30-second summary:
As per the CMO Survey Report 2020 by Deloitte, the implementation of AI and machine learning is likely to grow in three years to 3.5.
As per an article by McKinsey & Company, organizations introducing technology to sales can find ways that deliver double-digit gains in return-on-investment. Automation is possible in 30% of sales activities.
The most recent AI survey by Bain and Company analyzed that organizations that make use of AI were 4.2 times more likely to have access to standard tools and technologies than the others.
A study co-sponsored by EY in 2020 revealed that 85% of participants have already implemented AI within their organizations and expect to use AI for new use cases in the coming years.
According to a survey by Accenture, around 83% of more than 6,000 businesses accepted that technology is a crucial part of the human experience.
As per a recent survey by Nielsen, 51% of global consumers are willing to try artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies to assess products and services.
As per PwC, AI will contribute up to US$15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
AI in marketing implies the usage of customer data, machine learning, automation and other computational concepts to predict consumers’ actions. It helps marketers to easily segment the consumers and further breakdown data to create customized content for their audiences.
AI supports businesses to create marketing analytics techniques to target the right potential customers. It also helps digital marketers feed consumers with the right content on the right channel at the right time.
Various leading consultants like Deloitte, McKinsey, PwC, Accenture, Bain and Company, EY, and Boston Consulting Group are working towards identifying the role of artificial intelligence and automation in marketing.
Let’s look at some of their researches about the use of automation in marketing.
Deloitte: “Marketing is undergoing an AI and automation revolution.”
As per the CMO Survey Report 2020 by Deloitte, there is a slowdown in the implementation of AI and machine learning from 2.4 out of 7 in the last survey to 2.1 due to the onset of COVID-19. Across the world, organizations and marketing leaders are pivoting their traditional strategies and tactics to remain afloat.
However, as per the estimation, the implementation of AI and machine learning is likely to grow in three years to 3.5. The current effects of blockchain on marketing strategies remained at 1.4, while the expected impact decreased from 2.3 to 1.9.
Deloitte conducted interviews with more than 80 subject matter experts across the globe. It identified seven key trends that every business will need to focus on in the coming years to continue evolving socially and human-conscious enterprises.
These seven trends are:
Purpose: Lead with purpose and build around it to achieve continued loyalty, consistency, and relevance in the lives of consumers.
Human Experience: Enable data collection, storage, and analysis to create the human experience using AI and automation.
Fusion: Use cloud data storage and connected technologies that are leading to a large number of interactive platforms and fusion that have brought industries together to solve customer needs.
Trust: Build a structure that systematically builds trust by protecting customer data from both external and internal cyber threats.
Participants: Shift your strategies to leverage the power of the consumer. Build effective participation strategies and evolve along with their customers.
Talent: Integrate the workforce experience into your talent approaches by adopting workforce-centric models.
Agility: Adapt tech-enabled strategies instead of conventional approaches to generate marketing content.
Marketers continue to leverage AI to enhance customer experiences. They capitalize on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence to predict and generate meaningful engagements with customers in nearly real-time.
Marketers should ensure to maintain a high level of security that does not threaten the trust of the entire organization.
McKinsey and Company: “Changes in consumer behavior due to the surge in digital mean companies need to revamp their loyalty programs.”
The pressure for businesses to adopt automation was already high before the crisis as the technology delivered returns to early adopters.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further elevated the technology’s prominence, with many organizations using AI to triage the vast challenges and set a new course for their employees, customers, and investors in an uncertain, rapidly evolving landscape.
As per an article by McKinsey & Company, organizations introducing technology to sales can find ways that deliver double-digit gains in return-on-investment.
McKinsey & Company further states that automation is possible in 30% of sales activities.
Using analytics into lead-generation helps identify leads with the best conversion potential. Chatbots reach out to these leads over text or email, using artificial intelligence to understand the contact’s response and the conversion potential.
Thus, it allows sales representatives to contact only those leads that indicate a clear buying interest, saving time, reducing cost, and improving conversion rates.
Organizations that adopted sales automation consistently report an increase in customer satisfaction, efficiency improvements of 10 to 15%, and sales uplifts.
To make the most of the ton of data, sales leaders centralize commercial operations functions. They create commercial hubs that distribute better and more targeted insights and drive agility in the organization.
Commercial hubs help in bringing three elements to the organizations.
The right talent with years of experience in sales, analytics, data science, and product.
An operating model that interacts seamlessly with the representatives.
Access to data and analytics resources optimized as per the commercial hub’s needs.
Bain and Company: “Automation is changing how business works.”
As per Bain and Company, many organizations are planning to increase their investments in automation after the onset of coronavirus.
The organizational disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic favors digital tools such as workflow automation, chatbots or voice bots, and self-service portals.
Data and analytics professionals need to have access to common tools and technologies.
The most recent AI survey by Bain and Company analyzed that organizations that make use of AI were 4.2 times more likely to have access to standard tools and technologies than the others.
The results also showed that 90% of tech executives consider AI and machine learning as priorities. As per them, incorporation of AI and machine learning into their product lines and businesses is crucial. Executives prefer using AI to reduce costs and acquire new customers.
