The year 2023 was one of collaboration between marketing and predictive analytics to yield insightful customer engagement.
Strategies such as personalization, omnichannel, and transactional messaging backed by advanced technologies like Gen AI, AR, and VR made rapid inroads into customer engagement approaches.
In 2024, the focus for organizations will be on leveraging these technologies and pivoting towards some new strategies to improve customer engagement.
Gen AI and AI optimization: More focused engagement
More and more businesses in 2024 will use Gen AI-powered platforms to create dynamic, personalized content on the go. These platforms have powerful abilities such as pattern recognition that can help with precise micro-segmentation that uses data to create contextual content.
AI systems with their built-in ability to predict buyer behavior from structured data will become a must-have technology in all platforms. AI-based models help recommend suitable products for each customer, in real-time. These recommendations will give enterprises a competitive edge by helping them interact with customers intelligently and in an optimized manner thus increasing personalization.
Zero and first-party data: A more trustworthy era
The year 2023 ushered in a new era of privacy for customers. The UAE’s Federal Law No. 45 started the ball rolling in 2021 to set stricter standards for data privacy and protection. The Personal Data Protection Law will become enforceable from September 2024. The Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence also has set stringent requirements for data protection.
Brands that respond by implementing state-of-the-art customer engagement platforms powered by first-party data and conforming to new privacy regulations will be at the forefront of creating great brand experiences.
Omnichannel engagement: For higher customer wins
Almost 30 percent of respondents in a study of customers across the MEA region have said they prefer brand interaction with relevant recommendations and prefer a connected, seamless experience, which involves a phygital interaction.
The distinction between digital and physical channels will reduce further in 2024, thanks to the omnichannel strategy and its customer-centric offerings. For businesses too, it is a magical strategy as it improves customer retention by 91 percent and LTV by 3.4 percent.
In 2024, the new digital landscape will accept this sweetheart deal where the customer’s buying experience will be seamless and consistent across multiple touchpoints, and the marketer will see healthier bottom lines
Marketers that integrate Whatsapp into their omni-channel strategy will stay ahead of the game because of its global reach and multilingual feature. It is also trusted by users and enables easy payment.
Hyper-personalization: For relevant customer engagement
According to the same survey, 30 percent of customers gave their top vote for a brand that understands them and their needs. The same number of customers are ready to share their data only if it is used to personalize their experiences.
Hyper-personalisation requires sensitive customer data which customers are tentative to part with. What will bring cheer to marketers in 2024 is customers’ readiness to share their data in exchange for hyper-personalised experiences. And the fact that personalization reduces their customer acquisition cost by half.
In 2024, personalization and privacy will become two faces of the same coin, and customers will engage with a brand that they can trust.
Use of AR and VR: More immersive experiences
In 2023, the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) offered enriched experiences by fusing the virtual world with the real one. For example, Ikea Place, the furniture retailer’s AR-based app, allows customers to visualize Ikea furniture in their homes by overlaying a 3D representation of the piece atop a live video stream of their space. Similarly, in the beauty industry, Sephora’s Virtual Artist allows customers to try on makeup virtually. In 2024, brands will use AR and VR to enhance customers’ brand experience by offering interactive product visualization, gamified engagement, and storytelling.
Transactional messaging: For better customer connect
Transactional messages (TMs) deliver valuable information to customers; like a payment confirmation for a Huda Beauty order or a leftover 5G data alert from Etisalat.
Effective TMs are clear and concise, triggered in real-time, have content relevant to each customer, and stay optimized for each device. TMs keep customers engaged without pushing them to buy more. A caveat worth noting is that sending the same message across multiple channels can put customers off. In 2024, brands can employ TMs to their advantage with an insightful customer engagement strategy to manage transactional SMS, email, and push notifications from a single platform.
This year, brands must leverage new technologies to harvest insights and analytics that understand consumer behavior and align their customer engagement strategy accordingly. After all, understanding what customers truly want is the key to creating a robust customer engagement strategy for brands.
News Source: Gulf Business
