0% found this document useful (0 votes)
10 views13 pages

Customer Predictive Analytics Using Artificial Int

Research PAPER

Uploaded by

ab3898
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
10 views13 pages

Customer Predictive Analytics Using Artificial Int

Research PAPER

Uploaded by

ab3898
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 13

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/343482194

CUSTOMER PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Article in The Singapore Economic Review · August 2020


DOI: 10.1142/S0217590820480021

CITATIONS READS

27 2,456

5 authors, including:

Siti Zulaikha Hazik Mohamed


Airlangga University Stellar Consulting Group
18 PUBLICATIONS 106 CITATIONS 44 PUBLICATIONS 254 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Masmira Kurniawati Sulistya Rusgianto


Airlangga University Airlangga University
25 PUBLICATIONS 225 CITATIONS 26 PUBLICATIONS 296 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Siti Zulaikha on 26 March 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.


OPEN ACCESS
The Singapore Economic Review, (2021)
© The Author(s)
DOI: 10.1142/S0217590820480021

CUSTOMER PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS USING ARTIFICIAL


INTELLIGENCE
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

SITI ZULAIKHA*
Lecturer of Faculty of Economics and Business
Universitas Airlangga
Surabaya, Indonesia
[email protected]
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

HAZIK MOHAMED
Managing Director
Stellar Consulting Group Pte. Ltd.
Co-Founder, Joompa Pte. Ltd.
[email protected]

MASMIRA KURNIAWATI
Universitas Airlangga
Surabaya, Indonesia
[email protected]

SULISTYA RUSGIANTO† and SYLVA ALIF RUSMITA‡


Universitas Airlangga

[email protected]

[email protected]

Published Online 6 August 2020

This conceptual paper exclusively focused on how artificial intelligence (AI) serves as a means to
identify a target audience. Focusing on the marketing context, a structured discussion of how AI can
identify the target customers precisely despite their different behaviors was presented in this paper.
The applications of AI in customer targeting and the projected effectiveness throughout the different
phases of customer lifecycle were also discussed. Through the historical analysis, behavioral insights
of individual customers can be retrieved in a more reliable and efficient way. The review of the
literature confirmed the use of technology-driven AI in revolutionizing marketing, where data can be
processed at scale via supervised or unsupervised (machine) learning.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; big data; business automation; customer targeting; segmentation.

* Corresponding author.
This is an Open Access article published by World Scientific Publishing Company. It is distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY) License which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

1
2 The Singapore Economic Review

1. Introduction
Many companies have recently resorted to data analytics using large datasets in order to
understand their target audience better. For instance, taking the case of the global artificial
intelligence (AI) market, American companies have increased their spending on data an-
alytics and business intelligence software, which was expected to reach up to USD 191.60
billion in the United States alone by 2025.1 Following the immense growth of consumer-
driven digital data and the subsequent need to extract strategic critical information, the
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

services sector accounts for the largest share of the predictive analytics software market.
Undoubtedly, the demand for intelligent virtual assistants would continue to rise. In this
digital era, marketing strategies have also started to make use of technologies to organize
and process complex datasets of customers to target a specific market for their products or
services. As these data outputs serve as intelligible insights for numerous brands, the motto
“customer is king” can be usefully extended into digital marketing, where customers are
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

served like a king by satisfying their demands personally at any time. Optimized marketing
campaigns must work with customer sentiment in real time. With that, communications
can be adjusted according to the behavioral insights of the customers’ emotions and
preferences.
Fundamentally, target marketing focuses on identifying a realistic approach to fit the
products and services for the customers. Companies may develop different strategies
according to how they define their markets — the more appropriate their target market, the
more effective their strategies. Segmenting customers is very vital to develop effective and
efficient marketing programs. Marketers divide a large market into different subsets of
customers with common needs, interests, and priorities before strategies to target each
segment are designed. Targeting specific customers would require efforts and can be rather
costly given the need to involve marketing institutions to analyze the markets. However,
with the development of technologies, AI can now be used to define the market into
specific targets. Through data science and machine learning, marketers can accurately
make highly nuanced targeted decisions. The AI-driven marketing machine can utilize
sensory inputs to deduce market conditions and even analyze visual inputs such as facial,
object, and gesture recognition. This clearly demonstrates the importance of machine
learning as an AI tool that can create human behavioral profile in this digital era.
AI has the capabilities to imitate the human brain to provide data by identifying the
target audience based on the behavioral insights historically. In particular, AI retrieves,
analyses, and presents data in a reliable and efficient way for marketers to acquire a specific
marketing plan. AI can make a profile of human that covers the capabilities of image,
recognition, and voice via machine learning and semantic search when the customers
search and click certain websites to find the required information. In this era of online
shopping, such capabilities greatly benefit marketers in identifying the right customers for
their products or services.

