How Harley-Davidson Used AI to Increase New York Sales Leads
How Harley-Davidson Used Artificial Intelligence to Increase New York Sales Leads by 2,930%







	

			
		

	


		

And it led to more revenue and more jobs.
		
	

		



	May 30, 2017


	

			
				




	




	
	
		
			
				
						
	
	

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		It was winter in New York City, and Asaf Jacobi’s Harley-Davidson dealership was selling only one or two motorcycles a week. It wasn’t enough. A chance meeting led Jacobi to try out a new AI-driven marketing platform that autonomously optimizes marketing campaigns. That weekend Jacobi sold 15 motorcycles — almost twice his all-time summer weekend sales record. How? By analyzing existing customer data to isolate the defining characteristics and behaviors of high-value customers, the system identified “lookalikes” who resembled these past customers, and then used these lookalikes to test new marketing campaigns. The test results helped the algorithm predict which ad copy and visuals would resonate with the customers most likely to buy; for example, an email urging customers to “Call now” outperformed an email asking them to “Buy now” by 447%. Once it determined what was working and what wasn’t, the system autonomously chose and scaled the most effective marketing campaigns — and Jacobi’s business tripled. The spike in demand left him with a new dilemma: how to hire a bunch of new employees, fast.

	

					
						
	
	
		
			
				
						
	
	

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								It was winter in New York City and Asaf Jacobi’s Harley-Davidson dealership was selling one or two motorcycles a week. It wasn’t enough.
						

					
				

				
		

						


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						Brad Power is a consultant who helps organizations that must make faster changes to their products, services, and systems in order to compete with start-ups and leading software companies.
					
		
	
	

	
	
		
			
				
						
	
	

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			Digital Intelligence  Course
			Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Digital Intelligence . Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
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