In the last two decades, the marketing industry has steadily learned how to unlock the value of data, improving customer experiences as well as understanding, attracting, and retaining consumers. In the next two decades, artificial intelligence (AI) presents an opportunity to accelerate and enhance the ways organisations harness data, spot trends more effectively, and shift towards predictive rather than historical data analysis.
AI will enable machines to automate processes, so people are able to work on higher value activities. Getting this right – ensuring machines work responsibly with us – is everyone’s responsibility. Just as industrialisation transformed blue-collar industries, AI will change the world of work for white-collar professions.
However, IDM research shows that the personnel and skills may not be in place to achieve this. Our Business Skills Census 2019 asked marketers to identify the skills and challenges facing their organisations and their importance in the future. Participants revealed that AI and machine learning are the most important areas of expertise organisations must develop.
When asked about their abilities and the areas they need to develop as part of the Professional Skills Census 2018, marketers again highlighted AI & machine learning as key. This burgeoning set of skills had the biggest gap of all 33 skills analysed, with a 25% difference between perceived importance among marketers’ current roles and their future career progression.
7 reasons why marketers should learn AI in today’s world:
- AI and machine learning can identify changing patterns in customer behaviours and trends more effectively and quickly than traditional methods. Imagine analysis of social media conversations on a global basis and being able to detect the beginnings of small clusters of conversations - way before they turn into tidal waves in the mainstream.
- Instead of relying on historical data for campaigns strategy and planning, AI can enable predictive modelling to increase success and adapt to changing behaviours and thoughts.
- AI algorithms can identify new audiences or subsets of existing audiences that are responding in a particular manner to a communication and recommend appropriate communication. Models enable better customer segmentation.
- AI will enable machines to optimise and automate processes, so marketers can focus on higher value activities, such as using their creativity.
- Natural language processing increases access to more data sources by processing wider amounts of typically unstructured data. It also helps understanding customer sentiment and can make recommendations. It can provide faster analysis and an ability to harness models based on increased numbers of data sources.
- AI can enable dynamic changes to websites and messaging, taking input from algorithms and behaviour in real-time. Machine learning refines insight and automation increases efficiency.
- Scale and speed enable better personalisation.