Almost two years have gone since the morning in November when we first saw OpenAI’s ChatGPT. We were shocked. Stunned. We experimented with it, asking it to write songs, and had fun testing different prompts. We were transfixed with awe.
But, as with many things, that astonishment quickly faded. Individuals and companies gradually integrated technology into their daily activities (sometimes bypassing IT). Then AI advanced quickly, and new providers arose. Twenty-three months later, generative AI is ubiquitous in the industry — or it should be. Although the adoption of AI has been rapid, we are only just beginning this process. Until it is intertwined with the fabric of society and business, this path will proceed quickly.
Given their nature, marketing departments were among the first to use this technology. Generative AI is now widely used to create new content, create content variations, and optimize the digital content supply chain. Other organizational functions gradually began to feel the revolutionary effects of generative AI. The impact of generative AI on B2B marketing is particularly notable.
Consider how a corporate buyer behaves now, and how onerous and time-consuming the journey might be.
First, the buying team researches potential solutions, reviewing industry reports and attending trade shows to uncover potential products or services.
Then, this team enters the funnel and acquires additional precise information about the solution or product, sifting through a slew of brochures, white papers, and case studies.
Then there’s the internal battle of aligning stakeholders, identifying specific requirements and goals, and defining decision criteria. Depending on the nature of the item, an RFP is issued, responses are analyzed, a provider or group of providers is selected, and contracts are ultimately negotiated.
Condensed into a paragraph, that process — or a comparable one — could take weeks or months in a traditional firm, owing to the difficulty of automating the majority of the work needed before the arrival of AI.
Today, AI in B2B marketing streamlines and accelerates the majority of these procedures. It may not be advanced enough to dictate results, but it can organize data and present it to humans who will. Let’s see how.
The majority of the early steps of information collecting can be automated with AI. Bots can provide market overviews, compare products, and evaluate ratings. Instead of going online and searching in different areas, purchasers may simply prompt the bots.
The bots can then identify key features and even perform a preliminary risk assessment. They can later build the RFP document based on earlier prompts and exchanges. Keep in mind that efficiency has been the subject of discussion up to this point.
B2B will become an entirely new game as the latter stages require more complicated criteria and judgment. Once you obtain your RFP responses, you may move quickly to evaluate vendor proposals in a consistent and standard manner. You may even train your bots to make decisions and negotiate for you. These results may be superior because bots will evaluate several variables that humans cannot.
All of this comes with some limitations. The most obvious is that AI is biased. This prejudice will become an increasingly important topic, both ethically and practically. AI bots may not have a complete understanding of your needs and the environment of your firm.
Sellers will need to react swiftly to the new reality. AI in B2B marketing will present them with numerous advantages and challenges.
AI bots can improve real-time user interactions, ranging from improved support to more personalized outreach. AI is already helping to automate content generation, allowing for more personalized experiences for diverse buyer groups. Multiple vendors also use AI to develop new segmentation, improve lead scoring, and more precisely anticipate conversion probabilities. Some have even begun to integrate more advanced features, such as developing better real-time pricing strategies for prospects based on their stage in the customer journey.
However, what is a drawback for the buyer – AI bias — will significantly change the game for the seller, as their audience and addressable market are no longer limited to humans. It is also about bots.
The effective change in the buyer journey will be beneficial to those who can move more quickly. Machines will soon account for a significant portion of B2B customers. Digital doubles will eventually be used for research and negotiations by buyers and providers. The rep’s job will be changed from product evangelist to trusted advisor. The human will still be important, but its reach will be smaller.
The role of emotions in the process will also evolve. Marketing teams will need to start marketing to bots, which make decisions based on data, reputation, and reviews. Your brand will have to gain bots’ trust.
Marketing to bots will have an impact not only on how we present content but also on what content we create. Ecommerce and content platforms, which currently focus on humans, will need to develop to better serve the bots who will be purchasing from them. All of these developments will need organizations to embrace a new attitude, and they will touch more than simply their technology stacks. Organizations that transcend technology and fully rethink their business strategy, methods, and culture will be the ones to thrive in this new world.
The landscape of business-to-business marketing has begun to shift in response to the use of generative AI, and this shift will continue. Faster and more creative ways for buyers to make educated decisions will be beneficial. This change will present sellers with both a significant challenge and a significant opportunity.
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