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Suits, creatives and robots? Why AI means marketers have the opportunity to be more human

Technology & Data

Suits, creatives and robots? Why AI means marketers have the opportunity to be more human

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Far from threatening our jobs and our planet, Kevin Doyle says AI will help marketers escape data crunching hell.

Kevin Doyle 2017 copyWith emerging technologies such as Automation and AI shifting what we formerly thought of as sci-fi to real life, marketers that find a way to use these new technologies to their advantage will be more likely to find future success.

Automation and AI are beginning to free marketers from time-constraining data analysis so that they’re free to focus on the human-elements of their role. The automation of large parts of the customer journey and the ability of AI to augment the decision making of marketers means they can spend more time on being creative and aligning the business on customer experience. And they can do so confidently, knowing that their actions are supported by accurate data at the backend.

The marketers that grab new and emerging technology by the horns, will be the ones who generate leads for the sales department, and meaningful insights for the customer service teams.

There is power in creativity – and in being more human – and it’s these skills that will guarantee the future success of marketers.

 

The customer journey is the Holy Grail

Our recent ‘State of Marketing’ report found that Australia’s top performing marketers have adopted customer journeys, with nearly three quarters (68%) of marketers agreeing that a connected customer journey across all touchpoints and channels positively impacts overall customer engagement.

The best way to scale customer engagement across their journey is to harness technology like AI to manage the repeatable processes; providing marketers more time to think creatively and innovatively, and backed by data.

The same amount of marketers (67%) agree a connected customer journey across all touchpoints and channels positively impacts revenue growth. It’s never been more important for marketers to invest in customer journeys to deliver personalised one-to-one experiences.

 

AI can help Marketers on their quest

More than half of marketers (58%) that use AI say it’s essential in helping company create one-to-one marketing journeys across every touchpoint, and top teams are more likely to extensively use marketing analytics and predictive intelligence, among other tools.

These marketers have found that the power of AI gives their teams the time to identify the best content and experience to engage with customers, versus finding the engagement points themselves. In addition, these intelligence tools are making it much easier for marketers to track customer behaviour and use insights to create highly personalised interactions.

It’s not just emerging technology that is helping marketers remain relevant. Established channels like email are now experiencing a fresh wave of personalisation possibilities with predictive intelligence and data science.Top marketing teams are taking advantage of automation tactics like triggered emails, and are also more likely to segment and target emails to reach customers with personalised content.

Now that we’ve moved past the ‘robots will take your jobs and maybe even start a world apocalypse’ conversation, it’s time to focus on how AI gives all marketers a competitive edge.

 

Let the technology free you

Marketers don’t need to harness more technology, they need to focus on the right technology. From data segmentation, to marketing automation, to predictive intelligence, the marketers that will find the most success are the ones that understand what’s available to them, and leverage what’s relevant. Our research found that top marketing teams are over two times more likely to say these tools are very effective at creating a cohesive customer journey.

Curiosity is key. Marketers need to try new things and explore what works. We’re now seeing early-adoption habits begin to pay-off for these high-performing marketers. Emerging marketing technology such as beacon technology, the IoT, podcasting, and wearables are just some examples of areas of opportunity for marketers. Among them, at least 82% of top performing marketers consider them very effective in building the customer journey.

For marketers who want to guarantee their success in the next 10 years, it’s essential that they begin to consider and harness advanced technology that will free them from a focus on data analysis. By automating data processes, marketers can confidently focus on what they do best – creating powerful, creative customer journeys. The numbers will take care of themselves.

 

Kevin Doyle is director of advertising technology at Salesforce JAPAC.

 

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Image copyright: studiostoks / 123RF Stock Photo

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