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Creating Personalised Customer Journeys with AI Nurturing Sequences

May 11, 2023

Introduction

In today's competitive business landscape, creating personalised customer journeys has become a necessity for small businesses. Personalisation enhances the customer experience, drives engagement, boosts conversion rates, and builds stronger relationships. By tailoring the customer journey to individual needs and preferences, small businesses can stand out from the competition, foster customer loyalty, and gain a competitive edge. While personalised customer experiences are a great way to build strong relationships with your customers, creating the journey for every customer can be time-consuming - that's where AI nurturing sequences come in. 

First things first, what is a nurturing sequence? AI (Artificial Intelligence) nurturing sequences are a series of automated marketing communications that are designed to guide a potential customer through the buyer's journey. These sequences are personalised to each individual customer based on their behaviours and interests, and are designed to provide value at every stage of the customer journey. AI is used to automate and optimise these sequences, making them more effective and efficient. 

Automation refers to the use of technology to automate repetitive tasks or processes, such as sending emails, social media posts, or notifications. When combined with AI, automation can be used to create highly personalised and targeted marketing campaigns, such as AI nurturing sequences. Automation can also be used to track and measure the success of marketing efforts, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions and improve their overall marketing strategy.

Understanding Your Customers

The first step in creating a personalised customer journey is understanding your customers. This includes understanding their behaviours, preferences, and needs - and this needs data.

One way to collect customer data is through website analytics; tools like Google Analytics can help you track customer behaviour on your website, including which pages they visit, how long they stay on each page, and whether they convert into a lead or sale. You can also use surveys, polls on instagram stories and good old fashioned customer feedback forms to collect data on what your customers want, and how they go about getting it.

Once you have collected customer data, you can use it to create customer personas - these are fictional representations of your ideal customers, based on data and insights which can help you better understand their pain points, motivations, and preferences, and create personalised experiences that resonate with them.

Building AI Nurturing Sequences

Once you have a solid understanding of who your customers are, you can start building AI nurturing sequences. The first step is creating a roadmap for the customer journey, identifying the key touchpoints and actions that a customer will take throughout their journey from discovery to purchase and beyond.

Once you have identified these, you can start developing personalised messaging and content for each stage of the journey. For example, if a customer has visited your website but has not yet made a purchase, you might send them a personalised email with a special offer or discount to encourage them to complete their purchase.

AI can be used to automate and optimise these sequences, from personalising the content of each message based on the customer's behaviour and preferences, such as their browsing history or purchase history to optimising the timing and frequency of messages to maximise engagement and conversions.

Implementing AI Nurturing Sequences

The first step in implementing AI nurturing sequences is choosing the right tools and software. While there are a whole heap of marketing automation platforms that offer AI-powered nurturing sequences, each has slightly different offerings so choosing one that works for you and your business is important.

Once you have chosen a platform, you can start integrating your AI nurturing sequences into your marketing strategy. This may involve setting up triggers and workflows to automate the sequences based on customer behaviour, such as sending a follow-up email after a customer abandons their cart.

It's important to test and measure the success of your AI nurturing sequences. This can be done by tracking key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Based on this data, you can make adjustments and improvements to the sequences to improve their effectiveness over time.

Examples of AI Nurturing Sequences

To illustrate the power of AI nurturing sequences, let's look at some practical ways that they can work for small business:

  • Personalised discount codes: A Software as a Service (SaaS) company that offers project management software for small businesses create an AI nurturing sequence that targets customers who have signed up for a free trial of their software but have not yet made a purchase. The sequence would include personalised emails with helpful tips and resources on how to use the software, as well as offers for discounts or extended trials. 
  • Product review and recommendations: A small online retailer that sells eco-friendly products could create an AI nurturing sequence that targets customers who have added items to their cart but have not yet completed their purchase. The sequence might include personalised emails with product recommendations, customer reviews, and offers for free shipping or discounts.

AI nurturing sequences are a powerful tool for small businesses to automate and optimise their marketing efforts, while still providing a personalised touch.

Conclusion

In today's competitive business landscape, providing a personalised customer experience is essential to building strong relationships with your customers. However, creating personalised experiences can be time-consuming and difficult to scale, but AI nurturing sequences are changing that.

By collecting and analysing customer data, building personalised messaging and content for each stage of the customer journey, and using AI to automate and optimise the sequences, small businesses can create personalised customer journeys that drive higher engagement and conversions.

Implementing AI nurturing sequences requires a deep understanding of the existing customer journey, choosing the right tools and software, and a steady commitment to implementing, testing and measuring the success of the sequences before finding what works for you. It might seem like a labour of love to start with, but the results are worth it in the long run.

Article By
Anna McDonald

Anna is a multi-hyphenate with a background in politics and languages who has spent the last decade working in tourism, marketing and hospitality. She knows her way around the floor of a restaurant, has read more menus than some people have books and currently crafts creative copy and content for businesses and brands.