1 https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/artificial-intelligence-market-segmentation-application-trends-opportunity-
forecast-2018-to-2025-2018-10-09.
Customer Predictive Analytics Using AI 3

Despite several studies on the role of intelligence in marketing (Stalidisa et al., 2015;
Boisena et al., 2018), AI-driven segmentation, specifically to predict the behaviors of
customers, remains underexplored. This may be attributed to the limited applications of the
AI systems to manage industrial marketing issues over the past decade. Therefore, this
paper exclusively focused on the role of AI in organizing the customers into specific targets
for marketers, including an overview of the applications of AI techniques in customer
targeting when it comes to market segmentation. The database of any related websites was
used to carry out the literature search, which covered publications up to December 2019
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

using the term “artificial intelligence technique” in the title, abstract, and keywords. A
structured discussion of how AI can identify the target customers precisely despite their
different behaviors was presented in this paper. Considering that certain industrial mar-
keting topics are yet to be explored, this paper on segmentation and targeting was regarded
as the first to explore how AI can help marketers to target specific customers. Through AI,
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

segmenting customers would be easier since it provides supporting data on the key ele-
ments of a marketing plan, such as positioning to achieve specific objectives of the de-
veloped marketing plan. In view of the above, AI-related issues with the emphasis on
customer targeting were discussed. Following that, the review of key literature is presented
in the subsequent section. The next section discusses how AI can be applied in customer
targeting and the applications of AI in the services sector with the emphasis on the
applications that are relevant to market segmentation. Finally, this paper presents the
conclusions of this discussion.

2. Literature Review
AI refers to the ability of a digital computer to perform tasks that are commonly linked to
humans, such as the ability to reason and generalize, discover meaning, or learn from past
experience.2 In other words, AI is a machine that is capable to learn and imitate or simulate
the intelligent behavior of humans. Meanwhile, machine learning is a branch of AI that
applies algorithms to synthesize the underlying relationships of data and information. The
machine learning system can be used to convert automatic speech into a semantic structure
expressed in the form of words. In addition, machine learning improves the efficiency of
marketing functions in every step taken by the customers. To make prediction of customer
behavior, supervised learning is needed to provide a learning basis for future data pro-
cessing. Supervised learning is a learning model built to make prediction, given unforeseen
input instances (Kotu and Deshpande, 2019). It has algorithm to response to the dataset and
make classification model to generate future data processing. Therefore, with the help of
machine learning and supervised learning, AI can provide valuable data to predict their
behaviors in real-time process using automation.
Although the terms “AI”, “automation”, and even “robotics” are interchangeably used,
these terms are different. In particular, AI mostly uses algorithms to learn a process and
involves logical reasoning, learning, and problem solving whereas automation and robotics

2 https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-intelligence.
4 The Singapore Economic Review

use sensors and manual programming (Oswald and Mascarenhas, 2018). The main purpose
of AI is to develop software to imitate a human mind just like how humans handle general
problem solving, learning, and decision making in specific ways through an expert system
and computer vision. The role of AI in increasing the efficiency of companies was explored
in several past studies. For instance, López and Casillas (2013) explored the potential of
AI-based systems in the marketing context whereas Cao et al. (2015) highlighted the
potential of AI in bringing automated negotiation for e-commerce. On the other hand,
Vanneschi et al. (2018) developed a model to predict the probability of default when it
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

comes to payment in e-commerce. Meanwhile, Omoteso (2012) stressed on the develop-


ment process of AI systems in auditing. Besides that, the adoption of AI to assess internal
control systems and monitor the effectiveness of audit committees was also reported
(Lo and Campos, 2018).
Notably, AI is important for businesses to analyze the behaviors of customers for the
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

