AI-Powered Marketing Revolution: Insights from Udayan Bose

October 1, 2024 Brent W. Peterson

In this episode of Talk Commerce, I had the pleasure of chatting with Udayan Bose, the founder and CEO of NetElixir, an AI-first digital agency. Udayan has been a guest on the show before, and we always enjoy picking his brain about the exciting advancements in AI and their impact on the ever-evolving world of ecommerce. This time, we dove deep into the potential of generative AI, beyond just content creation, and how it’s transforming areas like SEO, paid search, and even Google’s strategy. Join me as we recap some of the key takeaways from our insightful conversation with Udayan.

Ecommerce and the Rise of Generative AI: A Conversation with Udayan Bose

Beyond Buzzwords: How Generative AI Is Boosting Productivity

Udayan highlighted how NetElixir is leveraging generative AI to significantly enhance productivity within their agency and for their clients. They’ve developed a suite of tools called LXR Smart AI, focusing on practical applications like creating meta descriptions for SEO, generating image alt text recommendations, and writing ad copy variations. These seemingly small tasks can eat up a lot of time, and Udayan shared how automating them through AI can free up marketers to focus on strategic initiatives.

My take: I’ve seen firsthand how these seemingly small tasks can bog down a marketing team. The potential for time savings using AI-powered tools like those Udayan described is enormous, and I’m excited to see more platforms adopting this approach.

The Zero-Click Search Dilemma and the Future of Google

We discussed the growing trend of zero-click searches on Google, spurred by features like AI overviews. Udayan shared insights from NetElixir’s research, revealing a noticeable drop in click-through rates across various search query types, particularly informational and navigational searches. This shift has significant implications for ecommerce businesses that rely heavily on organic traffic from Google.

Udayan posed a crucial question: Is the future of search a chatbot-led experience? I think this is a topic that deserves a lot more discussion, especially as we consider how user behavior is evolving and the ways businesses will need to adapt to maintain visibility.

Google’s Challenges and the First-Party Data Revolution

Udayan didn’t shy away from addressing the challenges Google faces in the age of generative AI and the increasing dominance of walled gardens like TikTok and Amazon. He pointed out Google’s flip-flopping on AI-generated content and their struggle to adapt to a first-party data future, especially with the impending deprecation of third-party cookies.

My thoughts: Google is at a crossroads, and their response to these challenges will shape the future of the digital advertising landscape. It will be interesting to see how they leverage their vast resources and assets, like YouTube, to innovate and maintain their position.

Embracing the AI Plus World

Udayan ended our conversation with a powerful message: The future is about collaboration between humans and AI. He encouraged marketers to embrace these new technologies and explore how they can be used to improve efficiency and unlock new possibilities.

I wholeheartedly agree with Udayan’s sentiment. The AI revolution is here to stay, and businesses that adapt and learn to leverage these tools will have a significant advantage. I encourage everyone to check out NetElixir’s LXR Smart AI tools and explore how generative AI can transform your workflow.

Conclusion

Our conversation with Udayan Bose was packed with valuable insights and thought-provoking questions about the future of ecommerce and the role of generative AI. I’m grateful to Udayan for sharing his expertise and for his passion for pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI.

Be sure to listen to the full episode of Talk Commerce to hear our entire conversation with Udayan. And don’t forget to check out LXR Smart AI to experience the power of generative AI for yourself.

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Driving Growth Through First-Party Data: Insights from Bonsai’s Matt Butler

April 1, 2024March 14, 2024 Brent W. Peterson

In this episode of Talk Commerce, we have the pleasure of speaking with Matt Butler, CEO and co-founder of Bonsai. Bonsai is a company that measures and generates incremental outcomes for their clients through the power of first-party data. With a background in retail analytics at Google and a passion for data-driven storytelling, Matt brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation.

The Shift in Digital Marketing

Matt discusses the changing landscape of digital marketing, particularly in the post-pandemic era. He notes that the days of simply throwing money at Google and Facebook ads to drive growth are gone. As he puts it:

“The attention around your consumer is incredibly sophisticated. So many platforms, it’s competitive. And so everyone’s sort of hit this sort of plateau, is what we hear.”

To overcome this plateau, businesses need to focus on generating incremental outcomes through first-party data.

