Artificial Intelligence in Marketing

Introduction

The fourth industrial revolution Industry 4.0 looks to automate traditional manufacturing and industrial practices (Schwab, 2016). A wide range of industries have already adopted the use of the internet and technology to enhance their practices and now such tech is itself evolving through machine learning and Artificial intelligence. Marketing is one such field that has heavily adopted technology to enhance broadened reaches and latitudes and through the adoption of AI companies can be able to position their products and services more effectively for maximum returns. According to Marketing evolution (2021) organizations and companies are rapidly adopting intelligent technology such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to impact operational efficiencies, enhance productivity and profitability as well as to improve customer experience and service. Such intelligent platforms are able to intrinsically analyze consumer behavior and market characteristics to provide a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the target audience. In addition the data and information gathered can be used to drive conversion while at the same time reducing the marketing team’s workload. Moreover, businesses often seek marketing dissertation help to better understand these technologies and their applications in real-world scenarios. However what is AI in marketing and how exactly does it help the crucial business process to provide organization with an advantage in the market? And how can marketers adopt to benefit their businesses and organizations?

Artificial Intelligence Marketing

Artificial intelligence marketing refers to a method of using consumer data and AI concepts such as machine learning to anticipate the customers’ next move and improve the customer journey and experience (Moreno, 2019). According to a 2018 study by McKinsey analyzing up to 400 advanced use cases of AI in business activities and processes, marketing has the most to gain from Artificial Intelligence of all the major business functions (Davenport, Guha and Grewal, 2021). Some of the core activities in the field of marketing include studying and understanding consumer demands and needs and matching them with an organizations products or service to inspire sales. Marketing also involves persuading people to buy a product or services and in both of these activities AI can offer significant advancements and improvement. According to Moreno (2019) Artificial intelligence marketing utilizes intelligent technologies to make automated decisions on the basis of data collection and analysis.

In addition to personally identifiable information (PII) which a large majority of companies and organizations operating online require and often collect from their customers, behavioral data by the customers through their interaction with company websites and product alongside their purchasing habits, occupation and economic trends, AI can provide enough information analysis through Big data analysis for companies to be able to intensify their marketing efforts through target marketing. For instance AI tools apply an individual’s profile and data to learn how best to communicate with them in a way that they will understand and pay attention to. It can then learn the individuals schedule including the most convenient times to reach them and send them tailored marketing messages at the right time without any intervention from the marketing team (Davenport, Guha and Grewal, 2021). This ensures consistency and efficiency in marketing and a guaranteed improvement in marketing outcomes such as increased sales and revenues. In the current economic market AI is used to augment marketing teams or to take care of tactical tasks that require less human nuances. Marketing evolution (2021) highlight some of the areas of AI marketing to include data analysis, media buying, automated decision making, real time personalization and natural language processing.

Marketing Strategists Using AI in Marketing

As a result of the nature of the current product and services market with significant competition and a wide range of substitution products and services, marketing plays a significant role for companies and organizations to be able to reach and service their customers effectively. However according to Jade (2021) up to 76% of customers expect companies and business organizations to understand and meet their needs and expectations. This further raises the stakes in marketing leading to the introduction of intelligent technology in AI marketing to impact data analysis. With AI marketing marketers can be able to analyze huge amounts of data from various platforms including social media, emails and the internet in a relatively faster time thereby enabling the business to understand and deliver on consumer needs effectively. Marketing strategist should as such adopt AI marketing to be able to better understand their clientele and customers and in so doing remain competitive and relevant within the market. Some of the other benefits derived from AI marketing and additional reasons for adoption of AI marketing by marketers include Automation, error minimization, cost savings, increased ROI, increased personalization as well as smarter and faster decision making (Jade, 2021).

Automation

AI can be used to automate consumer interactions and marketing techniques. Brenner (2020) advances that the more quickly and accurately a company is able to convert data into actionable insight and actually act on it to reach the customer the better their marketing technique is and can result to significantly positive results. AI enables marketing tasks to be executed automatically through various features such as AI in Email marketing automation. Based on Jade (2021) AI is used to generate and optimize content in email formats that are friendly and relevant to the respective recipients. These messages are then sent at regular intervals to market and remind customers of any offers on the products and services being supplied or even notify them of a new product that they may wish to try out. In addition, AI can also be used in social media automation to increase customer engagement and optimize content for maximum reach.

Improved Personalization

Traditional marketing techniques such as the media and billboards are currently less effective in drawing in customers. According to Brenner (2020) this is because customers expect companies to tailor specific messages to their location, demographics and/or interests, as such, a wide range of customers will not engage with and may go as far as ignoring non-personalized marketing. AI enables marketers to personalize their communications on an individual level rather than the generic target groups that marketers relied on in the past. AI predicts customer behavior based on intelligence learned from previous brand interactions enabling marketers to send content and communications that have a higher chance of turning to conversions and impacting company sales.

Cost Savings

With AI marketers can work more quickly and effectively to achieve a significant cost reduction and increased revenue. Further with automated and personalized features available though AI adoption, companies and organizations can be able to cut down on individual personnel and resources and relocate them to areas where they are more productive (Targetable, 2019). In so doing the business can significantly cut down on the costs of the marketing team to enhance adequate business development.

Minimizing Errors

AI will also help the company and marketing department to minimize on unnecessary and potentially costly errors. The most significant areas that AI can be used to minimize on human error is with respect to data security, Humans are prone to errors which can be quite costly in data security given that breach of company data may lead to the stealing of their business processes and company business secrets. Jade (2021) asserts that AI can help in data security by learning, adapting and reacting to the cyber security threats that a business may face at any given time.

