future of ai marketing

The Future of AI Marketing: How Small Businesses Can Harness It

3-minute read time | Small businesses may not think they need to worry about the way artificial intelligence, or AI, is becoming more prevalent in our daily lives. Not staying on top of advancements in technology would be a mistake though, as it will be harder and harder to catch up with the future of AI marketing trends down the road. The thing is, we see AI in our everyday lives, although we might not even be aware of how it’s working in the background. The AI working behind the scenes as we go about our day isn’t the same artificial intelligence we see in the movies; instead, it’s machine-based learning that uses algorithms written by humans to analyze enormous amounts of data. The results from that data are then used by AI to write more informed algorithms which it then can interpret and continue learning. There is a bright future for AI in marketing, worth an estimated $36.8 billion by 2025.
Here’s how small businesses can stay ahead and use AI with martech tools in advertising, deciphering in-house analytics, forecasting, lead gen, and more.

AI in Our Daily Lives

Let’s start with where AI plays a part in our daily lives that we may not even realize. Netflix uses the data from the movies, shows, and documentaries we watch to suggest new flix we may enjoy. Amazon uses similar algorithms to learn from our purchases and serve ads by predicting what we’ll buy next. Amazon also uses it with Alexa, where the data collected helps improve the system and supercharge Amazon’s broader AI efforts. Spotify uses the music we click on and search for to curate our Discover Weekly playlists. Recently, Uber Eats made AI headlines by putting their business model in the hands of machine learning by analyzing customer data.
The websites we visit, from Facebook to UPS to Google, are storing our steps online, which constitute massive amounts of data. As a result, this data is beneficial for marketers and small businesses as insights into consumer habits and trends. While knowing that our steps are tracked, saved, interpreted and used to guide our next steps can be unnerving for some, you have to admit that it’s nice when you find or watch something new you end up loving; even though you’re less aware of how you found it. When AI-based data enhances user experience, it can be a good thing. So, how can small businesses harness the future of AI in marketing?

Future of AI in Sales

The first place small businesses can utilize AI marketing is in sales. This department likely spends a lot of time analyzing consumer reports, compiling lists, and communicating through the sales funnel. Through digitally stored data, AI can easily, and much faster, analyze and interpret it for more efficient lead generation. There are now companies using AI to analyze data gathered with visual search through social media to understand and predict consumer interest. By harnessing the future of AI, with the help of martech tools that streamline the process, sales teams can better find and engage with consumers.

Future of AI in Analytics

Another practical small business application of AI marketing is to analyze heatmap data. Heatmaps are graphical data representations where colors represent the values. Analytics often use heatmaps to provide a visual representation of on-page behavior. Small businesses interested in tracking user activity onsite can often find the answers to some key questions, such as:

  • How often are visitors clicking Add to Cart?
  • How often are visitors reading the blog, how much of it are they reading, and which posts are most engaging—or more importantly, which lead to conversions?
  • Which products are users clicking most on; which aren’t they and why?

By analyzing compiled data, AI can inform what will perform better. It will help with what to promote, what to post, what to target, and more. It can decipher the meaning, or intent, behind that data so that you can deliver based on relevance.
AI and machine learning can make human creativity better; however, it cannot create the big ideas. That said, there will be a fine line to walk as the future of AI arrives. Humans at digital marketing agencies, like Savy, should work alongside AI. Humans can craft the big ideas, ensure predictions are accurate, and make sure the idea isn’t lost in translation. AI marketing tools may undoubtedly be faster at sifting through mountains of data, but the data itself is not perfect. The industry is evolving almost too rapidly for AI to be efficient on its own. The friendly humans at Savy come with decades of big ideas. Together with machine-learning technology, we can help small businesses harness the future of marketing AI.