In an earlier article, we have discussed how a culture of innovation opens companies to the potential of artificial intelligence(AI). In this post, we will be discussing the value AI brings to marketing, product research, finance and HR operations of your business. The aforementioned areas can take up a lot of time and resources. However, with AI tools, companies can increase turnaround time, raise the quantity and quality of output, and drive up value. Organisations that have machine learning tools in their daily processes can gain better insight into their consumer base and automate processes. Thus, companies can devise better business plans that will see them surge ahead of their competition. Those who do not will be left behind.
How AI Improves Marketing Efforts
There are several ways marketers can use the benefits of AI to improve marketing processes and get better results. One such method is automating tasks given that some tasks like lead generation and sending emails are considered to be repetitive. AI can automate many tasks freeing up marketers to devise more creative and innovative marketing campaigns.
Artificial intelligence provides better insight into consumer actions using analytics. Marketers can use analytics to discover and understand their consumer base better. Furthermore, advanced analytics platforms, like predictive analytics anticipate how people would respond to future marketing efforts. Thus, marketers can develop smarter campaigns that resonate with their target audience.
Artificial intelligence can do more than refine marketing processes - it sets the groundwork for brand new marketing techniques. For example, some algorithms can perform an ‘image search’, which is identifying an object using a picture. Image search is making its way to smartphones, which means owners can snap a picture of an item they saw in a shop’s window and instantly find the best deals. Thus, image search paves the way for new and exciting marketing opportunities. Those who take advantage of these new marketing techniques will gain a competitive advantage.
AI in Product Research
It's now possible for product researchers to create a detailed customer profile on a customer via Google searches, e-commerce purchases, social media activity, smartphone activity and more. However, amidst this sea of information, product researchers have to find the relevant information that feeds into product research. By integrating artificial intelligence into the process, product researchers can navigate through the sea of information to find the targeted, relevant information that feeds into product research and informs business strategy.
Artificial Intelligence can also draw information from different sources like brand recognition, competitors, demand for similar products, past successes and failures to draw connections not yet seen by others. In other words, product researchers that use AI can take full advantage of data, which means pulling ahead of their competitors.
Bias is the bane of market research because it affects the accuracy of data collected from surveys. AI can remove unconscious bias from the research improving the quality of data collected.
AI learns in real time, hence some AI can suggest improvements to survey questions. Product research is challenging because it is tough to account for the different responses a survey respondent can give. However, by integrating artificial intelligence into the survey, the tool can generate follow-up questions for respondents who give unexpected answers.
Better Finance Management Through AI
Businesses can improve the fight against fraud using AI. One benefit is the building of smart tools that can combat problems in real-time. Companies working in the banking sector have problems detecting fraud because the techniques are changing to exploit the gap in rules. By implementing artificial intelligence, businesses can build security systems that can learn and adapt to the changing fraud techniques, thus reducing the amount of money lost to fraud. Companies can save millions of dollars annually by using AI as a fraud detection tool.
However, AI is more than just a tool for fraud detection. With the amount of data companies collect on their customers and company operations, it's important to have tools that can churn through terabytes of data to draw meaningful connections, trends and patterns. Through artificial intelligence, businesses can get a better understanding of their customers and how their companies operate. Thus, paving the way for smarter strategies that lead to more cost savings, smarter ways to expand their audience - all while emphasizing their unique brand value.
Better Management of Human Resources with AI
One of the hardest functions a company faces is managing human resources. The process of finding, nurturing and retaining the right talent is a huge challenge for any company to overcome. Artificial intelligence overcomes several challenges to improve output in human resources.
AI automates routine tasks performed by HR professionals, like looking through resumes. Currently, professionals spend hours sifting through CVs for the right candidate. With artificial intelligence, companies can sift through resumes quickly to identify the key elements HR wants without human supervision. According to a company, using an AI-driven candidate sourcing algorithm, they were able to reduce days spent hiring one person from 34 days to 9 days.
AI can do a lot more than just cut costs - it expands options for recruiters through candidate screening. Using AI, recruiters draw on different sources beyond the candidate’s CV like social media, previous online job history and more for a complete profile. Using this information, recruiters can create a list of candidates ranking them based on how suitable they are for the job. Through this method, HR can discover a list of ‘passive’ candidates - those who would be a good fit for the company but are not searching for jobs.
Benefits of Integrating AI into the Organisation
Companies that integrate AI into their processes will create a better business with more competitive strategies. The strategies will be devised due to a better understanding of customers, better insight into operations, and automation of tedious tasks. Thus, companies can get ahead of their competitors by operating faster, cutting costs, taking insightful action and providing better service at a faster rate. Therefore, by using artificial intelligence, companies can get a head start on their competitors and enjoy higher profits and growth.
