In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, staying ahead of the curve is essential for success. One of the most transformative trends shaping the future of marketing and sales is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI). So, what is AI and how is it impacting the way businesses operate? For insight, we turned to Shawn Dubravac, Brent Adamson, and Patrick Houlahan to better understand how businesses can effectively use AI in their marketing and sales strategies.

What Really Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

In the context of modern technology, when we talk about AI, we are generally referring to “machine learning” tools in which software is programmed for a specific task and prompted by an initial input of data. It can learn and improve upon its programmed task as it is exposed to more data. But there’s a specific type of AI that’s taking the world by storm: “generative AI.” This is the type of artificial intelligence tool that generates content based on user input. Like Chat GPT, you ask this AI tool questions and it responds, growing from our input. Many of the tools used today incorporate elements from both of these approaches. While AI has been around for decades, this adaptation has recently brought AI to the masses.

AI Applications in Marketing

This year alone, Influencer Marketing Hub reported that 61.4% of marketers have used AI to help them in their jobs — from day-to-day tasks to big-picture planning. Here are some of the most impactful applications for the marketing world.

Data Analytics — The backbone of all AI functionality is data processing and with modern technology, AI is taking it several steps further. Using AI tools, data can be quickly gathered and analyzed for trends and market predictions. Marketing teams are using the latest tech to gain better insights into consumer engagement, purchasing behavior, time spent on web pages, email interactions, and more. Through personalization, AI is helping to streamline the ever-grueling task of data collection and interpretation.

Content Personalization — One of marketing’s main goals is to deliver the right content to the right person at the right time. With AI, a customer's experience on a webpage or an advertisement they see on social media platforms can be tailored to their exact wants based on past behaviors.

Content Generation — AI can also be used to help generate content, saving marketers' time and expanding their creative capacity. AI prompts facilitate the creation of email subject lines that yield higher open rates; the generation of unique imagery, video, and audio to attract distinct buyer personas; and the creation of meaningful text and keywords to engage the right customers.

AI Applications in Sales

According to one of the leading tech and sales-oriented companies in the world, Salesforce reports that 37% of sales professionals claimed that AI has revolutionized their roles and responsibilities. Let's take a quick look at how AI tools can help sales reps work smarter, target the right leads, and ultimately achieve better results.

Prospect Outreach — AI can help find prospects that fit a specific target audience, research their company and industry, and even start the conversation with a new lead. Based on inputs or data intelligence about the recipient, you can use AI to personalize messages to the format, tone, and goal you want to accomplish.

Forecasting — Analyzing large data sets with machine learning is one of the things AI does best. It can identify trends and make predictions about how many deals will close in a given time period and from which types of customers. This helps sales reps and their teams make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively, and set realistic sales targets.

Personalized Recommendations — AI can provide sales reps with insights into each prospect's preferences and needs by analyzing their online behavior and past interactions. This information enables reps to tailor their sales pitches and product recommendations for a more personalized approach.

Embracing AI Innovation

While there are many AI tools available for public use, more and more private AI tools are popping up as companies rush to develop their own specialized AI to increase efficiencies in accessing information on their own databases. Shawn DuBravac, a well-regarded futurist and trendcaster, who frequently writes on disruptive technological shifts, has been urging companies to lean into AI and start adding it into executive-level discussions. DuBravac says we are moving from “Digitization to Datafication” and if you choose not to innovate with AI, your company could be left behind.

Dubravac draws our attention to Morgan Stanley’s recent launch of its AI Assistant for financial advisors: “The tool provides financial advisors rapid entry into the bank's knowledge repository, which houses about 100,000 research reports and related documents.” This ease of access to data is invaluable in enriching the company’s ability to serve its clients. With this kind of technology available DuBravac’s question isn’t Should you adopt it?; it’s how will you adapt it to fit your company's needs. He specializes in helping teams find AI applications, much like Morgan Stanley’s, that fit into their business model and work to make their lives easier.

Understanding Customer AI Usage

While there are an infinite number of ways your company and employees can get ahead by using AI to improve their effectiveness at work, Brent Adamson is urging businesses to think about AI from their customers’ perspectives. Adamson is a world-renowned researcher, author, and keynote speaker who advises B2B commercial executives on future-proofing their companies.

Customers are using AI to make purchasing decisions and businesses need to understand how the information coming out of these tools may be affecting the buyer’s journey. Adamnson’s tip — Reverse engineer a customer's journey within an AI tool and be prepared to speak to the responses these tools generate about your industry, your company, and your competitors. Adamson travels the world helping organizations create their new buyers’ journey and adapting teams to utilize AI for sales.

Adaptation and Continuous Learning

When it comes to AI, the approach that worked for your team yesterday may no longer work or be relevant tomorrow. In order to stay ahead of the curve you need to continually innovate and adapt your approach. In learning from Patrick Houlahan, we understand the importance of “building a debriefing culture.” Learn from your mistakes and successes and you will always be one step ahead.

“Reviewing what your team did right, what they did wrong, what they can improve, and what they can learn is critical to the growth of the team and the success of the next mission.” Houlahan urges. Don’t be afraid of AI innovation, lean into it and learn along the way. His motivational speaking can prepare your team for a future surrounding AI that’s moving fast and shows no signs of slowing down.

Whether you want to streamline your sales cycle or free up your team’s creative marketing potential by eliminating mundane tasks, AI will be a part of the solution and these keynote speakers can help you get there. Bring Shawn DuBravac, Brent Adamson, or Patrick Houlahan to your next event to prepare yourself for the future of AI.