If you want customers to share, give them something back

Brands can stay close to customers by giving them a useful reason to share their needs directly. A relevant recommendation, a helpful profile match, a better prepared adviser or a chance to win can make answering worthwhile. The benefit should be clear before the first question and delivered afterwards.

What a website visit leaves out

A customer can explain exactly what they want to an AI assistant before they ever visit your website.

Imagine a parent planning a holiday:

“We want a week in Italy with two young children. Somewhere quiet near the beach, with a short airport transfer and very little planning. What would you recommend?”

If that family later visits your Italy page, you can see their interest in the destination. You may never learn that avoiding a long transfer matters just as much as being near the beach.

We call this The Preference Gap: you can see what customers do without knowing what they need.

The gap existed before AI assistants. Customers have always researched elsewhere. AI conversations give them another place to explain their needs in detail, while the businesses that could help them may only see the visit that follows.

You cannot assume those conversations will reach you. You can, however, give customers a reason to share their needs when you meet them.

Why would someone answer?

Businesses have plenty of reasons to ask questions. They want to understand their audience, improve recommendations, and make sales conversations more relevant.

Customers have their own priorities. They may be trying to choose a holiday, understand an unfamiliar product, or find someone who can advise them.

“Help us understand our customers” asks them to do something for you. “Find a holiday that suits your family” explains what they can get from answering.

That benefit needs to be clear from the start. It also needs to follow through. If you ask whether a short airport transfer matters, use the answer to suggest suitable holidays.

Give people something they want

The right benefit depends on what the person is there to do.

A product recommendation

When the options are unfamiliar or difficult to compare, a few relevant questions can help someone narrow their choice.

For the family planning a holiday, questions about pace, activities, and transfers could lead to suitable options. They share what matters because it helps them choose.

A profile that helps them understand their options

Sometimes people need help understanding their own preferences before choosing a product.

A guide could match someone with a travel profile, such as a traveller who prefers a relaxed pace and a flexible itinerary. The result becomes useful when it explains what that means for their choice and suggests options to explore.

A label on its own gives them little to work with.

A call with an adviser who is prepared

For decisions that need a conversation, the benefit can be a better starting point.

A customer could share their budget, priorities, and what they are unsure about before requesting a call. The adviser can then prepare relevant suggestions, rather than asking them to explain everything again.

Tell the customer how their answers will help: “Share what you are looking for, so our adviser can prepare for your call.”

A chance to win

A competition can give people a reason to participate, including those who are still browsing.

Make the prize and participation requirements clear. Remember that entering tells you someone wants a chance to win. It does not, by itself, tell you that they are ready to buy.

Their stated preferences may still help you understand their interests. If you need to know whether they are considering a purchase, ask about that separately.

Meet customers where it makes sense

These interactions can happen beyond a product page. A Roccai guide might be shared in a newsletter, through social media or via a QR code at an event.

The invitation should fit the situation. Someone at a travel fair may welcome help finding their next destination. Someone comparing expensive products may prefer a call with an adviser.

Roccai’s interactive guides let businesses create these experiences while collecting preferences and stated intentions. Customers get something from taking part, and the business gains information it can use in recommendations, communication and follow-up.

Use the answers afterwards

If the family tells you a short transfer matters, keep that detail in the recommendation and any later conversation.

Across responses, you may also notice a recurring need. If many families ask about transfers, making accurate transfer information easier to find could help future visitors too.

Start with one customer decision. Work out what would make answering worthwhile, ask what you need to deliver that benefit, and decide how your team will use the answers afterwards.