Next best action uses information such as past purchases, behaviors, preferences about a customer to identify the most relevant products, promotions, pricing and channels that will prompt a purchase by the customer. Not only are the recommendations extremely relevant, but are served in a manner that is likely to appeal to customer, cutting through the noise of advertising.

Retailers with siloed data systems find it hard to adopt a customer-centric next best action marketing strategy. Different functions hold customer data related to marketing, sales, customer support, and then there are different systems for managing email campaigns, social media reachout, POS, clientelling, phone marketing etc.

For retailers, it is imperative to bring this data together to understand who their customers are at the core and apply analytics to come up with personalized recommendations that engage customers contextually.

With a modern next best action engine, retail marketers can become a value-adding advisor to their customers, drive customer engagement and increase sales.