Use AI for sales and marketing. But it is not a cure-all

Think of the following scenario. A company generates 2 blog posts and 14 social media posts every week. One of the biggest promises of AI is that it helps to cut the time involved in generating ideas and content. That is true and it is already happening.

What will not happen is customers responding faster or changing the way they interact. That is a much slower process. And this fundamental disconnect needs to be better understood.

By making the process of creation and development faster, the decision-making process is not altered in the customer’s mind. And if the volume of content goes up exponentially, customers will get better at skipping it.

Let us take a case study that was produced recently and break it down to the individual aspects of where AI helped and when humans took over.

Sephora uses Kit to drive more engagement

The first step: Sephora engaged Helen Phillips, the Sephora Collection National Artist to broadcast a prom makeup tutorial to fans—and answer any questions teens might have—in real-time via Facebook Live. Facebook Live also featured a social media influencer as the moderator and tutorial subject. The influencer shared news about Facebook Live and sweepstakes on her social channels as well.

So, Sephora was relying on the human influencer to make the connection, build credibility, and to answer questions. That was the draw, not a chatbot.

The campaign targeted at teens and encouraged them to ask questions related to attending prom (this is in the US and in India, the closest would be a kind of farewell program organised by schools before the class moves out to college)

Sephora promoted the Facebook Live stream through the Kik bot, to encourage subscribers to submit their questions through the bot ahead of time and push notifications to remind them to tune in (and see if their question was selected).

Like every other innovation, experiment with AI tools and see how they can be deployed. Evaluate what can be automated and what needs the human connect

The Kik community submitted 1,500 questions that were both authentic and personal, ranging from how to keep makeup on while dancing to how to cover up acne, and helped kickstart the Q&A portion of the live stream. Helen and the social media influencer closed the loop on the experience, driving Facebook Live viewers back to the Kik bot to encounter additional prom-related beauty content.

This exercise has helped to get more young people to engage with Sephora. And it needs to be seen in that context. The human influencer and the campaign team needed to select and shortlist questions. Then, the answers would have to be convincing enough for the exercise to have worked. That part cannot be left to AI, at least the more complex ones.

How good is the data used to train the AI?

Large companies with well-established data collection processes, set up over years, and continuously refined have an advantage. Smaller companies may be relying on open data sources that need not necessarily provide an accurate picture.

AI's effectiveness relies heavily on the quality and accuracy of the data it processes. Inaccurate or incomplete data can lead to flawed insights and incorrect decision-making. Businesses must invest in data quality management and regularly validate and update their datasets. But for small businesses, that is easier said than done.

AI algorithms can inadvertently perpetuate biases present in the data they are trained on, leading to biased outcomes. It is crucial to carefully design and monitor AI systems to avoid discrimination and ensure fairness in marketing and sales practices.

While AI can enhance efficiency and personalization, it will not replace human interaction, especially when buying decisions are involved. Building strong customer relationships often requires empathy, emotional intelligence, and nuanced decision-making, which AI cannot replicate beyond a point. Striking the right balance between automation and human touch is essential.

Chatspot from HubSpot

ChatSpot is a conversational CRM  that sales, marketing, and service professionals can use to connect to HubSpot and maximize their productivity. With chat-based commands, you can accomplish everything you already do in HubSpot — even faster. Skip manual data entry and let ChatSpot do it for you. Send follow-up emails, pull reports, create new segments, and more.

AI will simplify processes and drive efficiency within companies. But engaging customers and influencing them will take just as much time as before.

Here are a few ways you could use ChatSpot with HubSpot to supercharge your productivity.

• Clean data using AI to deduplicate, log and enrich contact and company information.

• Log and segment email contact information, minimizing manual entry and human error.

• Automatically capture and transcribe conversations while on call, so you have the context to close deals faster.

• Improvise content strategy with SEO tools that scan your website and automatically surface opportunities for optimization.

• Seamlessly import contact and company information from spreadsheets as AI maps each cell to the most relevant CRM property.

The foundation you create for AI to work on is the key. Talk to Blueoshan, and we will see how your data collection, management, and deployment practices can speed up functions and reporting within the company.

While using AI tools for content creation can begin earlier, making the transition to using AI for guiding decisions needs preparation and proper practices to be put in place.

HubSpot has made an Alpha version of Chatspot available for evaluation. Try it out and discover the possibilities. It will give you new ideas for work.

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Blueoshan is a HubSpot Diamond -Tier Solutions Partner. Delivering worldwide from India