Jared Atchison — March 26, 2020 Do you want to improve the lead generation efforts of your online store? Perhaps your goal is to fine-tune your sales cycle by making sure you have the products you need and a robust customer support team. Whatever your long term eCommerce goals might be, machine learning can help you make the most of your time and money.
If you’re new to the idea of artificial intelligence, we will give you a brief rundown of an AI subset called machine learning. Essentially, machine learning is just one application of AI that focuses on analyzing data points to make informed decisions about what’s going to happen next in
Machine learning is quickly becoming a tool that business owners implement alongside their employees. The truth is, this technology can compute information and make predictions faster than a whole team of human employees. It’s our job to take this data and turn it into tangible information that our team can use.
Today we are going to take a look at several benefits of using machine learning technology on your website. These tips are great for people starting their first site, or those looking to take their existing website to the next level.
Let’s dive in!
Customer Personalization and Segmentation
There’s no doubt that you’ve experienced the first benefit of machine learning — personalization. If you use Amazon, Netflix, or virtually any audio or video streaming platform, you know the first-hand benefits of AI as a customer.
Machine learning technology can analyze consumer behavior and guess what they may want to do next. This tactic manifests in several ways. One of the most obvious ways is your recommended feed on Netflix. The algorithm in charge of creating curated streaming lists analyzes what you’ve watched, compare it to the watch history of other users, and suggest similar shows based on your preferences.
Delivering personalized content to consumers is one of the fastest ways to grow your lead list and increase customer loyalty.
The best part about using a machine learning-based software in this situation is the program will evolve as it gathers more data from consumers. You can dive in and check your statistics at a moment’s notice and use that information to plan your marketing strategy.
Stop Hackers in their Tracks
There’s nothing quite as important as keeping your website secure. There are countless risks from hackers and scammers that are looking to steal personal information from you and your customers.
Many developers have opted to add an AI program to their website to monitor for potential security risks. Before the days of machine learning, static scanners were commonplace for detecting fraudulent behavior.
Essentially, the scanner would get fed a list of things to look out for when analyzing login behavior and sales pages. While this method does manage to catch a majority of scammers, it also pulls in a large number of false positives.
The solution to this problem is to use the scanners with machine learning to fine-tune security measures. Instead of assuming that every red flag in a hacker attempting to break into your website, you can rest easy knowing that AI software is comparing the results of the scanner with other instances of fraud versus false positives. If an error triggers the AI software, you’ll get a notification encouraging you to check out the problem.
Improve Customer Service
Chatbots are becoming increasingly common on eCommerce websites, and there’s a good reason behind this trend. Consumers expect businesses to be there to answer questions, make product recommendations, and respond to feedback. We know it’s sometimes not feasible to have a customer support team around 24 hours a day, especially if you’re starting a brand new business.
You can work around this problem by using chatbots, which run using machine learning, to talk to customers. It’s worth noting that the purpose of AI in this sense is not to take jobs away from your customer support team. Instead, you should use this technology to bolster your existing customer support strategy.
Chatbots can handle repetitive questions that most businesses see every day. Think about how many times your team gets messages asking for help resetting their password, or how much shipping will cost on their order. Instead of pulling your team away from helping customers with more complex problems, you can use chatbots to quickly and efficiently address common concerns that are universal across all industries.
The result of adding chatbots to your website is you could see a higher customer satisfaction rating, more sales, and a boost in traffic.
Improve Your SEO Ranking
Did you know that there are nearly 5.14 billion searches on Google every single day? Getting to the number one page on Google is the goal that many eCommerce business owners set for themselves. There’s no question that search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for the success of your business, but you’re probably wondering how it can affect your SEO score.
Because machine learning technology is so good at analyzing data points, it’s an excellent tool when it comes to making predictions about what you should do next. Google’s ranking algorithm is complicated at times, making understanding keyword research a challenge.
New technology is emerging that allows the owners of eCommerce storefronts to look at their site analytics over time with predictions showing where things could go in the future. The fact that AI can dissect this information and arrange it for you in an understandable report is paramount to improving your SEO strategy.
Let’s say you look at the numbers and see an unusually high bounce rate every time you use a specific keyword. If you’re suspicious, you can run a forecasting report and see what the AI has to say about future articles using the keywords and phrases you’ve chosen. The ability to see this data can help you make split-second decisions when planning your content or marketing campaign.
Final Thoughts
We expect to see tremendous advances in AI and machine learning as more developers learn more about this software. As algorithms and data inputs improve, we also expect more eCommerce business owners to start implementing chatbots and other forms of machine learning technology on their website.
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