AI for Marketers: The Breadcrumbs to the Castle

Measurement and programmatic advertising were just the glimpses of data’s superpower that waits to be properly unleashed for marketers. AI makes this power jump many hops ahead. 

To know what a customer wants! Ah! The elixir for every marketer. Isn’t that what has kept so many brands awake and busy all these decades? But getting to the exact sweet spot of a customer’s needs or their precise pain points was always an evasive dream.

Not after Artificial Intelligence (AI). Yes, with the advent of artificially intelligent tools and platforms, now brands have a solid foothold on this dream.

In fact, as per a PwC study, 63% of consumers believe that AI can help in solving complex problems of modern society. As many as 62% are happy to share their data to help in relieving city traffic, and 57% are ready to do that for medical breakthroughs.

Then why not for better marketing? Customers will not mind sharing data if it fetches them simplicity, convenience and a personalized experience. Especially when as much as $62 billion is lost every year through poor customer service.

With AI, marketers will not just measure a customers’ behaviour and overt movements, but they can also tread deep into their mind – the corners where heaps of insights hide. This matters a lot when 36% of marketers feel their departments spend more time collecting information than executing it (Kelton Global Study: Marketer vs. Martech in 2020)

How? Thanks to the power of algorithms and reinforcement learning, now marketers can approach their prospects and customers with radical ways to understand them better.

They can now:

1) Gauge online customer behaviour and use this data for tweaking their advertising models better

2) Understand crucial walk-or-leave points on a customer’s digital journey by picking -up subtle signals

3) Get a peek into the non-digital journeys as well with a host of ambient, in-store, augmented and location-based tools

4) Apply real-time insights for bang-on persuasion and customer satisfaction

5) Elevate experiences in a personalised way by picking minute individual details, turn-ons and turn-offs that were hard to grasp earlier – and do this without spending buckets of money

6) Shape their marketing messages, imagery and brand in a way that adapts to a customer’s dynamic thought-processes

7) Leverage the vast gamut of voice-based and facial data that can be tapped easily and cost-effectively now with the help of AI assistants and sensors

8) Structure marketing strategies that are not set in stone but are fluid and customer-elastic

9) Drive new ways of customer acquisition, retention and engagement

10) Assess competitive elements with a smarter lens

11) Get closer to new wants and gaps in the market where innovation can inject strong advantages in the future

12) Bolster one’s bond with the customer by bringing sentience in even the coldest-looking products

13) Expand their revenue factor by embedding new service avenues in hard-form products

14) Multiply connection opportunities

15) Sell, cross-sell and up-sell without second-guessing

16) Interpret emotions better by getting the ability to analyse not just structured and boxed data but also social media data and unstructured nuggets of insights that are strewn all around

17) Expand customer service continuum in financially-smart ways by using bots

18) Use precision marketing and programmatic advertising in a way that removes vague areas and solidifies accuracy

19) Anticipate customer’s next move or even thought with advanced models that are constantly crunching new data and making sense of the noise

20) Apply predictive marketing with better confidence and lesser waste. As many as 98% of marketers who use AI and predictive modelling tools have reported marketing improvements as per the Kelton Global Study

21) Amplify campaign performance and ROI

22) Arm customers with data that they can put to use too

No wonder, 81% of marketers using AI for personalisation, have shown how it has exceeded their revenue goals by at least 30% (the Kelton Global study). The latest Adobe Digital Trends Report 2020 also reveals that 54% of APAC businesses are either using or planning to use AI and Machine Learning (ML) tools. The report that surveyed 13,000 marketing, advertising, e-commerce, creative and IT professionals, also indicates that APAC businesses are committed to bridge the Customer Experience (CX) gap in their IT budgets – with 34% businesses planning to invest in ML and AI. The global number for investing in AI and ML stands at 25% as per this report.

As you can see, if data was bread, AI gives the wandering marketer a nose to smell these chunks in a better way. Now, one can find a way even in a dark forest. AI helps you get to the exact path – without too much trouble.

The Decade of AI in Marketing

The next decade rightly belongs to AI. But marketers need to learn to use it, initiate AI-driven projects or even lead them. The IIM Calcutta | TalentSprint’s AI-Powered Marketing Programme can help marketers set foot in the right direction. Interaction with mentors and collaboration with marketing peers are valuable modes of learning in an ecosystem which is still evolving. It helps marketers use AI to influence, guide or take marketing decisions related to product positioning, competition analysis, customer sentiment analysis to enhance marketing yield and customer experience.