AI is making the headlines more and more often. If the trend continues, soon it won’t be news anymore but the norm for outdoor industry marketing. "There's really been an explosion of chatbots," said Matt Marcus, VP-executive creative director at R/GA. "The chat platform is an exciting opportunity for brands—they can deliver deep functionality and, if they do it well, they can deliver it in a highly branded way."
As you can see from the infographic below, this innovative technology changes the ways business is conducted. It helps with automation and process optimization, advanced inventory management and marketing.
They might seem like "the simpletons of the artificial intelligence world," but chatbots offer marketers from any industry the opportunity to engage with consumers on a personal, direct level -- as long as they can capture (and hold) users' attention with an engaging narrative. Karla Cook, Hubspot
Chatbots help people find the product they are looking for faster and more efficiently, and it can even help you get the best fit for your body type and your complexion. One of the most advanced applications of late is Sephora’s chatbot. Sephora recently deployed an intelligent helper that can recommend the best product for your skin color based on a picture you send to it.
Imagine this type of intelligent technology when applied to outdoor gear. A consumer will be able to upload body size information and a full-body picture to get a visual of the best gear to fit them. “Does the size actually match?” “Does this model fit me well?” These are questions that plague the minds of online shoppers but smart enough bots can provide the answers or at least point the consumer in the right direction.
They can even suggest the best possible outdoors experience by asking simple questions like level of fitness, desired duration and preferred level of difficulty. With enough information anything is possible!
And do you know what the best part is? Creating chatbots and AI solution becomes increasingly easy and cost-efficient. There are platforms like Slack and Facebook Messenger that are not that hard to use and allow you to create bots that match the needs of your business and the expectations of your customers to perfection.
Some brands already seem to be getting the balance right. A bot needs to capture a user's attention quickly and display a healthy curiosity about their new acquaintance, but too much curiosity can easily push them into creepy territory and turn people off. They have to display more than a basic knowledge of human conversational patterns, but they can't claim to be an actual human
Check out the visual story below and see the limitless ways in which AI can enhance the human experience. While you are at it, check out the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing for the Outdoor Industry by our outdoor industry marketing company.
Our guest author is Karthik Reddy, Community Manager at www.16best.net. He is the author of India’s Number 1 travel blog. He has an MBA in computer science. He has taken a breathtaking journey around the world. He is applying his outdoor travel and work experience to develop information that inspires others to be successful in the digital space. He can be reached at karthik@leandigital.co.
