Technology is transforming the marketing industry, and nothing will be more disruptive than artificial intelligence. I have read several books on how AI can be applied in marketing, but none captured a comprehensive review of the topic.
They were all great books, but they focused on an area outside of my interests and background as a marketing executive. Some were too philosophical with little actionable advice for practitioners who want to get started with AI in marketing, while others were too technical, with hundreds of pages of mathematical formulae.
Technology is transforming the marketing industry, and nothing will be more disruptive than artificial intelligence
I wanted to find a book that fell between these two extremes, and I didn’t. This is why I decided to write it myself, and the result is Data-Driven Marketing With Artificial Intelligence.
With over twenty years of experience in international marketing for the global software industry—including almost a decade as a vice president of sales and marketing—I wrote and published my first book on Internet marketing several years ago.
I went on to write several books on marketing automation, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship, and used my experience from the software industry for a recent book on how the Internet-of-Things and artificial intelligence will transform the world.
Drawing from this experience, my latest book on marketing with AI is meant to sit between the extremes of philosophical and technical writing on AI.
My latest book on marketing with AI is meant to sit between the extremes of philosophical and technical writing on AI.
I believe it finds the right balance between an overview of marketing principles and the real meat on the bones of practical use, without going into mathematical detail.
This is the book I would want to read if I were a CEO, CMO, or digital marketing manager seeking to understand AI-driven marketing for real business use.
After reading the book, you will understand these key topics:
- The disruption that artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies will have on marketing, sales, and the industries that surround them
- An insider’s look at the latest AI-based software tools and what they can do for marketers today
- AI and related technologies like big data, predictive analytics, and machine learning, and how they can be used in marketing
- How marketing is becoming data-driven and autonomous to a level never before conceived, replacing gut feeling with facts and insights
- How many marketing tools already use AI to improve marketing precision, efficiency, or cost effectiveness using predictive and prescriptive capabilities
- Why you might want to develop your own custom AI software, and how that is done
- Whether AI will put your job or business at risk
- How new technologies, beyond AI, might disrupt marketing even further
- The legal and ethical aspects of using AI
While the book covers some complicated topics, I’ve made sure that the book is easy to understand for anyone interested in the field, even those without previous knowledge.
The book covers a broad range of topics in a natural and intuitive way. We begin with an overview of some basic concepts in artificial intelligence and its role in marketing, including the key terms you will need to understand the book.
Marketing is becoming data-driven and autonomous to a level never before conceived
Then, we look at how AI can be applied for specific cases in marketing, including different applications of machine learning and other emerging technologies. Later, we explore the details of how AI systems are created and how your company can develop the tools to stay competitive with these innovative marketing strategies.
The book is organized into the following chapters:
- The Introduction gives an overview of artificial intelligence and its use in marketing, explains key terms, and sets the scene for following chapters. Here, we will bring you up to speed on what you need to know moving forward, whether you’re new to the topic or an experienced digital marketer.
- How Does Marketing Software Use AI? This chapter provides an overview of how currently available AI systems can be deployed by purchasing commercial solutions. We look at what types of products are available and what they can do for your business.
- In Build Your Own AI, we explain why you might want to develop your own company-specific AI solution. We cover some helpful tools to get you started and an overview of the industry to help you choose the right approach.
- The chapter on Big Data provides a background to the data science technologies on which predictive analytics and machine learning are built. Understanding the basics of how these systems work will help you speak more confidently about their implementation in your company.
- Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning goes beyond big data to look at how AI uses these massive amounts of information to create tools that would have been unfathomable a generation ago.
- The chapter on AI Algorithms, written by data scientist Martin Wass, provides an overview of popular AI algorithms and how they can be used to find unique insights in mountains of data. This insider’s look at the backbone of AI shows the incredible complexity and ingenuity involved in creating these systems.
- Putting your AI to Work provides information on how self-learning prediction models can be integrated in your company’s software. We’ll look at the difference between a prediction system and a machine learning system, and how they can create a feedback loop that both generates data and uses it to improve its own operation.
- In How Will AI Affect Me and My Business?, we look at the risks your business faces due to these emerging technologies, and how you can improve your job security. Artificial intelligence is set to change the world dramatically, and it’s important to understand what that will mean for you.
- What’s Next in Marketing After AI? This chapter provides an overview of new technologies that may transform marketing in the years to come, once AI is commonplace. While many of these concepts will seem like science fiction, they are right around the corner and may be part of our lives sooner than you think.
- In Changes to the Society, we cover the ethical and legal issues related to artificial intelligence and machine learning. This is an increasingly important area of discussion as computers become able to provide autonomous decision making based on huge collections of data far more complex than a human could handle alone.
- Not everyone reading this book will be an internet marketing specialist. To help everyone understand the concepts and terms used here, we have added an overview of some established data-driven marketing tools and techniques in Appendix 1: Traditional Data-Driven Marketing. If you are new to this field or want to brush up before jumping into the book, you may want to start here.
- Finally, the bonus chapter in Appendix 2: Vendor Interviews includes highlights of recent interviews with leaders of some of the most prominent and emerging companies in the industry. Each section summarizes a longer interview that you can read in full on my blog.
If this sounds interesting, please buy the book and become an expert in marketing with AI!
