Artificial Intelligence (AI) in marketing is all abuzz in recent months. Much like using any tool, knowing how best to utilize it determines how effective it can be. And, if we’re giving an honest reality check, that determination still requires human input.
From generating ad copy to analyzing customer data, AI can potentially supercharge B2B marketing. We say potentially, because its misuse can equally lead to inauthentic branding, overly generic and even recognizable messaging across channels, and a lack of emotional connection. And if you haven’t done your own messaging platform, provide you with messaging that is your competitors’.
How can you use AI to maximize your B2B marketing without blending into the generic noise? And where should you proceed with caution? Let’s explore both sides.
AI Tried to Advertise: The Coca-Cola Holiday Campaign
Coca-Cola released an AI-generated commercial over the 2024 holiday season that was meant to be heartwarming and festive. While festive overall, the animals and characters looked real and artificial at the same time. The movements of the trucks gliding along the road were cringe-worthy and noticeably AI-generated.
Coca-Cola’s brand is notoriously nostalgic, but this AI-driven campaign was anything but “real magic” down memory lane for viewers. As a result, many were left feeling disconnected due to the ad’s inauthenticity.
This is an example of how AI is a capable tool in advertising and marketing, while also serving as a cautionary tale — to remain authentic and on-brand we still need humans to provide the finishing touches before executing.
Where AI in Marketing Falls Short
AI is powerful, but it’s not perfect. Here are some common pitfalls:
- Lack of Brand Voice Consistency: AI-generated content often lacks the unique tone and personality belonging to a brand. In B2B marketing, maintaining that brand voice is crucial to building trust. How many times have you been able to tell when something you’re reading was AI-generated, simply due to the use of certain words or phrases being repeated throughout the same piece of content? In the life science industry, decision makers speak science – so your brand voice should, too.
- Unverified or Incorrect Information: AI-generated content isn’t always accurate. If AI pulls from outdated or incorrect sources, businesses could end up distributing misleading information that damages their credibility. A human needs to fact-check.
- Over-Automation Risks: AI chatbots and automated emails can improve efficiency, but overuse can feel impersonal. B2B marketing is about building relationships, many of which are established over months at a time or throughout long sales cycles. No AI tool can replace genuine human connections, but it can supplement with information that’s needed quickly. Just don’t overdo it.
Enhancing B2B Marketing
AI is helping B2B marketers save time. Here are some interesting areas that AI has been impacting:
- Content Generation for Ads and Emails: When well-fed with solid background materials like creative briefs, personas, and messaging platforms, generative AI tools like ChatGPT can quickly draft ad copy, social media posts, email campaigns, and other short-form content. Ideally, it serves as a great starting point from which human marketers save time by editing and polishing AI first drafts. Generally, where we see the greatest value in AI today is creating starter copy, versioning copy for different audiences, repurposing copy across different channels, and for creating A/B testing variations.
- Market Trend Analysis: AI can analyze large datasets faster than humans, identifying trends, competitor strategies, and emerging opportunities. Marketers can use these insights to refine their campaigns.
- Chatbots and Automated Customer Interactions: While also a pitfall if overused, AI chatbots can handle routine customer inquiries quickly on websites, freeing up sales teams to focus on higher-value interactions or on upselling current customers.
While AI can assist with everything we’ve mentioned so far, businesses should remember that AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on, and the human managing the prompts. Blindly trusting AI-generated insights without human validation or proper instructions from a human in the first place leads to errors and misinterpretations. Proceed with care.
Smart Ways to Use AI in B2B Marketing
To get the most out of AI, perhaps businesses should adopt a hybrid approach:
- Use AI as a First Draft, Not the Final Product: AI-generated copy can save time, but a human should always refine it to align with brand voice and to hone it for personas if necessary.
- Keep Human Creativity at the Forefront: While you can ask AI to generate ideas, creativity and emotional intelligence are uniquely human skills. Use AI to enhance – not replace – human-driven strategy.
- Test and Iterate: AI is great for testing different marketing messages, but human marketers should also analyze results and make strategic decisions based on the insights AI provides. They know your customers better than a tool.
Tip: When shopping for an agency to help with your marketing, the important question to be asking the agency is not IF they’re using AI, but rather HOW they’re using it? Anyone can use AI to produce results quickly that are meager, unchecked, and possibly incoherent. What creates successful results are quality interactions that prospects expect to be authentic and transparent.
Strategy, Strategy, Strategy
Quality is based on a solid strategy. In B2B marketing, AI can only guess at the intricacies or nuances of a particular industry – especially a science-driven industry.
Leverage your agency for a successful strategy, first and foremost. They should know your marketplace’s ins and outs and have the connections to provide exceptional value. For example, an agency’s media planner will have knowledge of channels and relationships with those channels that only a human professional can provide.
Final Thoughts
AI is a game-changer for B2B marketing, but only if it’s used wisely. If instead used in ways that cheapen your brand, the damage will cost a steep price. The key is to strike a balance: leverage AI for efficiency, but maintain human expertise for strategy, authenticity, accuracy, and emotional connection.
The best B2B marketing strategies use AI as an auxiliary tool and not as a replacement for human knowledge and judgement.
What’s your take on AI in B2B marketing? Have you seen examples of AI being used brilliantly—or disastrously? Leave a comment or contact us to start a conversation.