Artificial intelligence is a hot topic, with people discovering the technology’s increasing benefits, efficiencies, and scope. With businesses already embracing or at least reviewing how to integrate AI into their best practices to improve current systems, marketing teams are discovering innovative ways it can enhance their campaigns.
With 50% of marketers already using AI, it’s safe to say that it’s a growing technology with clear benefits for sales.
Yet, as with any fast-developing technology, it comes with several drawbacks and concerns.
How marketing teams currently utilize AI
Data analysts have used AI in data analysis for a while, supporting marketers in reviewing campaigns and targeting specific customers. But the benefits don’t end there.
Chatbots and call center software have been enhancing customer service for a while. AI algorithms are often used to monitor conversations from customer service call centers to in-app live streaming for education, helping to moderate chats and gauge customer sentiment and satisfaction (for example, by using call center speech analytics software).
Chatbots also respond effectively to customer queries and feed efforts to learn how to improve interactions in the future.
AI trailblazers are even using .ai domain names to demonstrate their forward-thinking approach, acquiring an AI domain to showcase their commitment to innovation!
AI writing tools such as ChatGPT can speed up content creation. The content can then undergo personalization to target audiences. Artificial intelligence can also be great for optimizing digital advertising placement.
However, while the possibilities of AI in sales and marketing seem endless, there are several emerging drawbacks that we’ll look at next.
Drawbacks of AI in B2B marketing (with ways to overcome them)
Many marketers–possibly rightly–have concerns regarding the use of AI in marketing. While the benefits seem limitless, it’s crucial to understand the drawbacks and how to overcome them. Here, we’ll address some of the top concerns.
1. Obvious, unnatural content
If you’ve ever used artificial intelligence to generate written content, you may have noticed that the copy can sound unnatural or lack a creative, humanistic feel. The language and tone can seem dull or repetitive, contrasting how marketers present information.
To overcome this, teams can use AI to generate topics or taglines for ideas purposes or use artificial intelligence to generate copy, which then gets sent for review by a human. This way, efficiency improves without sacrificing great content.
In B2B marketing, content should sound personalized, professional, and engaging. For example, call center teams can use a call center agent sample script. It’s written by a human but enhanced with dynamic scripting. This populates certain fields with personal information on the client.
2. Legal and ethical concerns
When technology progresses so quickly, the law can’t always keep up. This has happened before with digital marketing and social media. Moving forward, there can be issues for marketing teams that may have to redesign their strategy due to a changing legal landscape.
While it’s impossible to predict where artificial intelligence will take us in the future or the nature of any laws that may come in, some areas are more obviously problematic than others, such as data bias. This is emerging as a potential issue surrounding AI. Being proactive in checking AI-produced data can help prevent future issues from arising.
There are also copyright infringement and plagiarism issues since AI software scraps information from the internet. This may require human intervention or plagiarism-checking software.
Ensuring compliance with current digital legislation surrounding areas like data protection, non-offensive language, and unsolicited emails can help reduce any potential action in the future. In addition, businesses with remote employees should have a secure remote access solution to reduce the risk of data breaches.
It’s also important to have a plan to keep an eye on trends, news, and government debates regarding the use of AI technology to take action on ethical concerns before they become law.
Creating a formal ‘artificial intelligence safe use’ policy is one way to mitigate trouble, which should increase the number of staff members and contractors using the technology.
3. Poor knowledge of implementation and use
A lack of understanding of what tech is available is responsible for many missed opportunities for marketing.
Another drawback for marketers is navigating media myths and hype. It’s important that business leaders research how other companies are utilizing AI in their marketing. Leaders can then plan how artificial intelligence will benefit their business.
Another concern is knowing how to implement AI software and use it to its full advantage. Artificial intelligence is notoriously difficult to integrate and requires a knowledgeable, skilled person (or team) to set it up effectively.
B2B marketing requires a plan that AI should enhance, not work against. So, a clear view of how artificial intelligence will supplement current practices is necessary.
Once implemented, businesses must invest in staff training to ensure teams make the most of the technology.
4. Human redundancies
As AI improves, a natural concern is that specific human roles will become obsolete. This can lead to a reluctance in marketing teams wishing to adopt AI. However, it’s important to remember that artificial intelligence has replaced jobs, but each industry is different, and some jobs can’t be replaced by technology.
Sales and marketing largely rely upon human-to-human interaction. So, it’s unlikely AI will replace employees in the field any time soon. Companies are on a continuous mission to improve customer services, and replacing agents with artificial intelligence appears counter-intuitive at this stage. This is especially true in B2B, where clients must feel valued.
Take the health industry, for example. Insurance agents can automate certain elements of their sales and marketing, and using a health insurance dialer can improve the communication process. However, the process still relies on a human for the interactive element.
Communication from leaders on how the deployment of AI will take place should help alleviate concerns. Along with reassurances that no massive job cuts are imminent.
5. Costs
Budgeting for AI can be a barrier for many businesses as it doesn’t come cheap. The initial investment for hardware and software is hefty, but there are also ongoing maintenance costs to consider.
Sales and marketing teams should plan the costs and weigh them against the potential revenue increases to determine the technology’s viability. The money should be there before the rollout begins, with a contingency budget for unforeseen costs. This should help prevent a failed implementation project.
6. Inaccuracies in data
Artificial intelligence can sometimes produce results that are inconsistent or inaccurate. Before the AI results are used, tests should take place on the results to ensure they are accurate.
For AI to work well, the data it’s analyzing must be accurate—inaccurate data results in questionable decision-making, problematic campaigns, and a potential loss in revenue. The good news is that you can train artificial intelligence to hone and improve data.
For companies already using big data to improve revenue, there are probably already data quality metrics in place, and AI can then be used to analyze it quickly and efficiently.
7. A lack of content variety
Varied content is the key to successful marketing. When operating in a B2B market, marketing teams should be mindful of the inbox bombardment their clients experience whether it’s online ads, social media posts, or newsletters. Marketing must leap out and grab them if it’s going to work.
Using content creation software such as ChatGPT can initially produce many interesting results. Over time, however, results can become repetitive and lacking in variety. This can reduce the impact of social media posts, which must engage the audience to work.
Instead of relying upon software to generate content, try using an AI post generator to generate catchy post titles and striking images. Marketing teams can then have fun turning these prompts and images into engaging posts.
8. Balancing AI with human interaction
One concern is that AI may become overused and reduce the effectiveness of marketing. This is particularly true in the case of building customer relations. In addition, it could reduce team collaboration, creativity, and, ultimately, job satisfaction.
To overcome this concern, business leaders should have a clear view of how artificial intelligence will be used and how it will fit into the ethos and vision of the company.
While AI can take over mundane tasks, such as analytics, humans can focus more on the customer relations element of marketing. Auto dialler software, for example, can provide sales teams with an interface showing details on each client before rapidly dialing them. This means that when sales teams call B2B clients, they have background information in front of them, ensuring a smooth phone call.
Final thoughts
AI has a plethora of obvious advantages in B2B marketing. Improved efficiency and data analytics can improve business relationships and speed up inquiries. Using artificial intelligence to create catchy headings and dazzling images can cut through the monotony of normal marketing communications.
However, it’s essential to be aware of the potential drawbacks before diving into AI. Doing it wrong can be a costly lesson, so having a full plan of what you want AI to supplement in your business and how to implement this is vital.
Study how other businesses use AI in marketing before deciding how it will work for you. Then, develop a realistic view of how it can benefit your marketing.
Remember, in marketing, the key is ‘enhancement,’ not ‘replacement’!