Latest news with #TheBigLeapCollective
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
From First Click to Forever: How AI is Redefining Personalized Marketing
Marketers today are under constant pressure to not just reach their audiences but to create relationships that last. With consumer expectations evolving rapidly, the role of artificial intelligence in marketing has become more pivotal than ever. ETBrandEquity, in association with CleverTap , convened a dialogue under The Big Leap Collective, exploring how AI can help brands deliver seamless, personalized experiences from the first click to enduring loyalty. The day began with a keynote by Shivani Tiwari, Head of Growth and Digital Marketing, Ajio, who spotlighted the non-negotiable value of brand consistency . 'We are extremely rigid about brand consistency. What we show off-app must match exactly what the customer experiences on-app,' she stated, underscoring how consistency across all digital touchpoints fosters trust. Tiwari explained how this principle extends to every campaign component, from creative messaging to color palettes, across push notifications, WhatsApp, SMS, and RCS. 'If I'm calling the customer with a tennis-themed push during Wimbledon, they shouldn't land in a cricket stadium. Only then can we truly earn their trust and build a seamless brand journey,' she added, framing consistency as the foundation of credibility. The session transitioned into a panel discussion 'From First Click to Forever: The AI Advantage for Marketers.' The panel featured industry leaders including Deepak Lamba, Head of Marketing, CleverTap; Nitin Khanna, VP Marketing, Acko; Anand Thakur, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Reliance Retail; Jhoomer Sinha, AI Lead, CleverTap; and Rasika Prasant, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Soulfull. Lamba emphasized that personalization is now a consumer expectation, not a differentiator. 'Imagine a customer walking into a store. He instantly gets recognized and enjoys a tailored experience. Online, without the right technology, that same customer sees generic, irrelevant content. That disconnect is what CleverTap aims to solve,' he said. He traced the evolution of personalization from 2015, when it was restricted to demographics and geography, to today's AI-driven precision. 'Our IntelliNode technology understands user behavior, context, and preferences across multiple channels, deciding what message to send, when, how, and where. That's the true AI advantage for marketers,' Lamba concluded, highlighting how millions of unique journeys can now be crafted for individual customers. Khanna underscored that brands must first assess their readiness before entrusting AI with strategic decisions. 'The magic of AI is only as good as the magician. The maturity of your people, your data, and your organization determines how effectively AI can work,' he noted. Drawing from Acko's experience, he stressed the value of owning complete customer data, free from intermediaries, to unlock AI's full potential. Thakur elaborated on how Reliance Retail adapts journeys based on customer signals. 'When we classify someone as a 'value customer,' we first show them products within a certain range but strategically introduce premium options. If they engage, we adjust their experience accordingly,' he said. Beyond traditional data, he emphasized the importance of geospatial and socioeconomic insights to refine personalization further. 'You can never say 'I know exactly who this customer is' because customers themselves keep changing,' Thakur added. 'Continuous experimentation and refinement are essential to delivering truly personalized experiences that resonate over time.' Sinha addressed the limitations of many AI-powered interactions. 'Many AI chatbots feel generic because they're trained on limited, low-quality data, leading to poor experiences,' she observed. At CleverTap, years of high-quality, real-world data collection have enabled their AI to 'learn and evolve like a well-nurtured one-year-old,' ensuring smarter and more meaningful interactions over time. Prasant reminded brands that staying relevant starts with meeting consumers where they are, especially in fast-digitizing spaces like offline categories. 'At Soulfull, every team member observes customer habits, app usage, and shopping behavior to identify audience cohorts. Using AI-driven personalization , we then target these segments across OTT, YouTube, and Instagram,' she explained, noting how this approach builds awareness and cultivates advocacy. The discussion concluded with the insight that data is the foundation for guiding customers from first click to lifelong engagement. By leveraging AI to interpret and act on this data, brands can deliver experiences that are not just personalized but truly memorable, ensuring relationships endure well beyond the initial interaction.
