Enterprise marketing is so relationship-driven, it can’t merely follow the steps set up by business-to-consumer marketing, said Russell Scherwin, CMO of Watson Commerce at IBM. “Understanding how to drive a B2B customer centric operation is markedly different than B2C,” Scherwin told Velocitize Talks.
Business-to-business marketers need to infuse governance and regulation while making it easy to do business with clients. Global companies need to take into account many aspects of regulation and governmental oversight to service clients, said Scherwin. That must be taken into account when automating services.
Automation and artificial intelligence can help marketers manage the digital disruption, taking out the guesswork of agile management, said Scherwin. “AI should be part of your culture,” he said.
Using AI for personalization is helping boost conversion rates by recognizing the best content and conditions to share with individuals. AI can also help optimize fulfillment strategies for merchants in order to deploy items efficiently and avoid markdowns, said Scherwin.
With artificial intelligence and personalization, privacy “takes on a life of its own,” said Scherwin. “We’re going well beyond GDPR regulations,” to protect data, he said.
Looking ahead, digital experiences will grow ubiquitous and frictionless, said Scherwin. Those marketers who win will be the ones that know their customers and can create the experience that they want.
“Digital simply means interacting with a process and an intelligence,” he said. “It’s a scary and exciting place. Buckle up.”
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