The martech landscape evolves and develops at a rapid-fire pace. Not too long ago, marketers were dealing with the dot com boom, systems of intelligence, and the dawn of mobile messaging. Today, marketers are at the beginning of a new era in marketing: AI, arguably the most revolutionary step forward yet.
While generative AI has quickly ingratiated itself into popular use, its trepidation around marketing still remains. Using a free open-source tool ad hoc isn’t much of a commitment, but investing in a fully-fledged, proprietary AI tool is quite another. It’s taken years for many brands to build their voice and market presence, and handing the reins to an autonomous tool can feel like an unnecessary risk.
But when marketers can cut through the hype and the horror stories surrounding AI, they’ll find that the solution already has a proven track record for success, making the investment a strategic choice rather than mere guesswork. Discover key ways marketers are already using AI to power their business, and how the right solution can overcome common pain points.
Tried-and-True AI Use Cases
While generative AI's debut is more recent, AI in and of itself is not new. In fact, earlier forms of AI have already been incorporated into popular tech tools that marketers are very familiar with. Processes such as consumer behavior analysis and data insights—such as product recommendations, in some instances—SEO, or even spell-checking tools all use facets of artificial intelligence.
Newer use cases for AI such as customer-facing content is no longer unexplored, either. Over a quarter of marketers have already dipped their toes into AI-generated content, clearing the way forward for other marketers to follow suit and embrace a new level of efficiency.
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Key Enhancement: Campaign Management and Optimization
As AI has already permeated many popular martech tools, marketers can confidently translate their experience to enhance other processes. The task in highest demand? Campaign management and optimization.
Campaign management has already been streamlined for 50% of marketers, who have traded in piles of spreadsheets and manual data management for the ease and simplicity of AI. Not only is planning, execution, and analytics sped up by AI, but campaigns are optimized through tools like content decisioning and personalized deployment to power the utmost relevance.
Another campaign game-changer that comes from harnessing AI is the ability to discard a rigid campaign calendar for personalized messaging that’s truly scalable. By stepping away from one-size-fits all messaging and using AI’s automated personalization, marketers get the double win of engaging content for customers and more bandwidth for their creative strategizing.
AI-Powered Solutions for Prevalent Pain Points
While each brand has its own unique challenges, the right use of AI can ultimately save every marketer time and resources while boosting revenue. Take a look at three common challenges marketers face, and how AI can alleviate the burden:
Balancing Long-term Strategy with Short-Term Trends
Marketers know it shouldn’t be the case, but often short- and long-term goals seem to conflict. For example a promotion or discount might boost today’s sales, but overuse of the tactic will ultimately erode customer loyalty.
To mitigate this tug-of-war, marketers can lean on AI’s content decisioning capabilities to send personalized messaging that both resonates with customers today and nurtures them towards greater loyalty—for example, nudging them to purchase from a wider variety of product categories. AI can expertly balance short- and long-term goals, taking data activation to a level that simply isn’t possible manually.
Quickly Adapting to Customer Preferences
Customer data that’s relevant today may not be tomorrow. With often countless customers on file, it becomes clear that improved agility is an all-important task for marketers.
Automation is the key to overcoming this challenge. Whether it’s through APIs and integrated martech solutions or AI-powered personalization, leaving data to be automatically ingested and activated is the only way marketers will keep up with all of their customers.
Marketers looking to solve this issue should start by looping real-time data into their messaging. While AI isn’t necessary for simple real-time alerts—think of flight statuses or order pick-up notifications—the solution is necessary for more nuanced, loyalty-driving messaging. For example, AI can automatically serve up products that are relevant to the customer before they’ve even expressed explicit interest.
AI is already enhancing your current tools and strategies, offering immediate gains. Marketers that choose to take a step out of their comfort zone by applying their AI expertise to their most pressing pain points will ultimately see even greater success.
AI Isn’t New, But Its Potential Is Boundless
AI isn’t completely uncharted territory for marketers, as it’s already speeding up workflows and driving engagement. This makes taking the next step of further AI adoption a clear, no-brainer choice. To discover other incredible applications of AI in marketing, explore the related resources below.