development of specific marketing strategies. Studies have demonstrated the positive in-
fluence of applying IoT solutions on the process of developing long and successful rela-
tionships through engagement insights. For instance, Radaceanu (2007) examined the
potential use of AI to reproduce specific actions that must be validated by the human factor
in terms of productivity, quality, and competitiveness. In education, Bajaja and Sharmab
(2018) proposed a framework of tool on multiple learning models and AI techniques to
determine the most suitable of learning styles for a particular environment. For medical
purposes, AI is believed to minimize human error and subsequently, improve the reliability
of imaging interpretation (Fazala et al., 2018). Meanwhile, Fujii and Managi (2018) ob-
served a shift from biological- and knowledge-based models to specific mathematical
models and AI technologies, particularly in the United States and Japan.
When it comes to customer targeting, personalization is very important given the sig-
nificance of niche markets. Segmentation is a process of dividing the market into specific
parts with similar behaviors (Cahill, 1997). Through segmentation, companies can gain
competitive advantage as they can optimize their resources on the target customers. In the
past, the availability of quality data was limited and dominated by demographic infor-
mation from the field reports. Without AI, segmentation can be rather costly given the need
to collect a large customer database from many different areas. Nowadays, AI has made
segmentation easier and cheaper, as it is designed like the human brain to recognize and
solve problems. Moreover, in this digital era of AI technology, marketers are able un-
derstand their customers on a deeper level.
Therefore, marketing has begun to treat different customers differently at a lower cost
for its data storage with more effective technology solutions, general advancements in
know-how, and the ability to reach customers through digital channels. As indicated in
Table 1, traditional segmentation mainly involves analyzing customers manually using
simple tools and data. Recently, using the power of AI, such as predictive analytics,
marketers can predict the behavioral patterns of customers with the combination of their
demographic information to identify the appropriate target customers. Based on the pre-
diction output, marketers would be able to understand the customers’ behaviors,
Customer Predictive Analytics Using AI 5

Table 1. Comparison Between Traditional Segmentation and AI Segmentation

Characteristics of Segmentation Traditional Segmentation AI Segmentation

Resources Mostly humans Mostly AI


Time Availability Less tight Very tight
Cost High Low
Customer Behavior Relatively difficult to predict Relatively easy to predict
Targeting Ads Difficult Easy
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

Data Usage Relatively smaller amount Large amount of historical data

motivations, and expectations in order to deliver relevant messages. This would help them
to create an optimized and targeted campaign for the target customers.
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

Moreover, AI can provide data at a more granular level and predict the behavior of
customers based on their past behavior. Data of customers who engage with specific brands
benefit marketers. For example, the transactions of a female customer who browses and
purchases bags of specific brands contain information on her age, gender, marital status,
and income. AI using machine learning with a larger amount of data can deliver better
personalization on customer behavior, which differs from the kind of data the marketers
used to acquire. The machine would model each customer and then predict suitable pro-
ducts and brands for the target customers based on its learning of various behaviors.
Therefore, marketers can identify their target customers for segmentation with ease by
referring to the outputs of machine learning. In the past, demographic information was
previously used as an indicator of human behavior instead. Today, the customers’ needs,
motivations, and online behaviors (particularly their digital activities) are more appropriate
indicators for AI systems to conclude these customers’ interests. With the help of pre-
dictive audience segmentation technology, marketers can have access to valuable infor-
mation of customers.

3. Customer Targeting with AI


One of the powerful features of AI lies in its machine learning capabilities, specifically in
computing the growing data volume and enhancing the development of data for use. The
interactions of customers across different e-commerce platforms can be analyzed using AI
to produce certain predictive behaviors of whether they would repeat their purchase for
specific products. The patterns can be used for the final identification of the target cus-
tomers. Defining a target audience is very crucial for companies, as it can lead to higher
revenue at a lower cost. Search engine provides keyword-driven data based on the users’
needs. With the help of AI, the machine continues to become smarter. AI can figure out the
content and conclude the results based on the keywords used, semantic index, and syno-
nyms (Figure 1). In addition, AI can automatically understand the intensity of users in
order to track their behaviors and future predictions. Unlike the traditional segmentation,
AI aims to create intelligent machines to deliver highly personalized insights of customers
6 The Singapore Economic Review
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

Figure 1. How AI Targets Customers

at a lower cost, as every single interaction of customers with Internet access can be utilized
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

for product optimization.


