Everywhere you turn, there are discussions about artificial intelligence, or AI. AI and smart machine learning have taken out many of the menial, manual tasks involved in software and made it automatic, anticipated. This can cut down on time, freeing up businesses to focus on more revenue-earning tasks. In fact, 37% of businesses now use AI as part of their operations, for scheduling, for voice assistants, and more.
AI is making big strides in B2B marketing, too. So what does this mean for the future of B2B marketing? Let’s take a look.
What Is AI and What Is Machine Learning?
AI is artificial intelligence, or intelligence that is programmed into machines and technology rather than exhibited from human beings. Machine learning is a specific type of AI that learns from collected data and uses algorithms to improve the way that it performs. By creating a machine learning program, the programmer can sit back and let the program learn on its own, rather than having to constantly input.
AI may be the topic of recent conversation, but we’ve actually been using it for some time in this digital age. If you’ve ever used an app that has recognized your voice or recognized a language in order to translate it, that’s AI. One other common form of machine learning is the algorithm that organizes Google’s search results. In recent years, AI has been used for virtual assistants, calendars, and administrative tasks. But that’s only the beginning of AI’s potential.
How Does AI and Machine Learning Impact B2B Marketing?
AI and machine learning is something that can be used as a tool for B2B marketing, as well as something that B2B marketers will have to account for. One of the biggest impacts of machine learning on B2B marketing is the Google search algorithm.
Google’s search engine is run by an algorithm that rates search results based on relevance as well as:
- Expertise
- Experience
- Authority
- Trustworthiness
The more content exhibits those traits, the higher it will rank on Google’s algorithm. Because it utilizes AI to enhance its searches, the algorithm is constantly learning. For instance, a few years ago, it became clear that many content creators were stuffing their posts full of relevant keywords to boost their relevance. Google’s algorithm programmers responded by penalizing keyword stuffing so that the algorithm would be on the lookout for keyword stuffing to discourage it.
More and more SaaS products utilize AI today, which B2B marketers have the task of marketing to the right clientele. As trends change within AI and machine learning, B2B marketers have to do the research to understand the appeal, as well as how to pitch that appeal to their target audience.
AI Tools To Help B2B Marketing
In addition to the context of B2B marketing, there are also a wealth of tools that marketers now have at their disposal using AI. Some of these tools include:
Fullstory
Fullstory uses AI to track a user’s journey through your online presence and create a “story,” which can be compared to all the other stories of users visiting your website. This gives you a personal look at the user experience of your website. With Fullstory, you can see what works best about your website and what doesn’t, all through the experience of your customers.
Pro Rank Tracker
If you want to know how your webpages are doing on Google’s searches, Pro Rank Tracker can keep you on track of your rank. It uses machine learning to give you a ranking analysis including data visualizations. Pro Rank Tracker’s data visualization is also perfect for reporting to shareholders and executives.
Tealium
Tealium is a customer data platform that allows marketers to hold all of their customer data, from various sources, in one place. This can even include offline data. By keeping all of your data in one place, you will be able to get the full picture of your customer experience. Tealium even offers AI generated analytics to give you an idea of your KPI.
Barametrics
Segmenting your customer base can help you create more personalized, precise marketing for each segment. This could be broken down based on demographics, industry, and other identifying factors. Rather than segmenting your customer base through hours of research, consider using AI to do so automatically.
Barametrics is another customer data analysis tool, but it includes customer segmentation. With eye-catching visualizations, you can see a breakdown of the different segments of your customer base and how you’re performing with each one. From there, you can develop a plan to better reach each segment.
