by John Steinert, MarTech Today (excerpt)

This recent MarTech Today article examines both the costs and benefits of using AI in marketing. While AI can greatly increase the volume of customer interactions, it can do so at the expense of quality. According to Altimeter Principal Analyst Brian Solis, winning companies “begin with the insights that matter to customers and the outcomes that matter to the business.”

From the article:

The intelligent way out of the volume trap

At a recent conference, futurist Brian Solis shared a pretty shocking statistic. His research at Altimeter shows that while last year, 54 percent of companies said they were hard at work mapping the buyer’s journey, this year, the number dropped to just 35 percent who state this as a major focus.

Could it be that with the rise of AI, companies are starting to fall into the volume trap? Reprising a bit of wisdom he published some two years ago, Brian then highlighted a critical difference between companies that are winning and all the rest.

His research shows that the winners “begin with the insights that matter to customers and the outcomes that matter to the business.” He reminded us that if we insist on playing a volume game, addressing customers as if we don’t know them at all, we’re doomed to be given the cold shoulder — or worse.

Brian’s and my contention here is that this is not a problem that you need artificial intelligence to solve. Rather, it requires a shift in your thinking — away from volume-based metrics, and toward the kinds of things that human beings can be really good at. It begs for you to make better use of the minds you have available on your team.