fbpx

Marketing Simplified

The Biggest Mistake Marketers Stand to Make with AI and How to Avoid It

Uncategorized

In today’s digital landscape, I often tell my students and clients that success lies in identifying future trends and taking small steps to prepare for them without losing focus on their current marketing strategy. One upcoming shift is the impact of AI on content marketing. However, many marketers are overlooking a nuance in this shift, which could lead to pitfalls in the future. In this this blog, I’ll explore the shift from third-person transformational marketing to first-person transformational marketing and discuss how to avoid the common mistakes that could easily come along with AI implementation.

Understanding the Transformation. Traditionally, marketing focused on product features and information, neglecting the power of transformational moments. With the advent of the internet and reality TV, marketers realized the impact of consumers seeing others experience the transformation they desired. Marketers shifted their approach to emphasize how their products could make consumers happy, provide a sense of belonging, and create shared human experiences through third party actors and influencers. This marked a transition from information-based content to transformation-based content.

Moving from Third- to First-Person Transformation. While many marketers now use third-party transformation strategies, the challenge will be in shifting the transformation from third- to first-person. In other words, how can we use AI to create transformative experiences directly for consumers? This is a tough problem to solve, but there are some neat ideas already out there…

Learning from Lululemon. Lululemon, for instance, strategically places folding tables by their fitting rooms instead of the back stockroom. This allows their associates to gather real-time feedback from consumers about which clothes they like and why, when they plan to wear the clothes (maybe they are about to run a 5K), and how the clothes make them feel (maybe they feel stylish wearing a seasonal color). Lululemon associates are required to submit information they hear to R&D so that Lululemon can improve its products. Within the next few years, though, these insights will be incredibly valuable when applied to first-person immersive experiences using AI. For example, instead of a chatbot identifying the color and material of what a consumer is trying on, it could simulate the customer crossing the finish line of a 5K in the clothes they are trying on, letting them feel the transformation they are imagining.

AI and the Transformational Moment. Despite the automated features for immersive experiences, such as predictive analytics and real-time chatbots, I fear that these capabilities may miss the core reason why people make purchases—the transformational moment. It will be important to remember that AI’s algorithmic nature often leads to conversations centered around product features rather than the benefits or transformation it offers… a marketing practice we’ve taught students and professionals to abandon for years. Consumers don’t want to miss that 5K moment and human marketers may have to step in to program that.

How do we prepare and fix this? I recommend marketers start formalizing ways to immerse themselves in their consumers’ experiences. Find the equivalent of Lululemon’s folding table for your business, whether it’s asking detailed questions more frequently or formalizing a system to report on natural conversations during demos, test drives, open houses, consultations, and similar interactions. By taking this approach and finding first-party transformative moments, you will be better prepared for the future integration of AI, enabling your customers to experience the same transformative moments they currently encounter in third-party marketing. Ultimately, this investment in consumer experience will pay off in conversions.

In other words, with a little preparation, you can avoid falling into the features trap and potentially maximize the benefits AI has to offer.

I want to hear about the consumer observation systems you put in place to prepare… let me know at [email protected]

Comments

Marketing Blog

Testimonials

headshot for Dr Lisa Hornick

“Vanessa changed my life. This is not an exaggeration. I learned more about marketing and brand management from Vanessa in one weekend than I did in YEARS of trying to navigate these subjects on my own. Vanessa has a way of presenting material so that it is easy to understand, effective and immediately actionable. She makes complex concepts simple and accessible. With her many years of experience, she is able to teach real-life lessons that you can implement to launch or improve your business today. Most of all, Vanessa can see your potential and vision sometimes better than you can see it yourself. She truly believes in her students and clients and has a unique way of helping them make their dreams a reality. I did not always think of myself as a thought leader in my industry but Vanessa inspired me to look at my career in new ways. She has helped me bring forth opportunities that I never thought were possible. I am so thankful to have her in my life and forever appreciative of the impact she’s had on both my personal and professional endeavors. Vanessa uses her special gifts to help bring out yours.”

Dr. Lisa Hornick
Optometrist
headshot of Ryan Wilson

“A huge thank you to Vanessa and for her unwavering commitment to shaping leaders of the future. Her knowledge and strategies with personalized thought leadership was the foundation that transformed the way I presented myself and my business. I realized how crucial it is to create a brand that authentically represents you, your values, and your mission. This branding not only impacted my career but shaped the way we position WilsonTech in the market, emphasizing our dedication to excellence, trust, and innovation.”

Ryan Wilson
student and business owner
Heidy Kellison

“Working with Vanessa is like being in your mother’s arms. Seriously. She‘s persistent yet patient, nurturing yet assertive, and accessible while promoting independence. Most impressively, Vanessa knows what she’s talking about. Doing what she says, even when it removes us from our comfort zone, always pays off. You cannot have a better ally for online marketing.”

Heidy Kellison
DOWNTOWNNORCAL
Meaghan Likes

“Before Vanessa, I literally spent thousands of dollars on other marketing courses, and Vanessa’s strategies continue to outperform and exceed my expectations every single time!”

Meaghan Likes
OWNER, BOOKKEEPING ACADEMY ONLINE | CEO, LIKES ACCOUNTANCY COMPANY
Claire Tauzer

“Vanessa helped us realize that we needed to look at marketing one of our new ventures in a whole new way — the opposite of we were doing before. When I followed her approach to create our offer, conversions were downright easy.”

Claire Tauzer
CO-OWNER, TAUZER APIARIES
Bruce Watts

“I like how Vanessa begins with the end in mind. She has you strategically understand your goals, ideal customer, and offer first, then teaches you how all the rest applies. It’s not tied to one thing, but rather, it’s an integrated approach. I would like to create online products for my business and Vanessa really reaffirmed the possibilities. She also highlighted how simple it can be to get them started.”

Bruce Watts
WATTS-WOODLAND AIRPORT
Alison Kent

“Vanessa’s careful nurturing of her clients, her guidance, and her cheerleading have been invaluable to me. The amount of information you get in her workshops and online course is staggering… it includes email marketing, social media, paid traffic, content creation and so on… email marketing was especially valuable for my business. I would recommend her to anyone looking to increase their organization’s online marketing presence.”

Alison Kent
PRINCIPAL, LISTENINK
Lorraine Beaman

“We actually slowed down our marketing plan to keep up with all the new business!

Vanessa has expert knowledge of marketing techniques, but what is really special is the way she helps her clients understand and apply those techniques. She is a great mentor and coach.”

Lorraine Beaman
FOUNDER, INTERVIEW2WORK
headshot of Tracy Fauver

“Vanessa’s strategies have allowed me to significantly outpaced competitors in fundraising revenue generation. But what I really appreciate is her passionate approach, the way she cares about each individual person she works with, their mission, and how it can change the world. Her marketing strategies can’t be found in any textbook but they work significantly better than the ones I find there.”

Tracy Fauver
Executive Director, Davis Community Meals and Housing
More testimonials