Organizations are focusing on adding systems and processes in their businesses for capturing data and distilling the relevant insights to address pain points.
They are developing their capabilities to better themselves at drawing insights and operationalizing their abilities to use machine learning in their business. Their motive is to understand customer needs and opportunities for competitive differentiation.
Ernst & Young: “AI and automation will be an essential business driver.”
A study co-sponsored by EY in 2020 shows that AI has various uses in customer acquisition. It makes outreach more personalized, speeds up onboarding procedures, and makes up- or cross-selling based on insights generated by AI from current user data.
The above data also shows the top three use cases for customer acquisition by the rate of current adoption. Most of the participants have implemented AI to expand existing clients’ usage of products and services.
The study also revealed that 85% of participants have already implemented AI within their organizations and expect to use AI for new use cases in the coming years.
As per the survey, the leading companies share common practices that help them respond to disruption and obstacles to their advantage and achieve better financial performance. These practices include the following.
Focusing on customers.
Implementing and accelerating artificial intelligence to drive growth.
Driving innovation through ecosystems and partnerships.
Nurturing talent with new incentives and strategies.
Activating governance plans for emerging technology.
Powering innovation by leveraging data and being agile.
Accenture: “AI and automation is the future of growth.”
Businesses are quickly pivoting on technology, adapting virtual solutions, and innovating their way through disruption to make them a reality.
Accenture surveyed 2,000 consumers globally, out of which 70% expect that technology will play a more significant role in their lives in the next three years. Around 83% of more than 6,000 businesses accepted that technology is a crucial part of the human experience.
The success of next-generation products and services depends on companies’ abilities to elevate the human experience. They should use new technology-based business models to align with the customer’s core values.
As per the survey, 76% of executives strongly agree that companies need to re-engineer experiences that bring technology and customers together in a human-centric manner.
Accenture, in its Tech Vision 2020 report, unfolded five key post-digital trends that are shaping businesses toward new technology-based business models.
The I in Experience: Redesign digital experiences and turn passive audiences into active participants.
AI and Me: Use artificial intelligence to bring out the full power of consumers.
The Dilemma of Smart Things: Convert pain points into an opportunity to create a business-customer partnership.
Robots in the Wild: Companies can unlock new opportunities
by introducing robots in their industry.
Innovation DNA: Build the capabilities necessary to assemble the organization’s unique innovation DNA.
Nielsen: “The spread and influence of technology over the next five years will be a key driver of change across the globe.”
Challenges arising from the spread of coronavirus are likely to accelerate the use of new technologies and tools. Many consumers are avoiding trips to the store in the current situation.
However, artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies have the potential to bring the in-store experience into their homes.
As per a recent survey by Nielsen, 51% of global consumers are willing to try artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies to assess products and services.
Nielsen explained that the rise in technology usage worldwide starts with the basic functionality offered by smartphones, such as product discovery and mobile payments.
However, as consumers become comfortable with technologies, further advancements such as auto-subscriptions and personalized location alerts will change the way consumers buy. It will help speed up the adoption trajectory of more sophisticated tools like artificial and virtual reality.
A few months ago, Nielsen announced to leverage the AnswerRocket’s AI-Powered Analytics Platform to automate insights generation for the consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers.
It will help Nielson to merge multiple data sources, query data using natural language, apply machine learning algorithms, and produce insightful stories to guide decision-making.
PwC: “AI and automation will be the business advantage of the future.”
AI is the crucial source of transformation, disruption, and a competitive advantage in today’s economy. As per PwC, AI will contribute up to US$15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
However, according to PwC’s 2020 AI Predictions Report, there is a sharp decline in the number of executives you are planning to implement AI enterprise-wide in 2020. Only 4% are planning to deploy technology as compared to 20% last year.
90% of the surveyed executives also believe that AI offers more opportunities than risks. Executives focusing on utilizing new technologies are already achieving ROI on their AI investments and laying the groundwork for an AI-enabled enterprise.
Here are five things PwC suggests to organizations for long-term success.
Embrace the humdrum to get things done: The automation of routine tasks can help businesses to operate efficiently and make significant savings.
Turn training into real-world opportunity: Companies need to do more than offering training opportunities to employees. They should ensure that employees can use new skills in a way that continuously improves performance.
Tackle risks and act responsibly: Companies should help their employees to take AI as an opportunity to undertake higher-value work.
AI, all the time: Companies should start using AI 24/7 as part of broader operational systems, such as marketing or finance.
A business model for the future: Using AI successfully into a new business model includes understanding return on investment. For example, using robotic process automation to handle customer requests.
Final thoughts
Business leaders are considering their priorities and imperatives in an integrated way. Their three value drivers of transformation include humans at the center, technology at speed, and innovation at scale.
The organizations are also taking care of other essential elements such as collaborating within ecosystems and adopting trust by design and security and governance models.
However, businesses must understand whether they are going to make meaningful changes and provide long-term value to their customers, their people, and society for successful transformation.
The post What leading consultants say about the usage of automation in marketing appeared first on ClickZ.
Source: ClickZ
Link: What leading consultants say about the usage of automation in marketing
