For marketers, artificial intelligence (AI) is the greatest thing since sliced bread — except AI can also identify the type of bread, tell you about it, and help you turn it into a sandwich.
While AI is still a relatively new technology, it’s already proven to be a transformational force in the world of B2B marketing. One of the best things about AI is how it can make real sense of your data and give you accurate and organized insights.
Organize your data.
As a B2B marketer, you know that your brand is collecting incredible volumes of data from a variety of channels and other sources every day. You may have spent hours at a time manually pairing and organizing data, but thanks to artificial intelligence, you are now free to focus on actually using the data, instead of playing the organization game.
AI can sort, connect, and organize data so it’s aligned and primed for analysis. Using pattern recognition, AI marries related data sets so insights are informed by all data points available and relevant. This means your online and offline customer data can finally come together for a unified view of your customers.
This key feature of AI is already being utilized across most B2B marketing teams. Approximately 61% of B2B marketers use AI to facilitate online experiences with offline customer data.
What does it look like to facilitate an online experience with offline customer data? A great example of this is using Einstein Behavior Scoring, an offline data point that measures buying intent, to trigger an automated follow up email from a sales rep, creating a personalized online customer experience.
From past behavior to current behavior, offline behavior to online behavior, AI can give marketers a 360-degree view of every prospect in your pipeline, as well as every active business buyer.
Track campaigns in real time.
Your marketing strategy is only as good — and timely — as the data informing it. Because artificial intelligence solutions like Einstein feature always-on reporting capabilities, every data insight you receive will be accurate and up-to-date so you can make smart decisions in real time.
Current campaign performance metrics allow you to make strategic pivots while your campaigns are still running. Say goodbye to post-mortem reports two weeks after your campaign wrapped and the shoulda-woulda-coulda that comes with it. With AI, you’ll know what’s going on down to the minute, so your team can stay agile and see maximum results.
Anticipate and understand behaviors.
We know that AI helps you organize data and keep track of what’s going on in your marketing universe. But wait — there’s more! Through predictive analytics, artificial intelligence turns your data into a crystal ball, offering smart predictions of future customer behavior.
69% of business buyers expect personalized, “Amazon-like” customer experiences. Basically, you’re now expected to know what customers need before they need it. That didn’t used to be so easy, but now AI brings behavioral forecasting within reach.
AI analyzes past behaviors to predict future ones, so you can anticipate buyers’ actions and communicate with them accordingly. Your team can remain one step ahead of your leads, guiding them along the customer journey and being ready to greet them at conversion points — all thanks to the power of data.
To learn even more great ways B2B marketers are using AI, check out our upcoming webinar, 9 Ways B2B Marketers are Using Artificial Intelligence in 2019.
