From data analytics to personalisation: How AI is powering next phase of martech growth

Marketing is undergoing its next level of changes. The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is giving a new direction to the martech ecosystem. This has led to greater brand awareness and brand recall, ensuring that the brands are an active part of the lives of the consumers. The impact of AI on martech is significant and will be more profound in the coming years with the generation of real-time data insights and hyper-personalised targeting as well as behavioral and programmatic advertising. Martech is the technological foundation of marketing, which helps in organising and analysing customer data and assisting marketers with meaningful insights based on automated market research.

“AI is changing how the marketing technology, or martech, industry works, like the way smartphones changed how we communicate,” pointed out Sumit Gupta, Founder, Viral Pitch, adding, “For example, AI can quickly analyse customer data to understand what they like or don’t like. This helps businesses show ads or offers more likely to interest each customer. In the future, AI could make this even more accurate and personalized. Imagine browsing an online store; it feels like it knows exactly what you want. That’s AI making smart guesses based on your past choices. AI will make martech more efficient and personalised, helping businesses to connect better with their customers.”

AI is a great tool to aid marketers in utilising the complex functionalities of marketing technologies and helping businesses to stay competitive in a rapidly changing world, delivering more personalized customer experiences, helping to know their consumers better, and generating automated content catering to the needs of marketers with the help of generative AI. However, nothing can replace the touch of human creativity that resonates and connects with the emotions of the consumers.

“The rise of AI has sparked discussions about whether it can replace marketers and salespeople. However, as a CEO, I believe that AI is not meant to replace humans, but rather to enhance their abilities. AI can automate repetitive tasks, provide valuable insights, and improve efficiency. However, it is the human touch that brings creativity, emotional intelligence, and the ability to build genuine relationships. Successful marketing and sales require a balance between data-driven strategies and human connection” said Upendran Kumar Founder & CEO, Ayatiworks Technology.

He further added “AI empowers marketers and salespeople by offering powerful tools, streamlining processes, and enabling smarter decision-making. When AI and human professionals work together, incredible results can be achieved, unlocking the full potential of the digital marketing landscape. It is the collaboration between AI and humans that creates true magic and drives unparalleled success.”

“Think of it as a tool that helps a bookstore owner track popular books while the owner focuses on recommending books and making the store cozy,” said Dhruv Abrol, Founder and CEO, The Voice Authority.

AI helps in uncovering human behaviour patterns such as movie preferences, and eating habits by leveraging deep learning algorithms, thereby interacting with individuals in a personalised manner. AI also helps to predict consumer behaviour from before, and know about their brand preferences, recurring needs, wants, and shopping behaviour thereby enabling a hassle-free customer journey by keeping track of and analysing data derived from social media, as well as the customers’ browsing and purchase history.

AI technologies such as AR and VR help to create personalised shopping experiences. In this regard, Meghna Krishna, CRO, Magnifi by VideoVerse, opined, “AR and VR technologies have emerged as powerful tools for creating immersive brand experiences that captivate and resonate with audiences. By blending the physical and digital realms, I can foresee a future where you could keep filling up the stadium with unlimited seating and offer a superlative viewing experience of different angles to the play and how you can watch it.”

Adding further, she said, “It is the true virtual experience that every sports fan anywhere around the world wants. Imagine watching the World Cup Finals from your living room in London or Nairobi, while simultaneously being virtually present at the stadium in Qatar with your friends! These technologies empower brands to tell captivating stories, showcase their offerings, and create lasting impressions on their audience. By leveraging AR and VR, businesses can differentiate themselves in the market, and drive brand awareness.”

According to The Voice Authority’s Abrol, AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) are like magic glasses that can blend the real and virtual worlds to make a brand more exciting. “Imagine using AR to see how a new sofa would look in your living room before you buy it, or using VR to take a virtual tour of a hotel room before you book your vacation. These technologies allow businesses to interact with their customers in excellent, new ways - like showing off products in 360-degree views, making interactive simulations, or letting customers virtually ‘try on’ items. By using AR and VR, businesses can make their brands more memorable and build a stronger bond with their customers, encouraging them to stick around and engage more,” he added.

“The new launch from Apple really has the potential to transform the way we have traditionally looked at AR and VR as it blends the two worlds, allowing the customers to visualise and experience them in their own personalspaces. By providing these personalised and fascinating brand experiences, the company is able to establish deep emotional connections, increase engagement, and leave a lasting mark on the hearts and minds of its customers. The objective is to instill everlasting brand,” said Somil Agrawal, SVP and Head of Marketing, Shiprocket.

