What is the next best action for each customer, and when?
The short answer
A next best action pairs each customer with the product they are most likely to buy next and the moment they are likely to buy it. Score category propensity from their history and similar customers' paths, estimate timing from their usual repurchase gap, then trigger the message just before they are due.
Why it matters
Generic campaigns reach customers at random points in their buying cycle, so many messages arrive too early or too late. A customer-level next action puts the right product in front of each person when they are ready, which lifts response without adding send volume or discounts.
The question to ask
Copy this into Lexi as written.
What the answer looks like
Illustrative output on sample data
Illustrative example: how Lexi answers this for a beauty retailer with 120,000 active customers. It ranks each customer's likeliest next category and sets timing from their own repurchase gap.
- Uses the category average for customers with fewer than three orders.
- Sends a reminder with no discount to customers who usually pay full price.
- Adds an offer only for customers with a history of responding to promotions.
What the data shows
9,600 customers are due this week: 5,100 for moisturizer at a 52-day gap, 2,300 for shampoo refills at 38 days and 2,200 across smaller categories.
What it means
70% of the group can be reached without an offer, which keeps margin on routine purchases.
What to do
Send this week's reminders and review response by category after two weeks.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between next best action and next best offer?
Next best offer usually means the product to recommend. Next best action is broader. It covers the product, the timing, the channel and whether to send anything at all. For some customers the best action is a reminder, for others a cross-sell, and for a few it is to wait.
Why does the next best product alone miss the sale?
The right product at the wrong time gets ignored. A customer who bought moisturizer last week will not buy another today, however well the recommendation fits. Pair every product score with a timing estimate, so the message lands when the customer is ready to repurchase.
How much purchase history does a next best action need?
Three or more orders give a reliable personal repurchase gap. Customers with fewer orders can borrow timing and their likely next category from similar customers who started the same way. Update the estimate after every purchase, since each new order sharpens both the product score and the timing.