to the
quality of your digital experiences.
For commerce companies, great experiences
are often what sets them apart from
www.intelligentcio.com
Nick Durrant, Managing Director at
Bluegrass Digital
competitors. With AI you can present
intelligent campaigns and individualised
content that lead to big results.
Companies with a large and growing
inventory are particularly well-suited to AI-
powered marketing. Near-endless product
permutations are possible, far beyond the
capabilities of any team.
Whereas merchandisers might previously
have matched categories against audiences,
for example, a Machine Learning algorithm
will match at the most granular level
available: individual against product,
informed by every data point held. With
the right technology, ingesting new SKUs is
immediate, with Machine Learning driving
revenue from day one.
But Average Order Value and other financial
metrics aren’t the only KPIs that matter.
Marketers and merchandisers bring
the insight and knowledge to tailor the
presentation of these algorithmically-driven
product selections so that other objectives
can be met, for example the need to respect
commercial agreements around product
presentation (don’t show product X against
product Y).
The desire to pursue long-term brand equity
at the expense of short-term revenue (don’t
surface final reductions at the same time
as the debut of a new collection). This is
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