Machine learning has a specific method to analyze and predict the historical behavior
and repeat behavior of customers to identify the target customers for marketing and pro-
motional campaigns. Through AI, companies can maintain a close relationship with their
customers at every stage of the process based on their interests and demographic profile.
Instead of creating an ad campaign to reach all customers, companies are able to create
personalized content according to each targeted segment of customers without the need to
spend additional resources to increase their sales and profits. In fact, they can minimize
their consumption of resources since they can truly identify their target customers. In short,
companies can use AI to understand, anticipate, analyze, and develop smarter campaigns
and allocate their time and resources for other more demanding tasks. AI revolutionizes
marketing by presenting quality data through the use of machine learning. It also does not
need any human operators to command the outputs and effectively functions based on a
trial-and-error basis. As a result, marketing strategies can be more effective since customers
are categorized into distinct groups that allow highly targeted niches. Basically, the pro-
cedure of AI in marketing can be simplified as follows: taking the case of a transaction of
Customer A and Customer B, where Customer A uses Google as the primary search engine
to browse relevant websites for new phones directly and Customer B uses Chrome to find
out how to fix a broken phone on Youtube instead, AI can detect the needs of Customer A
and Customer B despite the use of different devices and methods.
Through AI, marketers can recognize customers’ purchase behavior through their
actions therefore the obtained data can be used to generate customer insights for marketing
strategy development. This valuable information is instrumental for the companies to
develop a personalized relationship with their target customers that was previously chal-
lenging and costly to perform. Fundamentally, there are four main progressions to capture
the customers’ top-of-mind attention and nurture values throughout different phases of
customer lifecycle:

(1) Customer targeting and value enhancement. Customer targeting that is linked to AI
and machine learning sets up marketers and developers on their preferred engagement
Customer Predictive Analytics Using AI 7

and projected growth. Its purpose is to achieve business goals through more value-
added user experiences and personalized offers to drive profits. Such initiatives trigger
desirable and meaningful engagement with the target customers. For example, busi-
nesses can employ AI and machine learning to collect such data to predict specific
behaviors and decision-making for effective interactions with high-value or niche
customers.
(2) Customer engagement. Key insights into the customers’ purchase patterns and
behaviors are among the most important aspects that determine the success of
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

sales and marketing strategies. AI can provide the retailers with suggestions or
recommendations on the product displays and cataloguing based on the customers’
preferences.
(3) Customer experience. AI can significantly strengthen customer experience in three
different ways: (1) by automating simple interactions with customers, such as sending
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

an informative article to customers through a bot; (2) by augmenting the abilities of an


agent in predicting customers’ poor shopping experience; (3) by automating the in-
ternal tasks, such as forwarding the customers’ request to the right department or
agent.
(4) Customer loyalty. The attention span of customers becomes shorter by the day.
Consequently, it has become increasingly vital for marketers to capture the customers’
attention at the right time and in the right way. For instance, AI can be used to analyze
the purchase data of a particular product and find out when the customers may require
the same product again in order to send an automated SMS as a reminder for them to
top-up or reorder the product. In today’s marketing, effective use of data is crucial to
improve purchase experience, customization or personalization of services, customer
targeting, and brand loyalty.

In short, consolidating, organizing, and analyzing data of a large scale to determine


specific patterns were once tedious and laborious without the use of AI modules that are
now built for such complex organizational and recognition processes. AI can identify
“timely intent” with the emphasis on the target customers, where there is a window of
opportunity to approach customers before a commitment to a media buy is made. For
instance, through the programmatic advertising application, the analysis of related datasets
can determine the best time of the day to advertise (to maximize the ad spends), the
likelihood of an ad converting (i.e., effectiveness), or the probability of a reader clicking an
advertisement that appears in the middle of an article or blog.
Propensity modeling is a type of data analytics modeling that uses machine-based
(supervised) learning algorithms to process a large amount of historical datasets. It can
create accurate predictions based on the tendency of customers to act in a certain way,
including their purchase behaviors. These models can be used in different applications and
website personalization features as well as the automation of manual tasks, such as lead
scoring. Basically, the applications of AI can be extended beyond retaining the existing
clients.
8 The Singapore Economic Review
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

Figure 2. Effectiveness Scale of Customer Targeting Throughout the Customer Lifecycle Allen
(2017).

