optimization (CLO) functions
Is your organization (company or division) considering the adoption of AI powered solutions for more effective marketing and customer lifecycle optimization (CLO) functions? Or are you seeking ways to enhance the performance of AI solutions you have already implemented?
Implementing AI-powered solutions in marketing and CLO functions can yield big benefits. Surveys and studies done by Gartner, McKinsey, Harvard Business Review, IBM and Deloitte have shown that up to 85% of AI initiatives fail to meet their intended promise. This is attributable to a whole host of factors that were not properly and thoroughly identified and addressed prior to launching the projects. This points to the imperative need for careful planning, strategic execution, and a focus on several key requirements.
Implementing AI-powered solutions in marketing and CLO functions can yield big benefits. Surveys and studies done by Gartner, McKinsey, Harvard Business Review, IBM and Deloitte have shown that up to 85% of AI initiatives fail to meet their intended promise. This is attributable to a whole host of factors that were not properly and thoroughly identified and addressed prior to launching the projects. This points to the imperative need for careful planning, strategic execution, and a focus on several key requirements.Here are essential steps to follow either to get started with incorporating AI in your organization’s marketing and CLO (CE, CX, CS, CRM) functions or improving the ROI of investments already made:
Clear Business Objectives and Planning
· Objectives Definition: Define clear business objectives that AI solutions aim to achieve and metrics and KPI’s to measure them.
Metrics are quantitative (and some qualitative) measurements used to track and assess various aspects of an initiative. KPIs are a specific subset of metrics that are crucial for evaluating the bottom-line performance of the initiative against its objectives.
Since Marketing and CLO are integral parts of the customer value chain, there are many common metrics and KPIs and some that are specific to each area. The table below contains a comprehensive list of metrics for marketing and CLO functions. It’s not necessary to adhere to all of them, however it’s crucial to select them very carefully to ensure alignment with business objectives.
It is imperative that the goals, metrics and KPI’s are intelligible to and accepted by everyone involved in the initiative.
Alignment with Business Objectives: Align AI initiatives with overall business goals to ensure relevance and impact.
Understanding AI Solutions
Knowledge: Gain a clear understanding of what AI is and how it can be effectively utilized in marketing and CLO. Familiarize yourself with the different aspects of AI solutions.
Use Cases: Identify specific use cases where AI can enhance marketing and CLO functions, such as Data Analysis and Customer Insights, Predictive Analytics, Personalization, Content Creation and Optimization, Chatbots and Virtual Assistants, Programmatic Advertising, Dynamic Pricing, Seamless Omnichannel Interactions, Sentiment Analysis, and Inherent Loyalty Measurement.
• Use Cases: Identify specific use cases where AI can enhance marketing and CLO functions, such as Data Analysis and Customer Insights, Predictive Analytics, Personalization, Content Creation and Optimization, Chatbots and Virtual Assistants, Programmatic Advertising, Dynamic Pricing, Seamless Omnichannel Interactions, Sentiment Analysis, and Inherent Loyalty Measurement.
Resource Planning
• Resource Definition: Outline the necessary resources (both financial and human) for successful AI adoption.
• AI Talent and Expertise: Invest in AI talent and expertise within the organization or partner with external experts and vendors. Build a team with skills in data science, machine learning, programming, and domain knowledge to develop, deploy, and manage AI-powered solutions effectively.
Crafting an AI Implementation and Integration Strategy
Stakeholders: Involve key stakeholders from marketing, CLO, decision science/analytics, IT, and finance to ensure buy-in and collaboration.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Foster collaboration and communication across marketing, CLO, IT, decision science, and other departments.
Encourage cross-functional teams to work together on AI initiatives, share insights, and leverage diverse perspectives.
• Roadmap: Create a roadmap with milestones and metrics to measure success throughout the implementation process.Data Quality, Preparation and IntegrationYour Attractive Heading
• High-Quality Data: Data is the essential fuel that drives the AI engine. So, the higher the quality of the data the more effective your AI solutions.Ensure your data is accurate, relevant, and comprehensive.
• Data Cleaning: Cleanse and preprocess your data to remove inconsistencies, duplicates, and errors.
• Feature Engineering: Extract relevant features from your data to improve model performance.
• Data Integration and Accessibility: Integrate data from various sources, internal and external. Ensure data accessibility and availability for AI applications and analytics across the organization.• Data Cleaning: Cleanse and preprocess your data to remove inconsistencies, duplicates, and errors.
• Feature Engineering: Extract relevant features from your data to improve model performance.
• Data Integration and Accessibility: Integrate data from various sources, internal and external. Ensure data accessibility and availability for AI applications and analytics across the organization.
Tools and Platforms
• The right tools and platforms: It’s imperative to choose and deploy the bestfit tools and platforms that execute and support AI solutions.
• Scalable and Flexible Solutions: Choose scalable and flexible solutions to accommodate future growth and innovation.The following tables are a sample of AI tools for specific marketing and CLO functions. Again, these are not exhaustive lists. The specific ones chosen have to be based on the factors that make them the most suitable for the organization.
Change Management, Training and Continuous Learning
• Change Management: Implement effective change management processes to ensure that teams understand the value proposition of AI and are equipped to leverage AI-powered tools and insights effectively.
• Training: Provide training to employees on AI technologies, workflows, and best practices.
• Continuous Learning & Improvement: Embrace a culture of continuous learning and improvement in AI adoption. Monitor performance metrics, gather feedback, and iterate on AI solutions to enhance effectiveness, accuracy, and relevance over time.Ethical Practices and Compliance
• Ethical Practices: Adhere to ethical and responsible AI practices, including data privacy, transparency, fairness, and bias mitigation.
• Compliance: Ensure that AI algorithms and decisions comply with regulatory requirements and ethical standards.By addressing these key requirements, organizations can maximize the benefits of AI-powered solutions in marketing and customer-related functions, driving growth, innovation, and competitive advantage in today’s digital landscape. Keep customer needs, preferences, and feedback at the center of AI initiatives. Use AI to deliver personalized and seamless customer experiences, address customer pain points, and build long-term relationships.