Artificial Intelligence and Marketing: A Winning Combination that Boosts Growth

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is breathing new life into the marketing community. Whether you are building a marketing product or looking to enhance your organization’s marketing strategy, artificial intelligence is changing the way we understand marketing business in many industries. 

As per studies, the global market for AI in Marketing was estimated at US$41.9 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$220.1 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 26.7% from 2023 to 2030. This growth is driven by several key factors, including advancements in data analytics, rising consumer demand for personalization, and the need for more efficient, data-driven marketing practices. 

Applications of AI in marketing

AI is a welcome sight for busy marketers. To elaborate, here are seven areas where AI is significantly impacting marketing:

• Marketing automation

AI has revolutionized marketing departments by automating repetitive tasks such as email marketing, social media posting, and even ad campaigns. This automation streamlines the processes, enabling marketers to focus on strategic aspects of their campaigns.

• Data-driven decision–making 

Marketers now leverage AI for data-driven decision-making. Advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms analyze vast amounts of data, providing insights into consumer behavior, preferences, and trends, allowing for more impactful and targeted strategies. Moreover, AI-driven analytics enable marketers to identify opportunities and mitigate risks more effectively, further enhancing the overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Traditional data analysis methods can be time-consuming and prone to human error, but AI-driven analytics tools prove to be more accurate and time-saving.

• Personalization and customer experience

AI-driven algorithms enhance marketing by delivering personalized experiences to prospects and customers. By analyzing user data, AI tailors content, advertisements, and recommendations, creating a more engaging and personalized customer experience.

• Chatbots and customer interaction

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants play a crucial role in customer engagement. With real-time responses, interactive conversations, and 24/7 availability,  AI-powered tools effectively engage users, further helping reduce bounce rates and encouraging them to explore more offerings further.

• Content creation and optimization

AI tools are increasingly used for content creation and optimization. They help create compelling copy and optimize website content for search engines, allowing marketers gain better outcomes.

• Save on cost

AI can help marketers allocate their budgets more effectively by identifying the most profitable channels and strategies, recommending where to invest more and where to cut back. This helps save on cost.

Overall, AI allows teams to operate more efficiently and bring marketing campaigns to market faster. 

A real world example of AI and marketing combining forces

Using AI, Zomato was able to turn a single recording of an Indian celebrity ‘Hrithik Roshan’ into millions of copies of him saying the names of local restaurants and dish recommendations and natively distribute them to users across social media, messaging and other platforms based on their location.

In such case, the celebrity doesn’t need to record these lines. Neural voice cloning takes their speech samples and uses them to create new audio samples. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) then produces realistic lip movements, mapping speech to the faces of the celebrities.

Challenges for implementing AI in marketing

Even though AI-powered platforms are becoming more common, there are still issues with using AI in marketing.

• Training AI solutions

Just like humans, AI requires significant training to learn a new task. For example, if you want an AI solution that will talk to your customers in an engaging way, you will need to invest the time and resources necessary to teach it. To build an application like this, you will need a large amount of data, such as customers’ preferences, and potential data scientists who specialize in this kind of training.

• Ensuring the quality and accuracy of data

The data that an AI system requires should be of high quality. If the data it’s been trained on isn’t accurate and representative, the answers and decisions it generates will be low-quality and ineffective.

• Ethical considerations

Personalized marketing powered by AI and AI-generated content raises ethical concerns regarding privacy invasion, data manipulation, accuracy, and the potential for manipulation of consumer behaviour. Maintaining a strong code of AI ethics is essential to putting your customers (and partners) at ease.

• Integration with existing systems

Some AI tools may not integrate easily with your tech stack, which could undermine performance and create disruptions. Be sure to ask providers about technology integrations before adopting AI solutions.

• Lack of skilled professionals

There is a vast AI skill gap, which is why businesses are thinking about creating in-house AI-based marketing solutions. However, even businesses that use readymade AI marketing tools need to sufficiently train their employees to manage and interpret the results accurately.

Tips for implementing AI in your marketing strategy

• Set clear goals

The first step to integrating AI into a marketing campaign is to set clear goals and expectations. Start with smaller goals and identify areas where AI might have the most impact, then expand as you see results.

• Choose the right AI marketing tools

The enterprise AI landscape is vast, with many tools and platforms on the market. Finding the right marketing solutions with built-in AI that align with your goals and systems is important. Don’t rush the selection process; thoroughly research and test the marketing solutions to find the best fit. Consider factors like ease of use, scalability, and support when choosing which solution to use.

• Monitor and adjust

Keep a close eye on your AI initiatives’ performance to ensure they are meeting your goals. Gather feedback from customers and stakeholders to understand AI’s impact on your marketing efforts. Accordingly, you can make adjustments for better results.

Remember, AI marketing is a one-time-fit solution. Continuous improvement is the secret to long-term success.

• Ensure humans are in the loop 

This principle suggests focusing on human efforts in marketing activities that drive core values, spark innovation, or require emotional intelligence. All other activities can be delegated to AI.

This approach ensures that human creativity, critical thinking, and social abilities are applied to create the most significant impact in marketing campaigns, while AI handles tasks that benefit from its speed, accuracy, and scalability.

• Make it collaborative 

AI in marketing often requires working closely with IT, data science, and customer service. Hence, regular communication between teams should be encouraged to align goals, share insights, and work through challenges together.

• Hire, educate, and empower your team

AI marketing roles require a unique blend of skills that spans both technical understanding and creative strategy. Hence, professionals need to be well-versed in AI technologies such as machine learning, data analytics, and automation tools and likewise possess the creative skills to develop compelling marketing campaigns. Hence, hire candidates who excel in both areas.

You can also invest in training your existing team members to help them make the most of AI.

• Consider environmental impact

Implement strategies with energy efficiency in mind. By making sustainability part of your AI marketing plan, you can contribute to broader environmental goals.

In brief

Integrating AI into marketing strategy is not just a trend; it is a necessity for staying relevant and achieving long-term success. Whether it’s a small business or a large enterprise, the power of AI can help businesses connect with the right audience in more meaningful ways. Moreover, it will help achieve marketing goals with greater precision and effectiveness.