The Marketer of the Future and Conversational Marketing

The Marketer of the Future and Conversational Marketing
The Internet changed the world for marketers 20 years ago and smartphone
applications changed it again 10 years ago. Now that conversational marketing is here,
it’s set to change again. This term refers to driving customer engagement by
encouraging them to share feedback while building brand loyalty at the same time. Early
results indicate this has been a positive change for company profits.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the engine that drives conversational marketing. It’s in a
good position to disrupt companies from the smallest mom and pop shop to the largest
multi-million dollar company. Although AI comes in many forms, marketers tend to
focus the most on the conversational chatbots. You may also know them as virtual
assistants, digital employees, intelligent assistants, or conversational assistants.
Chatbots have grown so quickly in popularity that industry insiders predict these virtual
agents will be involved in most commercial transactions between businesses and people
within the next three years.
What Will the Future Bring?
Can you imagine what your business might look like in the future? In all likelihood, the
next version of your website or application will be driven by intelligent conversational
assistants. You can look forward to improved opportunities to engage with customers,
glean value from their conversation, and monitor the tone as well as the expressed need

of your customers. This information enables you to suggest products or services to
customers as well as solve problems for them and discover new ways to engage them
with your business.
Working with AI in this manner is just like having constant access to a specialized focus
group. Unlike real focus groups that allow marketers to speak to no more than a few
dozen people for a few hours at a time, this virtual focus group is available to you 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
This opportunity provides you with opportunity that marketers of generations past
could not have dreamed of having. You have a knowledge network at your fingertips as
well as the ability to position your company as a leader in the new digital economy while
also redefining your brand.
What Type of Customer Data Will You Have?
Some people view bots as a simplified version of customer support, but their value goes
beyond that. They can provide you with a first-person view of customer insight. In the
past, customer service professionals have relied on a formula of questions and answers
that doesn’t really solve the problem and leaves customers feeling dissatisfied.
Conversational AI makes it possible to redefine the customer engagement process from
the most basic tasks to solving complex problems.
AI can also help to change future customer interactions. For example, a customer who
needs to change travel arrangements might also see suggestions for car rental, lodging,
and tourist activities. Collecting targeted voice-drive data will help marketers build
loyalty while also expanding the customer base they already have.

Building Your Knowledge Network
A common misconception about bots is that they work in silos. The reality is that
working in a knowledge network enables smart assistants the ability to connect with
other AI-powered assistants to find the right information at the right time. This type of
combined wisdom is superior to what you can find among humans, especially related to
the speed of information recall. AI bots learn from every experience, something humans
can’t always claim.
Future marketers can use AI to access large knowledge bases within seconds for any
type of interaction with customers. This will provide many new personalization
opportunities for customers. When bots connect with each other, they share experience
and knowledge that marketers can draw in real time. Instead of feeling intrusive and
unwanted, these interactions will provide real value to users.
Building Brand Awareness with AI
Building brand awareness is a major undertaking for any company. AI enables you to
add a unique type of personification to your brand by using its conversational tactics.
You can now speak to all of your customers in an intelligent, conversational, and humanlike
manner while providing an automated service.
The companies who come out on top are those that can provide exceptional support
and care on every customer interaction. Utilizing AI makes it possible to maintain a
consistent brand message while still offering the ability to personalize it to each
customer. The individual approach wins over the mass-produced approach every time.
The Take-Away
You can expect AI-based conversational systems to identify your brand in the future.
Bots will operate across various marketing channels to provide customers with a
seamless experience. This will provide your company with rich data that makes it
possible to redefine your brand. The question is no longer whether marketers should
use AI. What you should focus on now is getting ready to make the transition.