TLDR:
The ABM platform, Demandbase, released a report in coordination with other firms. Their findings signal intense interest in AI.
In coordination with Salesforce and international research business, Demand Metric, the ABM platform Demandbase released a report on AI. When all results are collected, it would seem as if there is an intense desire for AI-assisted marketing in the B2B Marketing sphere.
The majority of report respondents indicated that they’re at the very least testing the waters. 84% responded that they are involved with AI in some form, whether that be planning, implementing, or using.
While 18% of the sample actually use AI in their marketing initiatives, numbers stretching beyond the 40th percentile believe that AI brings better results. About 33% claim that it’s a total game-changer.
These numbers are reinforced by businesses’ collective investment to bring on the talent necessary to be able to interpret and sift through the data. Simply put, 69% of respondents have hired data scientists, 31% have not.
There are some real concerns about using AI. Not in the way of actually using it, but more so in how to go about using it. The usual suspects behind the reasons why using AI is so challenging presents in the form of budget constraints, lack of adequate skills, and lack of know-how.
The seeming reluctance to rely on AI doesn’t come from the belief it won’t work, but rather, businesses aren’t fully aware of what AI can do for them. This shows up as a significant number in the report, 40%. If these companies knew just how much they could reap from implementing AI, it wouldn’t cost additional resources.
As for the majority of these companies that plan to use AI, most aim to use it to target the right accounts and people. This is followed by improving efforts on digital, trailed by identifying buying intent. Similarly, in the same order, companies using ABM in some way expect to see a higher lead quality, better engagement numbers, and better understanding of intent when using AI.
In terms of the perceived value businesses think AI will bring to them, marketing technology takes the lead, with sales applications trailing it.
The sample this data was derived from included 111 responses from the 276 B2B marketers working at organizations that made at least $25 million in a representative sampling of industries.
Original article from DemandBase on 4 April 2019.