Talking about how AI is empowering Pilgrim, its CMO Konark Gaur said, “AI is revolutionising the way marketing strategies are crafted and executed. At Pilgrim, we are not only recognising the power of AI but also constantly adapting to the changing times. Staying ahead in the beauty and personal care industries requires continuous tapping into consumer behavior and needs, which is why consumer-centricity remains the key to our ever-growing Pilgrim tribe. Our approach is rooted in driving disruptive impact on the personal care segment through revolutionary products. Looking ahead, AI’s impact on martech is poised to grow further.”

Sharing his views on AI in martech, Neeraj Bassi, Chief Growth Officer, Cheil India, said, “There are four areas where I see a good potential for AI to interact with marketing:

• Assisting research: AI is able to collate information from several sources and it has the processing power to bucket the information into coherent topics. Therefore, rather than scrolling across various web pages to scrape relevant information, the user gets access to categorized information in one place. This saves a lot of time, though one needs to be cautious about data validity today.
• Generating options: AI has a good capability to generate a first draft (text or visual) for you in practically no time. You feed in the relevant prompts and out comes the draft. The quality of the draft would vary basis the AI tool & prompting used, but you would get a fair enough draft to get you started. And basis a change in a prompt, you can fine-tune the draft towards your objective.
• Adaptation: This is an evolving area where we will see good traction in the near future. AI can help you adapt an idea to different usage contexts. We are already used to apps that convert Instagram posts into a poster or vice versa. It won’t be long before AI would be able to give us all the adapts basis a list of deliverables and an approved concept/ key visual! Though one would still need a creative mind to supervise this process and choose the relevant adapts to be taken forward, but the task would become less cumbersome and faster.
• Targeting: The ability of AI to generate cohorts/ segments for targeting is far ahead of the human mind. I have seen case studies where 100+ cohorts have been targeted with customized messaging and basis their response, the subsequent message has been optimized. Try managing that manually! This technology is still in the early stage, but I see it evolving fast and bringing efficiency to digital media spending.”

A simple AI-driven mail such as wishing a customer on their birthday can go a long way in making them happy with the brand. Predictive analytics help in making data-driven decisions, targeted advertising, using AI, ML, and other technologies, which help in forecasting the behaviour of loyal consumers as well as the potential ones, leading to greater chances of sales and generation of more revenue. They also help in creating newer more effective marketing strategies that are helpful for the brand.

In this regard, Upendran Kumar noted, “In today’s digital landscape, AI and ML are indispensable for personalised marketing experiences that elevate customer engagement. By analysing vast data, marketers create highly targeted campaigns, fostering emotional connections and driving engagement. AI-powered automation, predictive analytics, and real-time optimisation enhance marketing effectiveness, identify opportunities, and unlock revenue streams. AI empowers data-driven decisions, optimising resource allocation for higher returns on investment. It’s an essential ingredient for success in the evolving digital landscape.”

 “AI and Machine Learning (ML) are like smart tools that help businesses provide a personal touch, much like a chef who remembers your food allergies. They analyse loads of customer data, spot trends, and understand individual preferences, helping businesses offer customers exactly what they’re interested in. This personalised approach connects customers to the business, making them more likely to stay loyal and buy more. So, using AI in marketing could lead to increased profits. But just as a chef needs to use their tools wisely, the impact of AI on earnings depends on how it is used in the overall marketing strategy,” said Dhruv Abrol.

Speaking on how AI and ML have helped to optimise business processes at Shiprocket, Somil Agrawal said, “AI and ML offer valuable personalized marketing experiences across sectors. Businesses gain consumer insights through ML and AI for better segmentation and delivery. Our logistics experience is hassle-free with AI-powered algorithms, optimizing processes and reducing costs. Our user-friendly app ensures convenience, real-time updates, order tracking, and robust customer service. We empower merchants to streamline operations, enhance satisfaction, and achieve logistical excellence. Our platform has led to significant improvements, with sellers experiencing up to 10-15% delivery performance increase and cost savings of up to 8-10%.”

AI helps in building long-lasting relationships with consumers and reduces the chances of customer churn. For example, AI can predict upcoming changes in the industry due to economic, environmental, social, or technological factors and help marketers and brands in devising strategies accordingly such as providing discounts, and special deals, sending personalized emails, and special offers, saving the brands from facing customer dissatisfaction, stagnancy, and loss.

