One of the negative effects of algorithms in social media and digital marketing is that you are continuously flooded with stories that your peers find interesting. Success stories are quickly copied, and people end up in a ‘bubble.’ This leads to digital uniformity, or digital sameness. An effect that even extends into the boardrooms of organizations.
Many organizations have been seduced into adopting strategies, tactics, and systems that seem to bring success to their competitors—from acquiring to serving and retaining customers. In a race toward digitalization and by copying success stories, distinctive capabilities have been lost. The result: a diminished customer and employee experience. Moreover, many marketing managers and CMOs have been pressured to demonstrate the value of their investments in data and technology. Investments in new channels and online campaigns have been made, yet the return remains poor because everyone is doing the same thing.
With the breakthrough of AI and the smart use of design thinking and data, it is now time to avoid digital sameness.
It’s not about the technology
Through data and technology, marketers have made progress in recent years in personalized targeting of their increasingly segmented audiences. This is a labor-intensive process, which is why digital productivity also ranks high on the agenda.
Due to a mix of high ambitions, the complexity of digital marketing, and the rapid copying of ‘successful’ marketing strategies, it has not been possible to escape digital sameness. Breaking this deadlock becomes possible thanks to AI and the modernization of marketing technology architecture.
Seek to understand before seeking to be understood
Design thinking helps companies devise innovative and distinctive solutions. At design sprints, we start with an ambition or a bottleneck. The better we understand this, the more creatively we can work on the solution. By adding AI to this process, we can delve deeper into customer motives. And when developing scenarios and prototypes, we can more broadly explore where the best value can be found.
The combination with modern marketing technology then makes it possible to reach our target audiences at the moments and through the channels where it is relevant.
People make the difference in ‘The Era of AI’
Many organizations struggle with the return on their strategic investments in digitalization. The marketing budget can only be spent once of course. Modernize your marketing technology to a flexible architecture so that you can agilely respond to the market. At the same time, it is important to be innovative and creative in developing new digital services and products that make a difference. Give your employees the room to use their craftsmanship and creativity and let AI do the work for you.
Digital Marketing
