In a world where customer experience is king, AI-driven personalization has become a focal point for companies striving to create meaningful and lasting relationships with their customers. Whether you’re a start-up on a tight budget or an established business with the resources to invest in state-of-the-art solutions, there are AI tools to suit your needs. Let’s explore how businesses of all sizes can take advantage of AI to create tailored customer experiences.
What is AI-driven personalization?
AI-driven personalization uses machine learning and data analytics to understand and predict customer behavior, enabling the creation of individually tailored experiences. This can range from personalized product recommendations to dynamic content that adapts to user interactions.
AI personalization for all budgets
Budget-friendly tools
For small businesses or those with a limited budget, the following tools can be a good starting point:
Known for its email marketing, Mailchimp has developed AI-powered features that go beyond just sending emails. With its personalization features, you can automate campaigns and send content tailored to each recipient’s behavior and preferences. Mailchimp offers different pricing depending on the plan and number of contacts you need.
- Free plan: Includes up to 500 contacts, with 2,500 shipments per month and a daily limit of 500.
- Essentials plan: Prices start at $13 per month for up to 500 contacts.
- Standard plan: Prices start at $20 per month for up to 500 contacts.
- Premium plan: Prices start at $350 per month for 10,000 contacts.
ZohoCRM is an affordable and powerful tool that offers AI capabilities through its Zia AI Assistant. Zia can help predict sales trends, identify anomalies, and even suggest optimal times to contact leads.
- Standard plan: $14 per user per month, billed annually.
- rofessional plan: $23 per user per month, billed annually.
- Enterprise plan: $40 per user per month, billed annually.
- Ultimate plan: $52 per user per month, billed annually.
ActiveCampaign combines email marketing, automation and CRM functionality to create a personalized customer experience. Its machine learning capabilities allow you to send content based on user behavior, increasing the relevance of the communication.
- Lite plan: Starts at $15 per month for up to 500 contacts.
- Plus plan: Starts at $70 per month for up to 500 contacts.
- Professional plan: Starts at $159 per month for up to 500 contacts.
- Enterprise plan: Customized pricing based on needs.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is another all-in-one platform that offers email marketing, SMS campaigns, and chatbot features. With AI, you can optimize broadcast times and segment audiences to improve engagement.
- Free plan: Unlimited contacts with 300 emails per day.
- Lite plan: Starts at $25 per month with no daily sending limit.
- Essential plan: Starts at $39 per month with advanced reporting features.
- Premium plan: Starts at $66 per month with advanced segmentation and marketing automation.
These free tools from Google are invaluable for analyzing customer behavior and creating targeted ads. By using the data provided byGoogle Analytics, you can create personalized ads and content with Google Ads. Google Ads uses a pay-per-click model where the cost varies depending on the industry and competition.
Drift is a conversational marketing platform that uses AI to create personalized chat experiences on your website. In order to increase conversions by engaging visitors in real time. Operational pricing is not publicly available and requires direct contact for a customized quote.
Optimizely is a tool that focuses on A/B testing and personalization. It helps you experiment with different versions of your website to see which one performs best and create personalized experiences based on these insights. Optimizely offers customized pricing based on the customer’s specific needs and usage.
CleverTap offers mobile marketing with AI capabilities to engage users based on their behavior. This is particularly useful for apps and mobile platforms.
- The basic plan is free with limited features.
- The advanced plan has customized pricing based on usage and company size.
Open source tools
For those with access to development resources, there are a variety of open source libraries and machine learning frameworks, such as TensorFlow and PyTorch. These are free to use, but require technical expertise to implement and customize.
Premium tools
For small businesses or those with a limited budget, the following tools can be a good starting point:
HubSpot offers a comprehensive suite of marketing, sales, and customer service tools.
- Starter: $50 per month.
- Professional: $800 per month.
- Enterprise: $3,200 per month.
Salesforce Einstein is an AI platform integrated into Salesforce CRM. Pricing is complex and varies depending on the Salesforce product and license level used. It is best to contact Salesforce directly in order to get a customized quote for you.
Adobe Sensei is integrated into Adobe’s cloud products and offers AI-powered solutions for creative design and marketing automation. Pricing is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription or other Adobe services and may vary depending on the products and services used.
Each tool and platform offers unique features and benefits, and the choice depends on your company’s specific needs, budget and long-term goals. By carefully considering these options, you can find the best solution for creating a personalized and memorable customer experience that drives engagement and growth.
Implementation of AI personalization
Whichever tool you choose, the process of implementing AI personalization is the same:
Before you start, it is important to know what you want to achieve with personalization. Do you want to increase sales, improve customer loyalty, or maybe both? Set clear goals so you can measure the success of your efforts.
Data is the fuel that drives AI. Start by collecting data from all customer interaction points – website, social media, email and customer service. Make sure you comply with the GDPR and other relevant data protection regulations.
There are many AI tools available, but not all are suitable for every business. Explore options like HubSpot, Salesforce Einstein or Adobe Sensei, which offer different levels of personalization and automation. For those who may not be able to afford large initial investments, there are several cost-effective options such as Mailchimp, Zoho CRM, and ActiveCampaign, which offer AI features to personalize communications and improve the customer experience.
Use the collected data to create detailed customer profiles. These profiles help you understand your customers’ needs and how they interact with your brand.
Implement AI personalization in small steps. Start with a campaign or a customer segment and measure the results. Use these insights to improve and expand your personalization efforts.
Once you’ve tested and learned, it’s time to scale up. Use AI to automate personalization across channels and customer journeys to create a unified and seamless experience.
AI and customer behavior are constantly changing. Continue to monitor trends and update your strategies to stay ahead of the game.
The future of AI personalization
We offer expertise and support to integrate AI into your marketing strategies, whether you are at the beginning of your journey or ready to take your personalization to the next level.
Summary
AI-driven personalization is a powerful strategy that can transform the way your business interacts with customers. By choosing the right tools and following a thoughtful implementation plan, you can create a unique and memorable customer experience that drives engagement and growth. With options available for all budgets, it’s time to explore how AI can improve your marketing and customer service.