Lead generation in the AI era

Hey there! As many companies out there you are probably being shaken up by the emerging AI technologies that are flooding the market. On the other side, if you are having an AI product or service, you are facing growing competition in the market. So let’s say a few words about AI and how it affects you and your business and what are the opportunities, gains, risks and limitations of the technology. 

It’s been quite a ride for the past 6 months! Perhaps you haven’t even had the chance to catch up with all of it! After the crisis in the banking industry, the fall of SVB, Credit Suisse and Open AI`s Chat GPT, it seems the world will never be the same again. While the world is shifting into a new era, companies have to adjust fast, learn a lot, design new processes, and adopt the inevitable AI technology to stay in the game on the market. As for the AI providers, and companies that provide AI products or services, the heat is coming up, competition is rising and the time of peaceful product development in stealth mode is over, now you have to run for the market share. That means a lot of lead generation and as for all out there on the market, you have to acquire clients. 

Let’s first take a look at what was most outspoken lately: Midjourney and Chat GPT. The trend is that text and video AI will merge and the new tools will be more and more sophisticated. Yet, for most companies choosing the AI tools suitable for them is a challenge since there are plenty of new tools, products and services on the market. Common sense says that companies will have to put a lot of investment in exploring these tools to find the best fit for their companies. 

From what we get from the news, Google is launching an AI chatbot called Bard to rival ChatGPT, built on Google’s existing large language model Lamda.

Google’s AI-powered features in search aim to distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, helping users quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web.

Chatbots like Bard and ChatGPT have the ultimate aim of replacing pages of web links with one definitive answer, but there are concerns about offensive material and disinformation.

Google is set to launch an AI-powered chatbot called Bard to compete with ChatGPT, which uses the internet as a database to answer questions and requests. Bard will be tested by a group of users before being released to the public. It will use Google’s existing large language model, Lamda. Google has also announced new AI tools for its search engine. The ultimate aim of chatbots is to replace pages of web links with a definitive answer. Google boss Sundar Pichai said that people are using Google search to ask more nuanced questions than before, and AI can help synthesize insights for those questions. So we can conclude that it will be a really interesting year! 

When speaking of lead generation and marketing, we should look into the realities of the impact. AI re-writing tools have been around for quite some time. You can find a list of AI writing tools on the following link https://seo.ai/blog/the-best-ai-writing-tools . 

Yet, we must tell you that, even though these tools are helpful, they are only the cherry over the cream. There are a few things that AI still cannot do for you: like tell you what it is that you want, who you are and where you are headed. So, even though they can speed you up and smooth the flight, be careful that you stir it in the right direction. That’s about the texts. What about the research? Well, we wouldn’t advise you to leave creating the map entirely to AI. You should dig into learning your target market, the current needs, perspectives and pain points of your target market, so that you can guide the AI tools through it. Still, there is no one that will know their needs and desires better than your potential customers and yourself. 

 

Is AI real? 

It’s real, but do you really have to blindly trust it? Let’s keep it real. Briefly let’s look at what AI can help you with and what are the limitations and risks:

Gains:

1. Gains – AI tools will make you faster, smooth up your processes and increase productivity and profitability. AI solutions have been around for some time, yet now is their prime and all industries and companies will simply need to incorporate pricing AI, product AI, design AI, video production AI, text and processes AI, revenue optimization AI, etc… 
2. Most of the AI-free tools are on an “assistant” level, which means that they will help you, but you must do your part of the work. Here are some examples of such tools: Compose AI, Chat GPT sidebar, ChatGPT Glarity-Summarize YouTube and Google, YouTube & Article Summary powered by ChatGPT, Wiseone, tldv.io , hotpot.ai 

Limitations:

1. The limitations of all these tools are that they are reliant on existing data on the web and aren’t so good at fact-checking. As it was recently published in one article on BBC (you can find the link here https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64576225 ), it produced a wrong answer to a simple question such as the discoveries of James Webb Space Telescope and it missed the answer, causing a drop of 7% on Alphabet`s stock value in the amount of 100bln. If you have tested some of these AI tools, you probably found that it is not wise to rely on them completely and can sometimes stride into missing out to filter out harmful and misleading content and data, existing on the internet. 
2. It may cause you anxiety. Yeah, it is a joke, yet once you start looking for these Ai solutions, it might feel a bit overwhelming to find out that so many exist out there and you have no idea which is best for you! Oh, yes, and not to mention the anxiety around that it will do analytics, business strategy and marketing and you`re doomed… Well, not quite so, you are still behind the driver’s seat and all these solutions will need your last human touch to make it fit in the real world and for you and your company.

 

How does AI incorporate lead generation and are human skills becoming more needed?

So let’s take a peek at the AI tools and automation that emerged in the lead generation space and what are the gains and limitations. 

     1.AI lead generation tools are a great help when it comes to the part of creating lists, yet, defining the target requires market knowledge and most of the research still has to be done manually

2. One AI lead generation tool usually is not enough and you will have to combine at least a few. Choosing the right combination can sometimes be challenging. 
3. Lead generation is an extensive process and we often meet companies that are tempted to believe that once set to AI and automation the process needs no further human involvement. The truth is, with all the AI and automation, your B2B lead generation and sales process still requires an optimal number of people to control, and optimize daily. Also, using the technology usually requires additional training and upskilling your team. 

 

Knowledge beyond AI

Over the years, we have served more than 100 clients in their demand and lead generation efforts, continually adopting new tools and technologies and helping our clients elevate in new skills, lead generation processes and sales tactics. We have served clients almost in all parts of the world: Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, France, UK, Denmark, Serbia, Greece, Macedonia, India, Africa, Turkey etc. What is true in all parts of the world is that human intelligence is needed to utilize high tech and human skills are also highly important in the sales process. We are happy that we have helped our clients with more than just generating early sales discovery calls with super detailed defined prospects, but also supported them in their understanding of the market, the sales process, the sales communication and even in creating and managing their company`s teams and creating their mid-term operating strategies and left a spark of stardust in their immersion of vision and motivation. These collateral experiences have gradually built into our extended coaching and consulting services and the Sales Academy designed to train sales teams and professionals.

The experiences gained through our work sprouted the confidence to claim that the core of marketing, sales and lead generation is deeper than AI and emerging technologies. Based on this understanding, we designed and implemented a hybrid model where human intelligence is dominant and it utilizes the new AI tools in a controlled hybrid environment. This combination is the best of both worlds: the human experience and knowledge and the gems of AI technology. 

So we encourage you to adopt the new AI technologies in a manner best fit for your company and to reach out to the market if you provide an AI service, product or technology and join the exploration of the new market landscape. 

Hope to meet you on the journey! 

International Marketing Agency can support you with done-for-you lead generation service, do-it-yourself automation setup, consulting package on sales communication and process, marketing demand generation strategy crafting and make the combination that would work best for you. 

Book a call with us to talk more details, we’d love to learn about your business and be a part of your success!