The Power of First-Party Data

Bonsai’s approach to measurement revolves around leveraging a business’s own sales data, customer behavior insights, and touchpoints. By stitching these elements together, they can provide a deeper understanding of customer acquisition and optimization. Matt explains:

“A business is zoned sales data, customer behavior insights and identity and touch points, those things, when stitched together, can dive deeper so that when you’re thinking about acquiring a customer from a Google, you can see what else that customer is doing. You can understand if it’s really a new one or how to optimize media to find that next new customer.”

Small Wins, Big Impact

When it comes to measuring success, Matt emphasizes the importance of small wins. He shares an example:

“Some of our big wins were helping clients take, you know, pools of like large pools of money for acquisition, drive 15% better throughput, right? And you’re like, okay, 15%, you know, guys, that’s 10 million more incremental annual dollars, right?”

These seemingly small percentages can translate into significant business growth when applied at scale.

Unifying Customer Data

For retailers with both online and brick-and-mortar presence, Matt stresses the importance of having a single source of truth for customer identity. He advises:

“If you’ve got online and you’re going into stores, unify that customer ID, right? Like use a point of sale that like you can bring that data together if you’re a brick and mortar going online. Same approach, right? Have a single view of your own customer.”

By unifying customer data across channels, businesses can gain a more complete view of their customers and make data-driven decisions.

The Future of Data in Retail

Looking ahead to 2024, Matt sees a mainstream realization of the need for retailers to own their customer conversation and data. He predicts:

“This year is definitely like, you’re not getting your house in order, you’re probably officially going to start falling behind.”

Businesses that prioritize first-party data and measurement will be well-positioned for success in the coming years.

As the retail landscape continues to evolve, the insights shared by Matt Butler and Bonsai demonstrate the critical role that first-party data plays in driving growth. By leveraging their own customer data, businesses can make informed decisions, optimize their marketing efforts, and ultimately achieve incremental outcomes.

To learn more about how first-party data can benefit your business, be sure to listen to the full episode of Talk Commerce featuring Matt Butler.

Mastering Personalized Marketing with Decile CEO Cary Lawrence

March 12, 2024 Brent W. Peterson

In this episode of Talk Commerce, I had the pleasure of chatting with Cary Lawrence, the CEO of Decile, a customer data and marketing platform built by marketers for marketers. Cary shared her passion for food and cooking, but more importantly, her deep insights into the world of data-driven marketing. Join us as we delve into the power of first-party data and how Decile is helping marketers create personalized experiences that drive customer loyalty and profitable growth.

Navigating the Cookieless World with Decile

Cary explained how Decile is well-positioned to help marketers thrive in a world without third-party cookies. By focusing on identity-based marketing and leveraging first-party data, Decile enables marketers to create personalized experiences without relying on device IDs or cookies. As someone who values privacy, I appreciate Decile’s approach to using data responsibly while still delivering value to customers.

The Art of Personalization: Balancing Relevance and Privacy

One of the key challenges in personalized marketing is striking the right balance between relevance and privacy. Cary emphasized the importance of creating an equal value exchange, where customers willingly share their information in return for personalized offers and experiences. By leveraging machine learning to analyze customer attributes and behaviors, Decile helps marketers deliver targeted messages that resonate with individual customers without crossing the line into invasiveness.

Finding Your High-Value Customers with Predictive Analytics

Cary shared a fascinating insight: the top 10% of customers are often responsible for 40-60% of a company’s revenue and profit. This highlights the importance of identifying and nurturing high-value customers. Decile’s predictive analytics capabilities help marketers identify not only their most valuable customers today but also those with the highest propensity to purchase in the future. As a marketer myself, I can attest to the power of focusing on retention and extracting more value from existing customers.

The Future of Marketing: Sustainability, Loyalty, and AI

Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, Cary identified several trends that will shape the future of marketing. Sustainability, both in terms of packaging and product, will continue to be a key focus for consumers, especially younger generations. Customized loyalty programs that cater to individual preferences will become more prevalent. And while the role of AI in customer service is still evolving, Cary believes that generative AI and chatbots have the potential to streamline and improve the customer experience, provided they are executed flawlessly.

The Final Data Bit

My conversation with Cary Lawrence was a fascinating deep dive into the world of data-driven marketing. As marketers, we have a responsibility to use data ethically and responsibly, always keeping the customer’s best interests in mind. By leveraging the power of first-party data and predictive analytics, we can create personalized experiences that delight customers and drive profitable growth. If you’re looking to take your marketing to the next level, be sure to check out Decile and the innovative work they’re doing in the space.