Over at VentureBeat, writer Jon Cifuentes uses the example of mobile communications platform Flok to highlight the growing role of artificial intelligence in loyalty communications. Long gone are the days of batch emails sent out en masse to the membership base; today's mobile communications are dynamic, contextual, and one-to-one.
Flok is essentially an AI-driven engagement app that automates dialog, rewards, and incentives for small businesses. Cifuentes highlights case study research from Flok that illustrates the effectiveness of automated, AI-driven mobile communications, particularly in small-business settings in which successful marketing depends heavily on geo-location for success. Money quote:
"Flok analysed thousands of data points in their network over the past year and showed customer interaction actually increased when sent automated, personalised messages instead of manual push messages or emails. For example:
- "Push notifications � Batch campaign: 18% engagement; Automated campaign: 69% engagement
- Visit reminders � Batch campaign: 28% engagement; Automated campaign: 46% engagement
- Requests for an online review � Batch campaign: 1.2% engagement; Automated campaign: 11% engagement."
Those are impressive improvements in response rates. On caveat: Engagement on its own is a worthy goal, but engaged customers are only as valuable as their purchase behavior. Mobile apps like Flok can be a valuable piece of the puzzle for small businesspeople, but increased engagement is only one step on the path to loyalty. Through customer identification all the way around the purchase cycle, marketers should link engagement metrics to purchase behavior and close the loop in order to measure the true ROI of increased engagement.
Read the VentureBeat article here.
- Rick Ferguson
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