Urgent Insights: Is GenAI your brand’s lifeline or downfall?

Generative AI has revolutionized content creation, customer interaction, and brand building. How will B2B companies evolve their brand-building strategies to stand out in this tsunami of content? The winners will be those companies who know how to leverage AI to free up time for nuanced, quirky, real conversations with customers and prospects.

1. Focus AI on what it does best

GenAI tools are amazing at summarizing vast amounts of unstructured data and turning simple requests into serviceable content. Don’t confuse “serviceable content” with “content busy executives will read” however.

Some AI Use cases:

• Data Analysis: Use AI to gather and analyze customer data, uncovering insights that can inform your marketing strategies.
• Generate Content Ideas: Allow AI to generate initial drafts or brainstorming ideas, which human marketers can refine and personalize. 
• Develop a competency in writing prompts: Getting the most from LLMs requires detailed, carefully crafted prompts. Do not leave this to your engineering team…seek out the English majors instead.
• Consider Not Using Stock Images: GenAI images can produce an acceptable option far faster than searching a stock photo app, and if you’re handy with prompts, something that doesn’t scream “generic stock photo”.

 

2. Integrate Human Creativity for Authenticity

When we’re buried in generic content created in seconds by an LLM, human storytelling and opinion bring an authenticity that AI cannot (yet) replicate. The latest biometric security software can detect “liveness” in AI-generated deepfake images. Discerning marketers can do the same with content produced by an LLM.

Authenticity and How to Get It

• Humanize Your Content: Ensure that your content reflects your brand’s personality, values, and unique voice. Sometimes let yourself go on a Sam Kinison-like rant.
• Have a Point of View: GenAI always seems to return to the center. People are messier and have points of view shaped by unique life experiences they can tell stories about. People engage with stories, not the college freshman book reports that LLMs typically generate.
• Engage Directly with Your Audience: Host live events to create real-time, personal connections.

 

3. Active Listening to Drive Customer-Centric Strategies

The foundation of a strong brand is understanding what drives your customers and prospects. By actively listening to their needs, challenges, and feedback, you can tailor your product offerings, positioning, messaging, and go-to-market strategies to better align with their expectations.

Upping Your Listening Game:

• Record your thought-leadership events when possible, because the questions your attendees ask and the topics that interest them will generate more useful data than the typical 6-figure analyst report. Making sense of this quickly is an ideal application of AI.
• Do qualitative research with prospects and customers continuously, and make note of the difference in responses you get.
• Validate conclusions from qualitative research with larger-scale surveys.

 

4. Personalize Your Go-to-Market Plans

Personalized go-to-market plans that address the specific needs and pain points of different customer segments AND different customers will improve brand perception and conversion rates.

Meaningful Personalization:

• Listen and interpret: Use every interaction to learn something new about what that person and company are struggling with, and apply that knowledge to improve…everything.
• Segment Your Audience: Use AI to segment your audience based on demographics, behavior, and purchasing patterns, refined with what prospects tell you at events or on research calls.
• Tailor Your Messaging: Develop customized messaging that focuses on the particular challenges of each account, highlighting how your solutions address their unique challenges and goals. How? By actively listening to them and using AI to help you make sense of all those hours of insights.
• Create Personalized Experiences: Offer personalized demos, tailored content, and customized solutions to make each customer feel valued and understood.

 

5. Foster a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Building a strong brand is an ongoing process that requires continuous refinement and adaptation. Stay agile and open to change by having conversations with customers and prospects every week.

Actionable Tips:

• Iterate and Optimize: Regularly review and adjust your marketing strategies based on both customer and prospect feedback. Prospects will tell you things your customers won’t.
• Stay Ahead of Trends: Keep up with industry trends and technological advancements to ensure your brand remains relevant and competitive. How do you know which trends are worth investing in? Keep asking your customers and prospects.
• Invest in Training and Development: Equip your team with the skills and knowledge needed to leverage AI tools effectively while fostering creativity and innovation.

In a post-GPT world, building a strong B2B brand requires leveraging the strengths of AI without losing the authentic point of view that only humans can articulate (and only a few humans). By actively listening to your customers, personalizing your go-to-market plans, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, you can create a brand that stands out from the noise.