Twilio's recently launched State of Personalization Report highlights a critical trend: how evolving consumer demands are pushing business leaders to focus on delivering predictive, emotionally intelligent, and highly personalised customer experiences.
AI is central to this shift, with businesses using more dynamic models and metrics, enhancing interoperability between tools such as Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) and data warehouses, and prioritising data privacy and the ethical use of AI.
While 85 percent of businesses prioritise capturing and leveraging first-party data this year, knowing what to do with that data to establish a true 360-degree customer view is a more complex and often overwhelming task. And yet, it's never been more necessary for organisations to do so.
By implementing AI tools through a phased approach, businesses can progressively enhance the sophistication and effectiveness of their data strategy.
1. Use AI as your professional organiser
Imagine your data as a cluttered closet. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the professional organiser that helps you sort through everything you have, identify what's truly valuable and explain why.
Introducing AI starts with intelligently categorising each data point while breaking down silos and revealing hidden correlations that human analysis might miss. Through machine learning, AI can continuously improve data accuracy, ensuring your decision-making is based on a foundation that is consistently reliable. We're now seeing CDPs support seamless integration with data warehouses and data lakehouses to facilitate a smooth 'closet sorting' process. This approach isn't just about a data cleanup, it's about uncovering hidden insights that can help you make better decisions based on real information.
2. 'AI-mplify' your data collection
AI can be used to push the process of sorting even further by using intelligent algorithms to suggest how this data can be put to work. For example, if you provide a subscription service, you might analyse customer data to identify churn after the fact. With AI-powered data collection, you can go a step further by analysing various data points like customer support interactions, past purchase history, and website browsing behaviour. By identifying patterns in the data, you can predict which customers are at a higher risk of churning, making the data collected even more meaningful and actionable.
3. Activate data in real-time
The combination of a customer data platform and lightning-fast artificial intelligence is what will take your data strategy to the next level. Real-time insights allow organisations to act in a way they couldn't before, creating a new lever for immediate, relevant and effective impact on the customer, as well as the ability to adjust the communications approach based on how they are responding.
Take, for instance, if a customer browses a specific product from your website. Traditionally, you might retarget them with a generic email later. With real-time data activation, AI analyses the customer's behaviour and triggers a personalised email or text message instantly. This message could highlight a collaboration with a popular influencer they follow, offer a discount, or answer frequently asked questions – all based on the customer's preferences and actions.
4. Make it personal
We know that customer retention hinges on personal interactions, but the definition of "personal" is evolving. Twilio's State of Personalisation report highlights the unique preferences of Gen Z (18-27 year olds), who are reshaping the traditional marketing funnel by prioritising authenticity, transparency, and engagement on their terms.
And it's clear that businesses are receiving the message, as 85 percent of companies currently plan to adjust or optimise their marketing strategy to cater to Gen Z's expectations. By analysing vast datasets, AI can assist to uncover patterns, preferences, and behaviours unique to each customer like never before. This enables data teams to conduct A/B testing, product optimisation and landing page personalisation with incredible precision so that each interaction feels personal, relevant and timely.
5. Enrich customer profiles: easy as AI
At its core, a truly enriched customer profile is exactly what a 360-customer view should be. It transforms each customer profile into a living, breathing map of preferences, behaviours, and potential purchase paths, allowing businesses to anticipate needs and tailor interactions with exacting precision.
This ideal state is what we term a "golden profile"—a comprehensive, accurate, and dynamic
representation of the customer that's constantly refined through data integrations and interactions. The possibilities unlocked by establishing golden profiles are endless. For instance, our study revealed that 82 percent of leaders prioritise integrating emotional intelligence or the ability to respond to human emotions into AI systems. This aligns with the growing adoption of sophisticated metrics such as customer lifetime value, emotional engagement, and brand affinity by 80 percent of marketers, signifying a shift beyond traditional engagement and conversion rates for measuring personalisation effectiveness.
Thanks to AI, data strategy is now less of a guessing game. By employing the right tools and taking logical steps forward to collect, interpret and activate your data in real-time, you can bid farewell to data overwhelm and say hello to delighted customers.
