Artificial intelligence is no longer a buzzword. It has earned its place in the digital sales and marketing world. This is partly due to its ability to analyze, predict, and respond to large quantities of information in a matter of seconds. But also, as more companies are leaning into AI-powered marketing efforts, others are following suit.

Nearly every part of the marketing process can benefit from AI. So whether your focus is lead generation, content creation, or campaign optimization, using AI can improve your strategy. Curious to learn how? Below are three ways to use AI that will revolutionize your marketing approach.

1. Data-Driven Insights

One of the many benefits of utilizing AI technology is unlocking data-driven insights. You can tap into real data that will inform how you operate. So rather than guessing which months of the year will be busiest for you, you can know exactly when to ramp up. Or, you can forecast when demand surges will occur based on historical information and react preemptively. These examples are part of predictive analytics, the use of mathematical methods including artificial intelligence and machine learning to better predict the value of something in the future. 

Hawke points out that predictive analytics can be seen as a “roadmap for future actions.” Unlike traditional analytics, which tells businesses how they performed last month, predictive analytics suggests how you’ll perform next month. By analyzing patterns and prior performance metrics, you’re able to make more data-based decisions for your business.

Moreover, predictive analytics powered by AI can reduce costs, increase margins, and even reduce your environmental impact. It can also help you see which customers you might be at risk of losing. Knowing this information, you can use specific marketing techniques to re-engage and bring them back into your sales wheel. The more you use predictive analytics, the more you’ll learn about your business. And with this, the more you’ll be able to predict — rather than react — to various circumstances. 

2. Personalized Customer Experience  

Personalized marketing is here to stay. Customers expect to receive offers that match their specific needs, ones that will entice them to make a purchase. They want your brand message to feel like it was tailored just for them. While personalization isn’t a new marketing strategy, AI is enhancing how companies are able to better meet their customers’ expectations.

AI is able to leverage your customer’s privacy-safe data to suggest new content and targeted offers. With so many marketing messages bombarding your target audience every day, standing out is key. More times than not, a standardized call-to-action isn’t going to cut it. Instead, customers are looking for a message that speaks directly to them. It meets them where they are in discovery or searching mode, whether that is in their email inbox or on social media.

An example of AI personalization marketing in work is a “recommended products” or “customers also purchased” section on an e-commerce site. These recommendations should be based on past purchasing habits as well as demographic and behavioral data. While this is a use-case of personalized website content, personalized email content is also a worthy tactic. AI can ensure the right email message is sent to the right customers through more advanced segmentation and granular optimization.

3. Advanced Digital Media Buying 

Another beneficial way to utilize AI in marketing is through your media buying strategy. Even if you are currently optimizing campaigns based on performance, you still may not be maximizing your ROI. Again, AI technology can predict which ad placements are likely to perform the best for you. It can also forecast how to best reach your target audience for various campaigns.

Another huge benefit of AI is its ability to automate processes — something that can significantly enhance the media buying process. Typically, media buying is a manual, time-consuming process. It involves looking at different publishers and deciding which platforms are worth your investment. But with AI, the process is more streamlined as historical data is analyzed and future trends are considered. Every ad dollar spent is therefore maximized. 

But the power of AI doesn’t stop once you launch a campaign. As your campaign is running, AI tools will help optimize each ad’s performance. The campaign is monitored and areas of improvement are recommended or automatically adjusted based on your parameters. Because campaigns are optimized in real-time, you aren’t losing out on a potential customer lead. 

Takeaways

The capabilities of AI are vast. Marketers today are arguably just scratching the surface of leveraging this tool to its fullest potential. As of now, the tool is being used for individual tasks with a single end goal. Because of this, AI shouldn’t fully replace your marketing team or replicate their knowledge base entirely. Instead, AI should be seen as an advantageous tool in your marketing toolbox. 

As you begin to implement AI, take some time to think about how the tool can best serve you. If you’re struggling in audience segmentation, use AI to better find your audience based on interest and behavior insights. If you’re looking to drive more sales from current customers, then perhaps your personalization tactics can be supplemented with the help of AI. Using AI strategically will serve you well as you make smarter decisions and improve your ROI across your marketing initiatives.

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