To build a smooth customer journey, continuous data-driven improvements are necessary where AI plays a significant role and makes the lives of marketers easier. AI also helps to influence consumer perceptions. AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots which fall under Conversational AI, help in easing the lives of the customers, increasing customer satisfaction and good feedback from them about the brand. It also assists in sentiment analysis by monitoring the social media behaviour, and online interactions with the brand of the customers and helps in giving personalized product recommendations to consumers, increasing brand trust and leading to a favourable perception of the brand.

 “The use of AI in marketing has the potential to increase income. Conversion rates are increased via customised marketing interactions, targeted offers, and suggestions. AI encourages client loyalty and retention through individualised involvement and assistance, which eventually results in higher expenditure. AI-driven recommendation systems find chances for upselling and cross-selling by recommending more goods or services that fit with customers’ tastes. AI-driven analytics also optimise advertising expenditures by finding high-performing channels and campaigns for increased ROI,” noted Saksham Khanda and Aditya Saraswat, Co-Founders, Ink Revenue.

AI assists in Intent data-based targeting, which helps in the identification of high-intent prospects and target marketing efforts more effectively. This helps in the utilisation of the marketing budget to the maximum, improving the overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns and focusing on the prospective leads more. Martech powered by AI will revolutionise marketing with the introduction of new features and technologies, helping brands to grow even better, and overcome adversities.

“Led by AI, martech will become an ecosystem of seamless integration, seamlessly connecting marketing channels and automating repetitive tasks. Yet, amid this transformative journey, we must remember that AI is a tool, and we have a responsibility to use it ethically. We must protect privacy and prioritise transparency, ensuring that the power of AI is harnessed for the greater good. By embracing AI at Martech, we have embarked on a remarkable journey of innovation, where technology and human ingenuity converge to shape a brighter future for businesses and consumers” said Anil Somani, Executive Chairman, FOSTIIMA Business School, Delhi.

Meghna Krishna, CRO, Magnifi by VideoVerse, shared some data points and elaborated on how AI continues to empower marketers to unlock new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, with 50% of marketers acknowledging its potential to enhance their efforts. Additionally, 88% of marketers believe that increasing the use of automation and AI is necessary to meet customer expectations and stay competitive (Mailchimp 2023), while 54.5% expect AI to greatly enhance their marketing efforts (Influencer Marketing Hub 2023). From data analysis to customer segmentation, AI is reshaping the way they strategize, execute campaigns, and engage with their audience. With the current advancements, we can expect even more sophisticated solutions that will enable marketers to make smarter decisions, optimise their efforts, and drive unparalleled results.

She further said, “AI algorithms have transformed data analysis, empowering marketers to extract meaningful insights, predict trends, and optimise campaigns in real-time. It is worth noting that 61.4% of marketers have already used AI in their marketing activities, with 44.4% utilising it for content production (Influencer Marketing Hub 2023). This data indicates the growing influence of AI in the martech industry and its ability to deliver personalised experiences and optimise marketing campaigns. With ongoing advancements, we can expect even more sophisticated AI solutions to drive smarter decisions and unparalleled results in the future. [Data sources: Mailchimp 2023, Influencer Marketing Hub 2023].”

On being enquired about the impact of AI on digital marketing, Dhruv Abrol said, “AI is like a super assistant in online marketing. It can quickly go through a lot of customer data to understand what each person likes, similar to a barista remembering your usual coffee order. It can also tailor ads to each person instead of showing the same ad to everyone. Plus, it powers those helpful chatbots on websites, speeding up customer service. AI makes online marketing more efficient and personalised, which makes customers happy and helps businesses grow.”

“AI is significantly transforming the martech landscape by enabling personalised marketing strategies, automating tasks for increased efficiency, providing valuable customer insights, utilising chatbots and virtual assistants for improved customer engagement, facilitating content creation and optimisation, harnessing predictive analytics for accurate forecasting, and shaping the future of voice search and voice-activated assistants. As AI technology continues to advance, it will further enhance personalization, segmentation, and content creation, refining targeting and campaign optimisation. This increased accessibility to AI-powered martech tools will empower smaller businesses and drive further innovation in the industry,” concluded Sumit Gupta, Founder, Viral Pitch.