How to Use AI to Upgrade Your Retail Marketing Automation

27/06/2019 By Hannah Gabaldon Reading Time: 4 Minutes

Throughout the past few years in the digital marketing industry, platforms are releasing new and upcoming technology that is completely changing the world of marketing forever.

Artificial intelligence has sneaked up, and it is no secret that it has the power to ultimately transform the marketing strategy of your business. The use of AI tools, in retail specifically, has created a way for companies to bring customers a whole new experience and cater their experience to match their needs.

Aside from AI tools, another huge upgrade to digital marketing that many are implementing today, is the use of marketing automation. Marketing automation essentially refers to the software that allows you to automate repetitive marketing tasks. Automating the daily tasks that occur digitally, such as email and social media, saves you time, money, and resources.

In this post we will discuss how to use AI for your marketing automation strategy.

Marketing Automation in Retail

When used effectively, AI marketing automationis a great tool that businesses of all types incorporate in their content marketing strategy to entirely transfigure how their content is distributed. According to Invesp studies, on average, marketing automation drives a 14.5% increase of sales productivity to businesses.

Specifically focusing on retail, these tools are heavily used to get content in the eyes of target customers. Odds are, that you have received an email from a company titled something along the lines of “SALE”, “NEW SUMMER LINE”, etc., you have Whenever you receive a mass email from a company like those, that is the use of marketing automation.

Retail companies use this type of software to schedule content to be released to a large group of people at a specific time. Whether it is scheduling a post to go live on a social platform such as Instagram or YouTube, or scheduling a mass email to be sent out at a specific time, this tool gives marketers the ability to control exactly when content will be released, without having to physically send it out at that time.

This is key for releasing information about sales or events on specific days, holidays, or even for automated responses to let customers know smaller details, such as that you have proceeded their order, seen their request, or are out of the office.

Marketing automation is a great tool, but is not effective without incorporating it hand in hand with other marketing rel="noopener noreferrer" tools, such as AI. AI Powered eCommerce Merchandising is critical for ensuring that your customers receive the information they need, as well as gathering insights to improve how you market. Whether it is through ChatBots or personalised recommenders, AI tools work hand in hand with effectively upgrading your marketing automation strategy.

How to Create a Marketing Automation Strategy

1.Determine your goal

In order to create a create marketing automation strategy you must determine what you want out of it. More social followers? Increased shoe sales? Chose one and build off of that.

2. Use AI Tools

Using AI tools is critical to have a successful marketing plan. Not only will they boost your social automation, but also give your customers a more enjoyable and effective experience.

3. Incorporate Automation Tools

Intelligent automation softwarecan help brands revamp their entire social media strategy both easily and effectively. Pick whatever tool best fits your needs and get started.

4. Stay on schedule

Using AI and automation tools, you are on the right track, but consistency is essential to ensure your strategy is successful. Be sure to create content that seamlessly flows together and stay on schedule with posting and distributing emails.

Now that we have clarified the structure for your strategy, here are a few effective automation tools to incorporate in your marketing plan.

Effective Automation Tools in Marketing

Email:

Constant Contact and Oracle: These tools allows you to easily send out email marketing campaigns to a mass crowd. With these tools you will not only reach your crowd but also get extra benefits such as tips on how to create a mobile responsive email.

Social rel="noopener noreferrer" Media:

AdRoll and Bizible: These tools gives you the tools you need on how to automate your ad campaigns on social platforms. With these tools, you also can track your insights across all social media platforms, giving you tips on the best times to post your content and the demographics of your top viewers.

Top 3 Ways to Optimise Marketing for Retail

1. Create a weekly post/email

Using automation tools, create a weekly post that customers can expect to see on their email and social platforms. It can be something as simple as a weekly horoscope, or something bigger, such as a virtual scratch off deal each week. Things like this will keep your customers engaged and excited.

2. Keep your posts engaging

On the same line as the previous tip, making your social posts engaging is the best way to optimise marketing in a cost-effective and successful way. Encourage your audience to engage with the posts at least once a week by offering incentives such as, “tag a friend to win a $50 gift card”. This will elevate your content’s views and get your audience on their toes about each month’s giveaway.

3. Use social media targeting and advertising

With the many features of social media, accurately determine where most of your customers are present and directly schedule your ads to be marketed to them specifically. Having the ability to cater your advertisements to specific locations and ages on social platforms is a fool-proof way to optimise marketing and drive sales.

To Review

It is clear that marketing automation is a great tool, but it is up to you on how you decide to implement it into your overall marketing plan. Here is a recap of what we covered today for reference when creating your AI based marketing automation strategy.