Some time ago, when artificial intelligence was mentioned we immediately thought of those futuristic movies, with technologies that even today seem impossible.
But, all we have to do is look around us to realize that this area has evolved in such a way that it is already possible to integrate artificial intelligence into many of our day-to-day activities. Naturally, because of the incredible possibilities that this kind of technology brings, it has received attention from several industries, including marketing.
By the way, did you know that artificial intelligence and marketing are already going hand in hand? and How does this partnership work? What’s still to come? And why should you pay attention to it?
Stay tuned, because we are going to explain it all to you once and for all. Let’s go!
How artificial intelligence and marketing fit together
If you are still in doubt about how these two areas fit together, it might be a good idea to first understand the concept of artificial intelligence.
It is true that this term is very common, but perhaps the idea of many is still the one mentioned at the beginning, of something more oriented to science fiction than to business.
Quite simply, artificial intelligence is a way of making machines imitate human behavior, for example, by solving problems and learning from what is around them. Because of this, here are some of the benefits that the use of this technology brings to marketing:
Task automation
One of the great benefits that artificial intelligence brings is the automation of tasks in an efficient and scalable way.
The more automated the work, the more time professionals have to work on improvements that make the business more profitable and well-structured.
This ranges from simple tasks that end up taking up time every day, to more complicated activities that would require the full attention of a dedicated employee.
Optimizing results
Since part of the work is automated, less time is spent performing the same amount of tasks.
Besides the higher productivity, this also means fewer errors, not to mention the tools that help evaluate the performance of each marketing action.
Through them, the results can be constantly monitored and optimized.
Customer satisfaction
One of the main uses of artificial intelligence in marketing strategies has been to increase customer satisfaction with their favorite brands.
Whether it is by offering faster and more personalized service, avoiding and/or solving problems with as little hassle as possible, or applying loyalty techniques, the fact is that it really works.
Smarter investments
Artificial intelligence goes far beyond facilitating or enriching direct customer interactions.
It also enables the creation of analytical solutions that determine precisely where it makes the most sense to invest your company’s resources in order to achieve the best possible ROI.
Since these solutions evolve every day, their analytics are unlikely to become outdated, which is a big advantage for those who use them.
Now it will be even easier to understand that artificial intelligence is a good addition to your marketing strategy, as we will show you practical examples of how it has already been done. Some of the applications shown here are still being tested, it is true, but they can already be seen in action, in real marketing strategies.
See how the marketing of the future is being shaped:
Predicting consumer behavior
Today it is already possible to track virtually every step of a consumer over the web, which allows a brand to sort of map his behavior and predict his next actions.
In practice, this information can be used to create mechanisms that fit exactly this kind of behavior and increase the chances of conversion.
Service Automation
Have you heard about Facebook chatbots, which help automate customer service?
This is just one of the service automation tools that are being explored through artificial intelligence, but it already gives us a good idea of how it works.
With the increasingly competitive market, the search for immediate customer service is getting greater, and automating seems to be a viable solution for most companies.
Chatbots and Marketing
What about community management, that very important job that involves communicating with your brand’s followers on social networks?
Being on several networks at the same time, using each one according to its own customs and “rules” can be a real challenge.
Fortunately, there are already applications, such as Instagresss, that go far beyond the already known scheduling of posts: commenting and liking posts, following and unfollowing others!
Curation and personalized recommendations
People love to receive quality recommendations and consume content customized to their needs and wants.
This is only possible through detailed curation. Because so many analytics algorithms already exist, this curation can be done entirely by one system.
A clear example is Netflix’s recommendation system, which uses users’ consumption data as the basis for indicating new programs and presenting its catalog.
Search Engines
Search engines are also investing heavily in the use of artificial intelligence in order to create more complete and accurate search experiences for users.
Google’s latest algorithm update, for example, is called RankBrain and is based on AI to determine people’s search intentions.
Since it learns on its own, without the help of humans, the system is able to refine searches and find more accurate results in far less time, without the need for human labor.
Product pricing
Pricing a product is a very complicated task and depends on many factors, such as the life cycle of the item, sales history, time of year, etc.
Mistakes in pricing can mean a big loss of profits and directly affect the performance of a business over time.
Fortunately, there are tools that help set prices automatically, comparing these various factors against each other to dynamically determine the best price for each.
Speech Recognition
If you have ever used virtual assistants like Siri and Cortana, or tools like Skype’s speech recognition translator, you already know that this technology is as real as it is amazing.
These systems can pick up exactly what you say and act on it, either by quickly translating the message into another language or by answering the request you made on the Smartphone.
Language Recognition
In addition to speech recognition, there is also language recognition, which goes even further.
This is a technology that understands not only what you say, but also what exactly you want to know.
If even humans sometimes find it challenging to understand what others mean, it is quite impressive that a machine can understand this, isn’t it?