In particular, predictive analytics refers to a revolutionary capability of AI that uses


historical data to predict specific behaviors or events. Previously, it was only possible to
determine vague trends from retrospective datasets. Using predictive analytics, marketers
can now understand the customers’ experiences to determine how marketing strategies are
received from their perspectives and the resultant outcomes of these strategies. For in-
stance, predictive analytics in e-commerce can analyze the customers’ purchase behavior
and determine when they are likely to repurchase or whether it is a replenishment or new
purchase. Predictive analytics in customer service can predict high traffic volumes of calls
or vehicles (e.g., logistic vessels) to ensure that phone lines or warehouses or ports can be
prepared sufficiently. Besides that, predictive analytics can be used to identify customers
with “flight risk” attributes or those who may defect to a competitor.
In order to gain competitive advantage, companies continuously rates lead for con-
version potential. Machine learning algorithms identify with the greatest chance of con-
version by associating its AI engine with a precision search tool that goes through the raw
information to identify potential leads that convert well. Furthermore, predictive lead rating
or lead scoring can determine the best performing channels to prioritize quality leads,
rather than allocating equal efforts to all channels. A strong and effective AI-driven lead
scoring component helps in choosing the lead score that should be pursued first and
identifying channels that should be focused on. When these functions are integrated and
executed properly, such applications can support the sales and marketing teams in prior-
itizing leads and accelerating the sales cycles.
For digital marketing, the basic metrics for targeting ads are cost-per-acquisition (CPA)
and cost-per-click (CPC). For marketers to achieve sophisticated levels of personalization,
they target data segments at a more granular level by drawing on the data that can be as
simple as gender and age or as complex as past behaviors and purchase behaviors. Machine
Customer Predictive Analytics Using AI 9

learning algorithms can be trained to distinguish important variables from common


characteristics and categorize different elements for specific personalization or customi-
zation of ad delivery. AI and machine learning algorithms are deployed to optimize these
metrics by analyzing a large volume of data to detect user trends or best traffic for these
ads. These applications range from images or product promotion to duration of exposure,
which can be used to identify traffic areas for a specific demographic group. AI engines
scrutinize the behaviors of customers by tracking their behaviors with specific promotions
or ads (Manthei, 2018). Based on the historical webpage visits, specific ads can surface
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

relating to web information related to bring to the customer relevant ads that they need.
Accordingly, dynamic pricing models are helpful in the demand-based price changes, such
as the variation of hotel room rates according to the season or day of the week. Prices can
be determined and optimized at a whole new level of precision, as AI algorithms process
the right data into a pricing matrix. Apart from pricing, there are other decisive factors,
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

such as facilities, proximity to certain services, and accessibility. Furthermore, additional


insights on the customers’ preferences and purchase behavioral patterns, including what
they consider when it comes to special offers, can be gained through the use of machine
learning. Data-driven insights allow businesses to target their customers more effectively
and even determine the precise offer required to generate sales.
Besides that, dynamic pricing can also be used to capture market data to compare the
competitors’ pricing as to what they offer to ensure that their offers are well received by
customers as intended. For example, Airbnb has built and refined an extremely sophisti-
cated dynamic pricing system to help property owners to determine the price that they
should list for their property according to the type, size, and location of the property as well
as the property facilities, nearby events, photos of properties, reviews, and time-to-booking
date. Meanwhile, as customers do not often display constant or unchanging choices, they
may have different choices at different times for different reasons based on their mood or
evolving preferences. In this case, dynamic segmentation is an AI application that con-
siders how emotions can be factored in the behaviors of customers. For example, dynamic
segmentation is required when a male customer browses items as a gift for his female
friend. Dynamic segmentation would classify these new actions as an independent dataset
under a new and appropriate segment according to the current purchase behavior using
real-time data. With that, the most relevant current offers can be presented and outdated
data for targeting can be avoided.

