The rise of machine customers: Navigating brand loyalty in the age of AI

In an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving, businesses are facing a new frontier: machine customers. As Gartner aptly points out:

 "Machine customers and machine workers are on the rise, prompting a rethink of key business operations. Just as workers will find new ways to evaluate performance and value, new machine customers will need their own new channels to acquire, access and use capabilities. Most people are familiar with printers that order their own ink refills, or cars that can alert dealers when they need to come in for service. But how does a business capture the attention of machines to use their services? With people, well-understood marketing and advertising mechanisms can guide them to the proper channels. But how does one market or advertise to machines? The problem is imminently solvable but will require new channels to support the change."

Just when we thought we had mastered human personas and user journeys, we're faced with machines ordering their own parts. This shift presents a unique challenge: How do we market to entities that don't respond to traditional emotional appeal? It's a shift that requires new thinking and approaches to marketing and brand loyalty.

I have a few thoughts as to how we might face this challenge.

The enduring importance of brand and emotional appeal

While machines may be making purchasing decisions, it's important to remember that humans are still at the helm of programming these systems. This means that brand preference and emotional appeal continue to play a significant role, albeit in a more indirect manner.

Even when machines are able to program themselves, humans will have the ability to influence that programming through design and oversight, this humans will be able to influence machine systems with  their preferences, including brand loyalty. For instance, a company might program its AI procurement system to prioritize suppliers with a strong reputation for reliability or innovation. These preferences often stem from emotional connections to brands that have consistently delivered value.

Moreover, as AI systems become more sophisticated, they may be programmed to consider factors that humans deem important, such as a brand's reputation or its alignment with company values. This means that building a strong brand and fostering positive emotional connections remains crucial, even in a world of machine customers.

Beyond price: The importance of operational data

While price will always be a critical factor in purchasing decisions, it's far from the only consideration for machine customers. In fact, AI systems can be programmed to weigh a multitude of data points in their decision-making processes.

Operational initiatives beyond price can significantly influence machine purchasing decisions. For example:

- Sustainability: AI systems might be programmed to prioritize suppliers with strong environmental practices, helping the parent company meet its sustainability goals.

- Transparency: Machine customers could be set to favor businesses that provide clear, accessible data about their supply chains and manufacturing processes.

- Diversity: Companies might instruct their AI systems to support suppliers with strong diversity and inclusion practices.

By excelling in these areas, businesses can make themselves more attractive to machine customers, whose decision-making processes can be programmed to value these factors.

The human-machine feedback loop

It's important to recognize that while machines may be making immediate purchasing decisions, the ultimate goal is still to appeal to human end-users or stakeholders. This creates a feedback loop where machine decisions must ultimately satisfy human preferences and needs.

For instance, if a machine customer consistently chooses suppliers based purely on price, but this leads to quality issues that impact the end product, human operators will likely adjust the machine's decision-making parameters. This means that businesses must still focus on delivering value that resonates with human needs and preferences, even when selling to machine customers.

Moreover, as businesses strive to meet ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals to appeal to human stakeholders, these priorities will inevitably be programmed into their machine purchasing systems. This creates an indirect but powerful link between human values and machine purchasing decisions.

In conclusion, the rise of machine customers doesn't signal the end of brand importance or the need for businesses to differentiate themselves beyond price. Instead, it presents an opportunity for companies to highlight their values, operational excellence, and ability to meet both machine and human needs in innovative ways. By understanding this new landscape and adapting their strategies accordingly, businesses can position themselves for success in this exciting new frontier of commerce.