Smarter and Faster Decision making and Increased ROI

AI helps conduct data much faster than human intervention, guarantees the accuracy, security, and enables your team to focus on strategic initiatives to make effective AI-powered campaigns. With AI, marketers can track real time tactical data regarding the performance of a product in the market and be able to make the right decisions within the moment without having to wait for a later time when the campaign is done. Also, AI will enable marketers to determine their next course of action based on the data-driven real time reports leading to much smarter and more objective decisions that impacts the success of the company. As a result of the smarter and timely decisions made, marketing automation, minimized costs and human errors as well as improved personalization of the messages communicated to customers in the process of marketing, businesses will experience an increased return on Investment which enhances business productivity and success. These benefits highlight the main reasons why marketers should adopt AI marketing especially in the current highly dynamic market with aggressive and extensive competition.

How AI marketing can help in Product Positioning

Despite only being at the beginning stages of its development and usage in business and marketing, there are already multiple ways with which AI can be used by a company to leverage their products and position their services in the market for maximum returns. Karlson (2017) highlight up to eight different ways that companies can adopt AI in marketing to position their products and services within the market for maximum returns including AI-powered content creation, content creation chat bots, Sales forecasting AI enhanced PPC advertising, AI-powered customer insights, Speech recognition, dynamic pricing and many more.

AI-powered customer insights

AI enhances the process of data collection enabling companies to have a significant dataset for which to analyze and derive consumer behavior and needs. According to Jade (2021) The customer insights derived by AI for business provides a valuable resource that the business can leverage to better understand the customers and make consumer centered decisions. Based on the large amount of data collected by the company on customer interactions, geographic preferences, purchase behavior and referral sources, marketers can develop consumer personas and be able to match their products and services with these personas. Such customer insights enable adequate and more effective consumer segmentation which allows a company to position their products and services in locations with the maximum turnover for them and as such increased profitability.

Content Creation Chat bots

Another way that marketers can use AI to position their products and services is through content creation chat bots. Based on Karlson (2017) a wide range of industries including heath and insurance sectors have adopted content creation chat bots to enhance their customer support services. The chat bots include AI which act as individuals and engage customers to be able to understand their needs and deliver on their wants. Content creation chat bots can be programmed to market products and services to customers who may need them based on the interactions it has with the customers. This not only enables the company to market their products and services directly to the customer which is adequate product positioning, but it also provides an opportunity for immediate response on the product and services enabling the receipt of valuable feedback and instant product and service sales.

Sales Forecasting

Being aware of the next step and how to take it is a significant advantage for businesses and one that will help them be able to meet and satisfy consumer wants and needs. AI application in marketing allow marketers to be able to analyze a large amount of data ranging from individual contact information and purchase practices to be able to predict their future needs and demands. With this information on future customer needs, a company can tailor their products to serve that particular niche and then position it directly in the path of the customers likely to require the product or service. AI forecasting as such enables companies to be able to properly position their products and services for increased revenue and success.

Content Creation

AI powered tools and programs can help in the process of developing adequate marketing content for an organizations products or services. While the core of marketing content is routed in human experiences and creativity, AI tools can be adopted to maximize the content team’s efficiency through automation of necessary tasks such as email content and personalized messages and reports or even social media creation. According to Jade (2021) some AI tools like Rocco can even be adopted to create fresh social media content that enhances the positioning of a company’s products and services and increase customer engagement for a much better returns rate.

AI Automated Image Recognition

A wide range of companies including Google and Face book already use image recognition to optimize their users experiences and enhance increased engagement. Image recognition can also be significantly adopted in marketing to synchronize online content with customer store visits. According to Hosalikar (2021) multiple stores trace their customers in-store visit through facial recognition software and link to their social media profiles to better understand their needs and be able to provide better shopping experiences for them. Marketers and businesses can also combine image recognition technology with AI-managed push notifications to send real-time offers, discounts, and personalized messages to customers individually. In this way companies can adequately position their products and services directly to individuals who may need them.

Conclusion

Aside from being the current technology wave that is significantly changing the business landscape, marketers should adopt Artificial Intelligence marketing for the multiple benefits that are afforded by it. From task automation, message personalization, cost saving, smarter and faster decision making and minimized potential errors, Artificial intelligence in marketing is guaranteed to afford a company a significant increase in revenue and returns and impact consumer satisfaction and retention. Marketers can also use AI in a wide range of ways to be able to position their products and services effectively within the market. The big data analysis capability for instance allows marketers to learn insightful information regarding customers, their needs, as well as their changing preferences. With this information companies can adequately tailor their products to meet their consumer needs and position them optimally for increased engagement and sales among customers who are already in search for them. Ultimately, AI marketing despite only just being adopted by companies and businesses across the world is guaranteed to enhance the profitability of any organization that chooses to adopt it.

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References

Brenner, M., 2020. Top Benefits & Uses of AI in Digital Marketing. [online] Marketing Insider Group. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Davenport, T., Guha, A. and Grewal, D., 2021. How to Design an AI Marketing Strategy. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Hosalikar, S., 2021. Top Benefits of AI in Digital Marketing - Great Learning. [online] GreatLearning Blog: Free Resources what Matters to shape your Career!. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Jade, 2021. AI Marketing: What, Why and How to use Artificial Intelligence in Marketing. [online] Mageplaza. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Karlson, K., 2017. 8 Ways Intelligent Marketers Use Artificial Intelligence. [online] Content Marketing Institute. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Marketing Evolution, 2021. AI Marketing: Components, Benefits, and Challenges | Marketing Evolution. [online] Marketingevolution.com. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Moreno, L., 2019. 10 Impressive Examples of AI in Marketing. [online] Social Media Strategies Summit Blog. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Schwab, K., 2016. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means and how to respond. [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Targetable, 2019. 7 Benefits of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing. [online] Targetable.com. Available at: [Accessed 2 November 2021].