4. Tech Giants and AI


Large companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook have decided to im-
plement AI because they are aware of how technology reshapes marketing and affects
various business aspects. Big data and connectivity are the main factors for these com-
panies to rapidly improve their product offerings in order to stay ahead of the competition.
These companies have access to a large volume of data given the high traffic and users,
which allow them to improve their products and services according to the needs of their
customers. For example, Google uses AI technology to provide better and more relevant
10 The Singapore Economic Review

data than any other companies. Google continues to monopolize the service engine market
due to its ability to deliver more relevant results and identify destination pages that most
likely serve their users. Another example includes Facebook that sees AI as a vital tech-
nology to power many of the core features of its main platform. For instance, Facebook
News Feed is underpinned by AI that predicts what content each user may want to see.
Apart from detecting unwanted or harmful content, Facebook also developed AI that can
analyze images, videos, texts, and even facial recognition. When these companies continue
to have access to these valuable data to provide better products and user experience, they
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

would eventually gain monopolistic power. For instance, Amazon and Alibaba can track
and access their customers’ every click for products and purchase or removal of products in
their shopping cart for the last couple of years. These companies take advantage of these
data models and AI ability to synthesize and apply the findings to the general population.
Consequently, with enough data to form a good sample model, they are able to target
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

specific customers, even without their personal data.


Focusing on Alibaba, as the world’s largest e-commerce marketplace with USD 248
billion in transaction (more than Amazon as the pioneer of e-commerce marketplace), its
core business involves selling goods but its operations have expanded to the most prof-
itable tech companies in the world. In order to become a dominant global player, Alibaba
announced a plan to build an AI industry worth USD 1 trillion by 20303 that optimizes
supply chain, products, and personalized recommendations. Alibaba continues to invest in
AI to optimize its supply chain, build products, and drive personalized recommendations.
AI-based infrastructure of Alibaba has enhanced the precision of its product search that
goes beyond the conventional experience given the application of complex machine
learning to recognize data patterns. Moreover, as Alibaba has access to a huge volume of
data from hundreds of millions of customers, these machines become more accurate and
smarter. Jack Ma who is the founder of Alibaba revealed that the correlation of large-scale
computing and big data is similar to the parents of AI. The results from nearly 500 million
users of its website and applications have contributed to an extensive repository of con-
sumer data that are continuously analyzed using AI in real time, resulting in precise
predictions of customer behaviors.
Basically, Alibaba has created an e-commerce brain that builds a model to predict and
update the needs of customers based on their online activities such as browsing, book-
marking, commenting, and other actions. The e-commerce brain determines the correlation
between content consumption and purchase behavior; thus, a wider range of recommen-
dations can be generated for products that customers are interested in previously and other
related products and information. This brain serves as a home of predictions for different
categories of products, prices, brands, product specifications, and other key parameters.
In addition, AI personalizes the online store for individual visitors that offers real-time,
tailored product recommendations based on their purchase history, age, gender, geographic
location, and a host of other data points. There may be many new customers with no prior
data on their purchase behavior but AI algorithms can still make individual-specific

3 https://bernardmarr.com/default.asp?contentID=1536.
Customer Predictive Analytics Using AI 11

predictions by matching products with the purchaser and ranking them according to the
items these customers are more likely to be interested in. The entire process is instanta-
neous. Moreover, algorithms continuously improve as new data is fed into the system.
Machine learning continues to deliver personalized shopping experience for customers
based on the gathered big data in terms of their historical transactions, such as products that
customers search for and purchase and their capability of accessing personal information of
individual callers and continuously upgrading its capabilities by analyzing millions of
customer-service interactions.
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

Possible Dangers of AI
The capabilities of AI to detect and predict the behavior of customers in every detail
way based on their historical transactions were clearly discussed in the prior sections.
However, the use of AI is also linked to privacy issue in regards to basic human rights. As
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

many companies can easily track any individuals’ online activities through the use of AI,
this eventually leads to the loss or invasion of privacy and even social oppression. This
latest technology gathers the users’ daily activities and collects their data that may include
specific behaviors or personal actions (e.g., playing a certain game, smoking, watching
porn, or defaulting on loans). In other words, AI may provide valuable access to all parts of
life of the target audience but this is also the prime example of the possible dangers of AI in
terms of privacy issue.