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
From Intrusive to Intuitive: How AI is redefining customer engagement
Customer engagement is entering a new era, defined by experiences that are interactive, immersive, and inconspicuous. Brands must discover meaningful ways to connect with customers while ensuring those customers don't feel as though they are being overtly marketed to. in association with CleverTap , recently concluded 'The Big Leap Collective' in Chennai, addressing the theme of crafting immersive, interactive and inconspicuous customer engagement. The session was joined by Venkat Yellapantula, CDO, Indian Bank; Arjun Shetty, COO, BankBazaar; Balaji Selvakumar, CMO, GRT Jewellers; Arjun Bhatia, CMO, Gaurang Thosani, Head of Digital Marketing and E-sales, Royal Sundaram General Insurance; and Jacob Joseph, VP - Data Science, CleverTap. The session was moderated by Gautam Srinivasan, Consulting Editor. AI is propelling a fundamental shift in traditional development cycles. According to Shetty, it's moving organisations away from lengthy, resource-intensive build phases towards what he described as 'prototyping-as-a-service.' This new approach enables teams to quickly create functional mockups and validate ideas in real time, without writing code or investing in full-scale development. The result is faster iteration, reduced costs, and a more agile response to market demands. 'AI is no longer just a buzzword but a practical enabler of agility,' said Shetty. 'At BankBazaar, product teams are building visual, functional mockups without writing a single line of code, cutting development timelines by up to 80%.' Shetty added, 'We're running AI-generated A/B tests instead of spending lakhs on production. If it works, we scale. In a fast-paced environment, this ability to test before you build and scale what resonates is redefining how marketing teams operate, more nimble and more data-led.' Customer expectations remain the same whether they visit a website, use an app, or walk into a showroom. They look for warmth in interactions, clear communication, and a sense of personalised attention, regardless of the channel. To meet these expectations, brands must ensure seamless and consistent experiences across all physical and digital touchpoints, aligning tone, service quality, and engagement strategies throughout the journey. 'Bridging the gap between physical and digital experiences is easier said than done. Legacy systems and siloed platforms still make it challenging to deliver consistency across every touchpoint. The real strategic dilemma is knowing where to invest more, how do you strike the right balance between a strong offline presence and the growing online opportunity?', remarked Bhatia. Marketers have moved beyond bombarding customers with constant notifications and emails. The focus has shifted to creating seamless, intuitive experiences that guide users effortlessly, without drawing attention to the fact that they're being marketed to. 'One of my favourite examples is a customer buying a water heater via 15-minute delivery on Zepto, a product you'd never expect to be an impulse purchase. It wasn't just about speed; it was about meeting intent so precisely that the transaction felt like second nature,' stated Thosani. Just because a customer shops online doesn't mean they don't need reassurance or support. As consumer behaviour evolves, it's essential for brands to deliver a consistent and seamless experience across all channels. Whether online or offline, the experience should feel cohesive, dependable, and designed to build trust at every touchpoint. 'For fashion and beauty brands, where trust and conversion have traditionally relied on tactile experiences, the big challenge is translating touch-and-feel into digital,' noted Selvakumar. One of the most persistent challenges discussed was fragmented data. Many organisations possess vast amounts of valuable information, but it remains trapped in disconnected systems and siloed teams. This often leads to duplicated efforts, disjointed insights, and ultimately, missed opportunities and inconsistent strategies. 'The future lies in integrating structured and unstructured data, from transactions to CRM logs, and even external factors like news events or election outcomes, into unified, actionable intelligence. Engagement should be driven in real time, not analysed after the fact,' shared Joseph. Intelligent engagement is rapidly becoming the norm across industries. 'We reimagined lending through our GST-based working capital product. By analysing a customer's turnover, we offer loans of up to 25% of that value instantly. No forms. No branches. Salary analytics now allow us to extend pre-approved personal loans without any application process. It's not just about being digital; it's about being intelligently personalised, fast, and frictionless,' observed Yellapantula. The future of customer engagement will be shaped less by what brands say and more by how well they understand customer intent. The focus is shifting towards intelligent personalisation, reducing duplication of messaging across channels, and creating a more cohesive and seamless customer journeys.
