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AI Driven Marketing Or Marketing Through AI!

AI today is enabling businesses to build and execute more human-like, innovative marketing tactics that may delight customers and win them over as staunch brand champions. This raises the question of whether marketers are prepared to modify their marketing strategies to keep up with AI technology as it develops and advances

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Marketers are already observing the potential effects of AI on their marketing initiatives, illustrating the marketing implications of these potent new technologies. Because of its effectiveness and accuracy in data analysis, as well as its ability to support a wide range of smart device features, AI technology is gaining popularity. A wide range of commercial enterprises and industries are beginning to rely on this sophisticated technology to provide the highest level of customer service and satisfaction rates. Thanks to AI, digital marketers now have access to the insights they need to create and manage successful marketing initiatives. 

The many ways AI is benefitting marketing

When marketers have a deeper understanding of their target market, they can use this information to create customised marketing strategies that will communicate with their customers on a psychographic level and reach them at the correct time and place. Some of the ways AI makes this possible are:

Trend forecasting and real-time predictive modelling

For the majority of businesses, understanding trends is a tremendous challenge. Marketers can more accurately predict future events by employing real-time models built with AI and machine learning. Under Armour, a sports apparel company combines user data from its Record app. Through this data, the brand has the ability to offer relevant training advice and lifestyle changes based on the gathered data. 

Bespoke customer experience

Brands must quickly evolve to capture the emerging digital consumer, moving from a traditional customer model to one focused on the online experience. To reach this next generation of customers with personalised experiences, brands can tap into the power of automation, machine learning, AI, and segmentation to increase brand awareness, change perception, improve web traffic, and grow sales. Personalisation has always been a key part of the customer experience at Starbucks, with the ability to customise drinks for your individual taste. The company now processes this data using predictive analytics to send clients personalised marketing communications, such as recommendations when they approach their local retailers and discounts meant to raise their average spending. Customers may also place orders directly from their phones using voice commands thanks to an AI-powered virtual barista service available on the app.

Futuristic audience analytics

Large amounts of data may be analysed using AI and ML to find patterns, which can help marketers understand the data and their potential clients. It offers a perception of the intent, interest, and behaviour of actual consumers. AI can handle immense scale and function with low latency, or less delay, because it uses real-time data. This is what contributes to realising AI's full potential. Nike recently introduced a new platform that let users create bespoke trainers. This is a fantastic sales tactic that also gathers a tonne of valuable information that machine learning algorithms may use to build new products and send tailored recommendations and advertising messages to customers. 

Increased capacity to detect preferences and patterns

Machine learning techniques are accustomed to huge data sets that can identify preferences as well as patterns in the data. Connecting your marketing to the consumer and individual is a crucial step, and consent is the key here. Most customers, when surveyed, genuinely favour more customised experiences. Customers must participate in the discussion and give marketers permission to use their data for the reasons indicated in order to present them with more relevant items that match their interests. For example, global retailer Amazon now uses artificial intelligence to drive dynamic pricing – reducing prices to elicit more sales when needed, and increasing prices when demand is high. The algorithm enables optimal sales and revenue automatically.

What marketers need to do to harness the benefits of AI

AI technology combined with marketing tactics will assist marketers in developing new levels of consumer engagement that are easier to carry out and more immediate. The increased expectations of consumers will present brands with new difficulties as well as possibilities. Marketers can now fully appreciate the opportunities presented by personalisation and relevance. They may optimise them while they are in motion, in real time, taking into consideration all the data they have at their disposal, including their purchase history and contextual relevance. However, this implies that they will have to collaborate with thousands of planners at once. For many, this might be a very difficult task. It's crucial to pay attention to data quality. 

A large amount of data is required by sophisticated AI systems built on neural networks and deep learning. As a result, gathering a lot of data is crucial. However, marketers cannot sacrifice data quality in the sake of gathering a lot of data.

AI systems have a hard time finding significant patterns in noisy or inaccurately measured data. As a result, it will be nearly hard to establish accurate projections on which to build marketing plans. Data quality is so crucial. Therefore, before using any data in business choices, marketers need to ensure that it has been accurately measured and fully recorded in addition to gathering as many data points as is practical. The only way to maximise the potential of AI analytical tools is to do this.

The introduction of AI is also bringing automation to new heights, which is excellent news for executives who need to make decisions because it will free up their time. Marketers may now intelligently automate routine, easy processes to free up more time for activities that require human concentration and involvement. 

Additionally, as consumers become increasingly digital, marketers and sales teams may spend more time on face-to-face contacts with clients, which is actually becoming of the biggest significance. Customers' own smart AI-powered products and devices are helping them become more accustomed to automation.

Therefore, the human component of a business' relationship with a consumer is taking on more significance. With their time "freed up," marketers may concentrate on engaging in human connections with their target audiences and clients.

They may also identify new methods to tell brand stories, develop new media channels, and more by using AI and machine intelligence. This may ultimately have the ability to raise the standard of advertising's creative work as a whole, which is once again an intriguing possibility. Here, marketers will need to be more digitally literate and have a better understanding of AI and machine learning than they do now. Additionally, marketers must place more focus on choices that demand original thought and human interaction to create a deeper and more meaningful customer relationship.

With regard to technologies like AI and machine learning, there is a lot going on in the marketing industry. Marketers must look at this technology in a wider context than just data analytics. It's time to stop just giving in to the constant flow of technological innovation and start thinking about this technology in terms of what consumers actually need. It is a good idea to invest in AI, but make sure the innovation is customer-driven, value-driven, and purpose-based. When making an investment in AI, marketers must first recognise the immense potential of the technology. Only then will they be able to shape marketing and gain consumer trust in this technology.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house. Unless otherwise noted, the author is writing in his/her personal capacity. They are not intended and should not be thought to represent official ideas, attitudes, or policies of any agency or institution.


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Magazine 17 June 2023

Amit Tiwari

The author is the Global Head of Marketing Demand Centre of Tata Consulting Services, Amit leads MarTech strategy and operations to support the business and marketing objectives. For over 21 years, Amit Tiwari has proved a key thought leader in the MarTech space. He understands and adapts technology faster and is also keen on experimenting and exploring new technology and new ventures in marketing.

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