5. Conclusion
AI will continue to develop and expand and a company must make use of this technology
to get ahead of its competitors and succeed in the competitive market. Clearly, the
applications of AI are very appealing for the marketing industry given its simplicity and
robustness in analyzing the engagement patterns and masses of users’ complex interactions
and actions to create human-like interactions without any human intervention. Moreover,
AI can process specific types of content according to the customers’ preferences for
enhanced user experience. Consequently, this benefits marketers in their decision making
and the implementation of marketing strategies. With the help of AI, companies can
save time and resources and can allocate more time to create and personalize their marketing
campaigns for the target customers. As AI can assess specific movements of customers on a
deeper level (e.g., the preferred brand of product) and predict accurately using micro-seg-
mentation, marketers are also able to distinguish their customers in a more personal way and
understand what contributes or motivates the long-lasting relationship between their company
and customers. With that, the companies can build a direct communication with their cus-
tomers, resulting in enhanced brand loyalty and lifetime relationship.

Acknowledgement
Directorate of Research and Community Service, Deputy for Strengthening Research and
Development, Ministry of Research and Technology/National Innovation and Research
Agency, Republic of Indonesia.
12 The Singapore Economic Review

References
Allen, R (2017). 15 Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing. June 29, 2017. Accesed from
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/15-applications-artificial-intelligence-marketing-robert-allen.
Bajaja, R and V Sharmab (2018). Smart Education with artificial intelligence based determination
of learning styles. Procedia Computer Science, 132, 834–842.
Boisena, M, K Terlouwb, P Grootea and O Couwenberga (2018). Reframing place promotion, place
marketing, and place branding — moving beyond conceptual confusion. Cities, 80, 4–11.
Cahill, DJ (1997). Target marketing and segmentation: Valid and useful tools for Marketing.
by 178.171.121.30 on 03/25/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

Management Decision, 35(1), 10–13, https://doi.org/10.1108/00251749710160133 Permanent


link to this document: https://doi.org/10.1108/00251749710160133.
Cao, Y, Y Chen and D Khosla (2015). Spiking deep convolutional neural networks for energy-
efficient object recognition. International Journal of Computer Vision, 113, 54–66. doi: 10.1007/
s11263-014-0788-3.
Fazala, MI, ME Patela, J Tyea and Y Guptab (2018). The past, present and future role of artificial
intelligence in imaging. European Journal of Radiology, 105, 246–250.
Singapore Econ. Rev. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

Fujii, H and S Managi (2018). Trends and priority shifts in artificial intelligence technology
invention: A global patent analysis. Economic Analysis and Policy, 58, 60–69.
Kotu, V and B Deshpande (2019). Data Science: Concept and Practice, 2nd edn. Morgan
Kaufmann.
Lo, FY and N Campos (2018). Blending Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions into relationship mar-
keting strategies. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 137, 10–18.
López, M and J Casillas (2013). Artificial intelligence-based systems applied in industrial mar-
keting: An historical overview, current and future insights. Industrial Marketing Management,
(42), 489–495.
Manthei, L (2018). Four Examples of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing. https://www.emarsys.
com/en/resources/blog/ai-marketingexamples/(accessed on 12 February 2018).
Omoteso, K (2012). The application of artificial intelligence in auditing: Looking back to the future.
Expert Systems with Applications, 39, 8490–8495.
Oswald, AJ and SJ Mascarenhas (2018). Artificial intelligence and the emergent turbulent markets:
New challenges to corporate ethics today. in Corporate Ethics for Turbulent Markets.
Radaceanu, E (2007). Artificial intelligence & roborts for performance management-some methodic
aspect. The 4th International Federation of Automatic Control Conference on Management and
Control of Production and Logistics, 27–30 September 2007, Sibiu — Romania.
Stalidisa, G, D Karapistolisa and A Vafeiadisa (2015). Marketing decision support using artificial
intelligence and knowledge modeling: Application to tourist destination nagement. Procedia —
Social and Behavioral Sciences, (175), 106–113.
Vanneschi, L, DM Horn, M Castelli and A Popovi (2018). An artificial intelligence system for
predicting customer default in e-commerce. Expert Systems With Applications, 104, 1–2.

View publication stats

You might also like