Personalisation Versus Intrusion In The Era of AI Marketing

Daria Kepa-Green

February 28, 2024

Daria Kepa-Green, Marketing Director at insurtech Cytora, discusses how marketers can ensure they don’t cross the personalisation line with customers when using increasingly powerful marketing tools

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Since the launch of ChatGPT the marketing industry has been consumed with debate on the challenges and opportunities of AI. The truth is that generative AI tools are just at the sharp end of a longstanding disrupting influence – data analysis. For more than a decade, marketers have used the explosion in available customer data to build increasingly personalised and complex communication strategies. As marketing channels fragment and evolve, the creation of campaigns that reach someone at the right time, place, medium and message have become essential. However, there has always been a fine line to tread between providing a personalised experience and getting ‘too personal’ with a customer. Similarly, brands often make the mistake of assuming a fancy algorithm is a substitute for really getting to know what their customers want and need. With AI set to automate a lot of marketing processes and provide an ever deeper analysis of their consumer base, there is even greater scope for marketers to create hyper personalised campaigns that are creepy rather than creative.

Avoiding these pitfalls can mean getting back to basics. Marketers need to start by asking themselves how well do they actually understand their customers? Data analysis of CRM, second and third party sources can tell you the profile, purchasing behaviour, and online habits of your audience but it doesn’t tell you why someone bought a product – what is it they liked about your brand, what will compel them to buy more and so forth. It’s surprising how few organisations go directly to the source and straight up ask their customers for direct feedback on these questions. With a little motivation – such as a discount on future purchases – people can be happy to part with personal information.

This zero party data can be supplemented with another often neglected tool – market research. Simply sitting down and looking at what is happening in your industry, what your competitors are doing, what thought leaders are saying and wider economic and societal trends are influencing behaviour can help to develop a deep understanding of what your customers are highly likely to find compelling from your marketing efforts.

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Marketers can be guilty of underestimating their customer base by assuming a communication with the veneer of a personal touch will be enough to make their customers believe they care. How often have you been chased across the internet by ads for a product you’ve already bought and are highly likely to ever buy again? Or, have you received a sales email where someone starts by waxing lyrical about the work you’ve done in ‘insert random job or detail from your LinkedIn profile’ and then offers a service with little connection? It’s unlikely to do anything but mildly irritate you – the same is true for your customers. Going the extra mile with research makes all the difference because it can showcase to your customers that you have done your homework in trying to determine what they want.

Which brings me to my next point – empathy. When a marketer sees their customers as nothing more than data, they can quickly lose sight of where a personalised marketing campaign could cross the line. It’s critical to look beyond the mechanics of a strategy and evaluate how you are actually going to engage with people. Ask yourself – would this communication make you feel uncomfortable and worry that a brand knew too much about you? If you feel discomfort chances are most of your customers will feel the same. If you’re uncertain – test your theory. Go to your customers and ask them just what degree of personalisation they want. The simple act of empowering your audience and providing some transparency can help to mitigate the risk of overreach.

Finally, remember the famous line from Jurassic Park – “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”? This is becoming more and more relevant to marketers as AI tools get increasingly powerful.

There will always be a temptation to use every available technique to increase engagement, however, the more you do the greater the risk that you will overstep the mark and alienate your consumers. Similarly, AI left unchecked has the capacity to do more harm than good. This is why it’s crucial to always keep the human element in your marketing activities. Question the necessity of every engagement and analysis tool and keep tight controls and oversight on any automated processes.

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