Marking is vital to business, and each year billions are spent on it. As we move into the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT), we can expect to see marketing technology continue to rise.
Marketing is never a one size fits all affair. What is good for one business may fail with another. As such, it is good practice to start with a standpoint of what you are trying to achieve, and then select the technology to help you achieve it.
The technology moves at a lightning pace. What is impossible today is possible tomorrow, so it is a good idea to review weekly or monthly to see if a new technology is available to help your business.
With that in mind, let’s look at marketing technologies in more depth. You may find one that fits your business.
1 Chatbots
Chatbots do not sound very exciting but tie in nicely to customized experienced. It seems with every month they get more sophisticated. They can be utilized in the following ways:
- Upsell. Offering products and services is a good use of chatbots.
- Handle inquiriesproviding better customer service.
- Book Consultations. Provide a customized experience for your potential client or customer.
They can be configured to be interactive to showcase products and services. They can be configured to showcase promotions. Restaurants showcasing specials and online stores showcasing discounted products are two good examples of how this can be used.
Chatbots are increasingly becoming more AI powered by the day. This is the future of customer service and marketing.
2 Visual LED Screens
Although not knew large LED display screens are arguably more important in our post-Covid-19 world than ever before, especially in a retail and hospitality sectors. Despite Covid – 19 precautions, the street store is making a slow but steady resurgence. People are visiting stores, drinking in bars, and eating in restaurants.
That said, the numbers are down making competition more intense than ever before. Screens from VisualLED engage footfall traffic. If your competitor has one and you don’t, in today’s world, you may not be in business for very long.
Screens can be configured to blast out your online presence, marketing messages, and special offers. For a retail and hospitality business, this can be the difference between coaxing a potential customer through the door or losing them.
3 Personalized Customer Experiences Based on Data
Increasingly, companies are looking at their customer data and using tools to mine it in various ways. One enterprising way of using data is to personalize customer experiences. To do this, the marketing tool tracks the behaviour of visitors and shows individual experiences to visitors based on previous actions.
This has been made possible by the development of AI. The AI in this case will look at similar visitor behaviours and offer products and services to similar user profiles. This method of upselling is a powerful tool.
4 Google & Facebook Ads
Digital ads are essential to business, and they are becoming better targeted with each new iteration. Unsurprisingly, Google, together with Facebook, leads the way in innovative, AI-driven ad targeting. Providing you have the right Ad and landing page ready to sell your product and service, you will get customers from digital ads.
An intriguing targeting method used by Google is that they track users that stop outside different stores. So if a visitor stops outside a jewellery store, they will receive ads for jewellery on all digital devices. This can also happen if someone mentions a product in everyday conversation. If you use Google Ads, you may be already getting customers who were talking about your product or service with a friend.
This is going to rise with IoT. When your fridge can see you’re running out of eggs, it will notify you to tell you you’re getting low. You may start seeing ads for eggs and related products.
Now eggs may not be yanking your chain. IoT does, however, give you opportunities to promote your business. As IoT grows options such as automatic reorders and notifications for everything, including products, services, and reminders.
5 Suggestion Engine for Business Owners
AI marketing is also helping business owners and marketers make key decisions. Through analyzing sales, buying habits, and specified upcoming events, the AI will send notifications to the relevant people within a business.
This is quite a new concept, but it is a good example of how AI marketing is adapted in an imaginative way to make businesses more profitable.
Data is the new oil, and when you look at our examples here, you can see how it has become imperative for businesses to have data and how it underpins marketing strategy.
If you haven’t already, select the technology you feel will benefit your business. You’ll generate more leads, more sales, and that is the name of the game. Good luck!