The virtues and pitfalls of AI for Marketeers
You, like I, no doubt have your own opinion of AI’s role in creating a more efficient marketing reality. The question is, do we really need it? This article, published recently in Inc. explores the applications and merits of AI as a tool for marketeers (not a replacement for). But it also highlights some of the pitfalls. For me, AI can perform many functions that any decent marketeer can perform, spot trends, predict habits, target the right consumers. But there are many functions it can, and probably won’t ever replicate. The biggest for me and one that author Molly St. Louis does not touch on, is the quality and effectiveness of the communication. Great, AI can see when to target individuals at the opportune moment and understand their behaviours, but as St. Louis alludes to (albeit in reference to data), if you put garbage in, you get garbage out. This is incredibly relevant when we consider the communication and content aspect of the marketing material and something that AI cannot assist with (not yet anyway). There will always be the need for effective and relevant communication, getting the right message cannot be underestimated in the effectiveness of any marketing or CRM campaign.