From data to naira: Leveraging customer insights in the age of AI

By Khadijat Durosinmi

Every single interaction online leaves a digital footprint, from collecting cookies to website visits to social media comments. Businesses are swimming in vast amounts of consumer data in today’s digitally-driven world. This provides both a challenge and a benefit, because what good is all this data if they cannot be translated into actionable consumer insights? This is where AI comes in. The ability to use artificial intelligence to harness the true value of your customer data and turn it into real currency to drive business growth and profitability is where the opportunity lies.

A McKinsey report revealed that only a tiny 1 percent of businesses extract full value from their data. Only 37.8 percent of firms reported being data-driven, and only 26.8 percent of firms reported having a data culture. (New Vantage partners, 2020).

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Meaning that only a handful of companies leverage data for their marketing, and business growth. According to a study by McKinsey, sales teams that use AI-driven insights see a 10-15 percent increase in sales productivity.

Leveraging the power of consumer insights

Customer insights go beyond demographics. They are the deep understanding of your audience gained from analysing customer data, behaviour, and preferences.

Forrester reports that between 60 percent and 73 percent of all data within an enterprise goes unused for analytics. Businesses looking to improve client satisfaction, loyalty, and eventually revenue generation will find these insights beneficial. According to a survey by Forbes, companies that prioritise customer analytics are more likely to experience higher profitability and market share growth compared to their peers. By leveraging these insights, businesses can achieve the following:

Targeted marketing:

Targeted marketing that leverages consumer insights with AI guarantees that the proper audience will find the messaging compelling, thus increasing engagement and conversion rates.

Personalised consumer experiences:

Businesses can develop personalised marketing efforts that cater to each person’s tastes and interests by utilising consumer data. Personalization raises the chance of conversion and recurring sales and improves engagement. A study by Mckinsey shows that 71 percent of consumers expect personalization, and 76 percent of consumers get frustrated when they don’t find it.

Predictive analysis for revenue:

AI enables businesses to anticipate and proactively handle customer requirements by analysing massive volumes of client data to predict future behaviour. Salesforce reports that companies using AI for predictive analytics see a revenue uplift of up to 15 percent.

Pricing optimization:

Businesses can implement dynamic pricing strategies that optimise revenue while maintaining competitiveness by leveraging customer feedback. AI systems can evaluate consumer willingness to pay, rival pricing, and market demand, enabling businesses to modify prices in real-time dynamically.

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The role of AI: Transforming insights into action

AI-powered technologies such as predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms, are essential for deriving valuable conclusions from massive amounts of data. These algorithms help firms make more accurate and efficient data-driven decisions by seeing patterns, correlations, and trends that human analysts might miss. AI, for instance, may forecast future purchasing behaviour and tailor marketing campaigns based on its analysis of past customer purchases, website interactions, and social media activity.

Ethical considerations

Despite the many benefits leveraging consumer insights brings, businesses must address several concerns including data privacy concerns, data quality issues, and ethical considerations surrounding AI usage. They must also ensure compliance with regulatory bodies to protect customer data and maintain trust.

AI powers the future of customer insights, and as such, we can expect to see more exciting developments in the field of consumer insights, as AI technology grows. Businesses in today’s digital economy can seize new chances for growth and profitability by prioritising consumer insights and investing in AI capabilities.

Durosinmi is a passionate and data-driven Marketing professional with experience driving growth for both B2B and B2C companies in the Tech industry.