3 Ways to the Next Best Action

If you or your family are fans of Frozen, you may remember the part in Frozen 2 when Anna breaks into her “The Next Right Thing” solo. At that point in the movie, she believes she’s lost her entire family. She’s devastated, distraught, and has no idea how to proceed forward without her sister guiding the way. She knows she has a Herculean challenge in front of her, and she has no idea how to overcome it. Yet, she knows she doesn’t need all of the answers. She simply needs to do the next best thing. “I won’t look too far ahead. It’s too much for me to take. But break it down to this next breath, this next step. This next choice is one that I can make.”

In our everyday lives, hopefully, we are not faced with the same obstacles (and heartache) of Anna, but the message in her words still applies. Standing in front of a hurdle, barrier, or decision can feel insurmountable. Even a “simple” decision about dinner plans, vacation reservations, or purchases can drive us mad. It’s not easy finding the right car, travel destination, or sweater. These choices get even more difficult in the business world. Our choices could cost thousands or even millions of dollars, not to mention the human capital that could be utilized. The cloud of opportunity cost hangs over our heads like a black cloud. How do you move forward without falling into analysis paralysis?

As the saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Like Anna says, the journey can seem unimaginable, but the next best action isn’t so out of reach. As marketers, our job is to help our customers see the next best step – the next right thing for them. With all of the data and marketing technology that now sits at our fingertips, the ability to understand their entire journey, their current point in time, and their next best action is easier than ever. It’s our obligation to help customers understand their needs. It’s our privilege to make their lives easier and less complex. Offering our customers the next stepping stone in their journey should be top of mind. Here are three ways you can do just that.

Marketing Automation

One of the first things you should do is develop your customer journey paths alongside your personas. Most marketers using marketing automation for customer interactions and lead nurturing have these mapped out already. In today’s world, journeys are not always clear-cut, and customers don’t always follow a linear path. Understanding the various interactions and touchpoints your customers have with your brand is crucial to developing proper touchpoint strategies. Once you’ve developed a baseline of journeys, you’re in a better position to offer your customers the next best action.

Knowing where your customers are in their decision-making process should directly impact the messaging you offer them. Although B2B and B2C strategies and tactics differ, your end goal is the same – personalized messages that matter. Your goals may vary, but you’re always driving your customers to something, whether a purchase, download, loyalty program, etc. Given the proliferation of data in today’s marketing world, you should have enough information to provide messaging that speaks to their current pain point or decision step. Your communication should move them to that next stage in their journey. Provide them with more information to narrow their choices, offer guidance on your expertise or products, send a discount code or promotion, or offer decision-making checklists. Help them eat the elephant by serving up the next bite.

Activity-based and Trigger-based Marketing

In addition to traditional journey-based marketing, technology allows us to reach customers based on their actions in real time. Real-world actions can influence and adjust campaigns and programs built on typical purchase patterns. As customers engage on your website or with your app, you can send them communications that offer deeper insights, reminders, or in-moment discounts. 

You can send messages to customers and prospects as they interact with your content or high-value web pages. If you find their interest in specific products or services, send them more information to gain greater awareness, drive decision-making, and compare brands. If they add products to their website favorites or visit the same product/service page multiple times, you may want to send targeted communication to pique their interest. Send them relevant content that will help guide their thinking or the next best action. Look for ways you can trigger communications when urgency is essential. If customers abandon their cart or a form, send them a reminder through email or push. Set up automated triggers to share purchase information and delivery notices if they purchase.

Remember that, in many cases, the channel is the message. Think beyond email, especially when marketing to younger audiences and consumers. It’s vital to consider SMS, MMS, push messaging, in-app notifications, and other channels in addition to email. When thinking about the proper channel, consider your target audience, the message’s urgency, and the content that needs to be shared.

AI and Recommendations

As your marketing technology gains sophistication, and you utilize tools such as Oracle’s Infinity IQ, Salesforce’s Einstein, or Adobe’s Experience Platform in conjunction with your customer data platform or data warehouse, you gain the power of artificial intelligence (AI). AI and its capabilities power marketing’s ability to make predictive recommendations. Using a customer’s demographic, historical, and engagement data, prediction models can be built that offer customer recommendations within emails, messages, and website pages. Think dynamic content that’s hyper-personalized to what’s on your customer’s minds.

Recommendations and predictions can be used for many marketing activities. As it relates to offering the next best action, look for ways to embed watched or liked items, products that were abandoned in the cart, or related products to those purchased into your marketing communications. AI is built for this task, and as it’s integrated with your marketing technologies, it can offer your customers email content, app messages, personalized website pages, and more.

Conclusion

As you plan your marketing strategy, remember that decisions are hard for everyone. Whether you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a digital transformation or fifty dollars on sneakers doesn’t matter. Taking the next best action takes time. Use data, technology, and your marketing capabilities to help customers get through the journey. Help them make that next best choice. Even a little effort can go a long way. Start small and build your way up. If you need help crafting your next best offer campaign, reach out. Relationship One is always here to help.