Study Finds Future Potential, Current Confusion Around AI
Although artificial intelligence is expected to be the next big thing in sales and marketing, it is clearly underutilized at the moment, according to a new survey from Demandbase and Wakefield Research.
The survey finds that 80 percent of marketing executives believe that AI will revolutionize marketing over the next five years. But only 26 percent of them are "very confident" they understand how it is used in marketing and only 10 percent are currently using the technology today.
The top challenges marketers are worried about when it comes to using AI are:
- Integrating capabilities into their existing technology (cited by 60% of respondents).
- Training employees (54%).
- Difficulty interpreting the results (46%).
Concern with the cost of implementing AI is surprisingly lower on the list, at 42 percent of respondents, who overall acknowledged a lack of general understanding about the technologies available and how to begin using them. Further education and hands-on experience will be required to ensure that AI technology is implemented successfully to support marketing activity, recommends Demandbase.
The survey also suggests that AI has the potential to help marketers personalize the customer experience at an entirely new level, allowing for one-on-one conversations with marketers who know the pain points, goals and ambitions of their prospects.
Among the top benefits overall that respondents cited:
- Better insights into accounts (60%)
- More detailed analysis of campaigns (56%)
- Identifying prospective customers (53%)
- Expediting daily tasks (53%)
When it comes to measuring success, the survey found that AI needs to impact a company's top line and drive revenue to be deemed worthwhile. More specifically, it will have to:
- Generate a better sales close rate (59%)
- Increase revenue (58%)
- Improve website traffic and engagement (54%)
- Convert more leads (52%)
Conducted by Wakefield Research, the online survey polled 500 B2B marketers ranging from managers to c-suite executives, at companies with 250 or employees in November.