Is Your AI-Powered Marketing Actually Working? How to Cut Through the Hype

It feels like every marketing tool is now being dubbed an ‘AI powered’ solution. From your email platform, chatbots, scheduling tools and image resizers, it seems the term has lost any real meaning. As a business owner, you want to know whether these extra features will really help your business or if you are just wasting money on a buzz word.

NovaReach Digital have created a new guide called ‘Do AI-Powered Marketing Solutions Deliver Value Beyond the Hype?’. This is presented as a series of questions and answers and what I loved was how straight to the point it was. It explains real AI will produce an improvement in a measurable outcome. If it doesn’t do this then it isn’t really going to matter.

Real AI

This can be broken down into one key point. Instead of looking at what features the tool can offer, look at what improvement it can bring to your business. Can it improve your send times? Identify which leads are ready to buy? Create a natural sounding follow-up email? Highlight customers who haven’t bought recently?

These are all great improvements you can make. However, they are only useful if you can identify an improvement in your figures.

Why So Many Are Let Down

A lot of the reasons why AI powered solutions fall short were relatable. They will showcase case studies from large companies who aren’t even similar to you. The data will need to be clean, which a small business just won’t have. Personalisation becomes adding their first name into the subject line. Messages are sent too frequently causing people to unsubscribe. And finally there was no evidence of where you started from meaning nothing can be proven.

This is the silent killer. Without knowing where you started from everything will feel like a guess. Taking 5 minutes to note down your starting figure will save you a lot of arguments.

5 Steps

The guide outlines 5 steps to take:

1. What one outcome do you want to improve? Make a note of your current figures. 2. Validate the vendors claims by using your own data. Try a small trial with clear terms. 3. Personalise with consent. Use preferences they have given you to send less but more relevant messages.

4. Most businesses forget this step. Link the solution to retention. Thank them for their purchase, follow up after purchase, remind them to buy again and ask for quick feedback. If they are unhappy pass them onto a real person quickly. 5. Take a look at the ROI. How much did it cost you to run (software, set up and staff)? Decide whether to scale, tweak or stop. I love that stopping is an option!

Focus On Retention

I loved how much emphasis was put on retention. A lot of the focus with AI powered marketing is finding new customers however it is often cheaper and much more enjoyable to retain existing customers. Sending a timely thank you or friendly reminder will do more for your AI driven growth than another round of advertising.

The example chart shows how more repeat customers are seen each month as each step is added. This is a simple example and not a client result.

Bad Habits Vs Good Habits

There was a table comparing bad habits with good ones. I would suggest printing this off. AI Powered with no measurable goal becomes 1 outcome with a starting figure noted. Case studies from unrelated businesses becomes a small trial using your own data. First name in subject line becomes personalisation with consent to send better messages. Effort to first purchase becomes a proper follow up journey.

4 Figures To Monitor

They suggest monitoring 4 figures. Repeat customers per month, response rate to personalised messages, cost per outcome and opt outs/complaints. This last one is a smart one to track. Often an increase in opt outs will be the first sign that you are sending too many messages or they aren’t relevant.

Personalisation

Personalisation will only work if your customers trust you. The guide gives a brief overview of what should be done. Always gain consent to collect preferences and send marketing texts. Respect opt outs and deletions across all systems. Don’t use sensitive personal data to target unless it is allowed by law and the customer. Don’t make any claims, reviews or statistics that you cannot prove.

If you have ever been left confused after a demo this guide is perfect for you. It won’t tell you which product to choose but it will give you a clear way to determine if an AI powered marketing solution is right for you. Using your own figures makes it much easier to decide.

Read the full guide here.