How to Grow Your Marketing Staff by Not Adding Anyone.

No matter which business you’re in, personnel resources are always limited. Too much work and not enough hands to get it done. I’ve never heard anyone say, “Wow, we have more than enough people to finish all the work.” Computers promised us a future with the ability to create a better work/life balance; we see how well that panned out. We work more often and get more accomplished in less time. This is a why there has been a 270% increase in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence over the past four years.

 

With the rapid integration of AI and its subset machine learning, our hopes for a better work/life balance are now twisted. Many people fear losing their jobs to robots as a part of some dystopian future. In reality it’s not like that all.

 

The primary goals of AI are to remove routine tasks, analyze mass amounts of data, and allow us to reprioritize.

 

Those are the primary directives behind my company, LighthousePE. The question you need to ask is, how do I put that technology to work for me? I can’t speak for every AI or machine learning company, but I can show you how to use those technologies to make better strategic decisions. In turn, you can connect with your customers in a more personable way.

 

I’ve seen too many marketers overwhelmed by the amount of data they have. At best, they are only using snippets of data for tactical solutions. Tying a machine learning algorithm to a customer behavioral database allows you to have a virtual set of employees. The algorithm can comb through vast amounts of data and identify implicit and explicit behaviors. It can analyze patterns. Plus, it can send out communications to specific customers without human intervention.

 

This frees your staff to focus on more important strategies and tasks.

 

Let’s say you review an analysis of how often your customers visit your top three competitors. That kind of information can make it possible to set up automated communications in order to gain some of those customers back. However, what most people miss is applying that behavioral knowledge to something different. Something that could have a greater impact on your success. For instance, you could learn which competitor poses the greatest threat. You can then apply that to a shift in your media buys. Or, change something in your operations that leads to a better customer experience.

 

For example, one of our clients recognized they were targeting the wrong competitor. That realization shifted their outdoor board media buys. Instead, they purchased new ones that aligned with the traffic patterns of their customers. They also changed their digital media to focus on a different trade area. Finally, they reviewed which days of the week they were losing the most customers and created new promotions to counteract the loss of business.

 

That shift in thinking ensures your employees can create greater value.

 

When applied in the right way, technology is an amazing supplement to our jobs. It can expand our efficiencies and capabilities. So, it’s not necessarily more staff you need, it’s smarter tools.