In today’s digital world, if you want your audience to hear your message, it’s crucial to stand out among the flood of marketing communications hitting them at every turn. But all too often, marketers use a “one size fits all” mentality, sending messages on a standard interval without taking into account each customer’s unique purchase patterns. The result? After enough irrelevant messages, not only are those marketers tuned out, their intended audience begins to unsubscribe. That’s why it’s crucial to reach out to your customers at just the right moment, such as when they’re ready to make a purchasing decision. That’s where Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help.

Through machine learning, AI studies your customers’ behavior. Then, using what it finds, it categorizes those customers’ probability of returning to your business for specific services. This allows for strategic, more relevant marketing that increases response rates and reduces opt-outs.

So, to gain crucial insights into how AI impacts digital marketing, we studied two groups of stores. The first group of stores sent marketing communications based on the “one size fits all” technique. The second group used predictive machine learning. Incorporating hundreds of data points unique to each customer, the AI targeted individuals most likely to need specific repairs such as brakes, tires, or batteries. Highly relevant digital communications were then sent to these customers, inviting them in for those services.

When analyzing the results, we looked at a variety of engagement and purchase metrics. And as expected, the predictive AI audience had a lower opt-out rate and significantly higher ROI than the standard “one size fits all” audience. In fact, the predictive model resulted in a 7% response rate increase over the standard audience.

The key takeaway here is that as the digital marketing landscape gets more and more saturated, it’s important for dealers to take a more strategic approach with their marketing. Our study reinforces machine learning’s proven ability to bring customers a highly personalized, intelligent experience that consistently grows and learns with each new lifecycle. Therefore, by sending your audience communications powered by AI, you can minimize opt-outs and maximize profit.

Jeff Giere
Strategy Analyst