First things first, consider this: 1. Revenue generation from online ads now exceeds that of newspaper, television and desktop advertising. 2. Decision makers now go online to both research and purchase for business as much as they do privately. The B2B marketer cannot afford to overlook their company’s digital presence, branding, engagement, and communications, therefore… full stop.
You might reckon we’re not telling you anything new there, but if we then introduce the term, “AI”, you might also start to wonder if your competition knows something you don’t.
Big data and AI
Canny businesses are now collecting, collating, and analysing every byte of precious data coming into their possession. Customer engagement, fleeting clicks, shares, likes, purchases… and abandoned conversations. All these interactions are tiny pieces of the huge picture B2B marketers need to be able to strategise, react, and plan.
That’s where AI comes to the fore. Big data is called that for a reason. It’s a HUGE amount of information that’s just sitting there as an amorphous virtual mass. Nobody can make proper sense of it, let alone glean new golden nuggets of information, on their own. They need computer power, intelligent algorithms, and the ability for those algorithms to learn, adjust and develop without human intervention as they go.
From prediction to personalisation
This is where AI can really help B2B marketers excel. Understanding the journey each potential customer has travelled, marking each interaction and interpreting what it means, establishing how it has importance, and then predicting and anticipating what that individual is considering next… it’s the only way to provide them with the personalised experience they are seeking.
Recent consumer research reports are suggesting that up to 80% of B2B marketers believe AI will soon be turning their world upside down. The proactive ones are working on it now. They’re taking all this seemingly disconnected data, making sense of it, and gaining actionable insight. Not only are these marketers taking new and different steps forward, though, they’re doing it with confidence because their understanding of their customer has increased exponentially.
There’s a lot in it for customers too for B2B to sing about
When marketers have the power to truly understand their customers’ needs – at the moment they have those needs – those same customers become empowered to make smart informed decisions. A brand that helps ease the burden of research and decision making will absolutely reap rewards.
But that’s not the only bonus for the customer weary of being bombarded by information. Irritating popups and adverts will no longer have to jar their eyes. Irrelevant content can be minimised. Your brand can become meaningful at the moment it needs to be… no more jaded sighs will accompany its appearance.
Planning for future requirements with real time knowledge
Knowing where you customers are in their journey at any point in time has been a marketing mantra for years. However, being able to plan in adjustments to campaigns when shifts in behaviour are detected is a quantum leap forward for this. The tiniest shift in engagement can be detected and then reflected in a switch in content being displayed. And this won’t be a matter of doing a cycle, evaluating the results, and pressing the button again. The cycle will include the adjustments. Real time shifts in customer requirements will result in real time changes of their brand experience. That’s personalised marketing on steroids!
The impact of AI on the budget
The phenomenal learning power of an artificially intelligent system, and its ability to make adjustments, reduces the cost of human intervention considerably. An organisation turning to AI to aid in its B2B marketing will work more efficiently. Combine the brains of a human who has understanding of their customer’s psyche with the power of AI to apply that to big data, and your business will enjoy marketing heaven.
But content will still be king
But it does remain to be said that although AI is now being used to create content, we’d say for the time being this stunning technology is best used for delivery. Leave the content creators to do their job of creating unusual new ideas. Yes, AI can follow rules, write grammatically, and draw on subjects written in a multitude of places to create something new. But will be it engaging? Mediocre content doesn’t stand out, and won’t get your brand noticed. We believe therefore, the B2B marketer has a lot to look forward to in working with AI by their side. The B2B marketer will become a superb story teller. AI will spread the word…
