The Intersection of AI and Professional Services
3 Marketing Opportunities and 3 Marketing Challenges
When we talk about AI within the professional services field, we usually refer to the use of SaaS systems for scheduling, coordination and communication, customer acquisition, and various marketing and sales processes. These platforms are easily accessible online, making them perfect for remote and international teams.
In the last few years, the SaaS industry has significantly increased in value and importance. In fact, there is a small number of B2C and B2B businesses that still don’t use at least one SaaS platform. A common SaaS solution relies on artificial intelligence and machine learning to streamline daily processes such as digital marketing, customer support, and customer retention.
Although AI systems are far from perfect, they can extrapolate massive quantities of data and use them for actionable insights. In fact, if you just check the web chatter, you’ll notice people going crazy over these tools, using text and image generators for B2B marketing but also for goofing around.
In this article, we’ll go through the biggest SaaS marketing challenges and opportunities that professionals in the industry face nowadays.
3 Biggest Opportunities
Whether you’re a coach looking to help an average Joe or trying to develop a massive B2B SaaS marketing strategy for a corporate client, you can benefit from AI for different tasks:
1. Create Predictive Results
One of the biggest tasks for any SaaS company or professional in the industry is to provide more predictable results. In the end, if you can’t demonstrate that your services provide value to the potential customer, there’s no point in hiring you in the first place.
An AI marketing campaign can eliminate some issues that were common back in the day. The newest tools, such as Google Analytics, have predictive functionality helping a marketing team determine the results of a campaign performed via a specific marketing channel.
So, if you’re a professional working with prospective customers, you can use these platforms to show them the impact of your services. For example, you can demonstrate how a change in corporate and individual habits can affect social media marketing, search engine optimization, content marketing, and other SaaS marketing efforts.
2. Improve Team Communication
Issues with team communication and collaboration are something that can ruin team synergy and are perceived as the biggest time wasters. Not only should professionals teach their existing customers how to reduce empty chatter, but she should also implement systems that would make it easier for employees.
One of the best practices is introducing digital solutions that would work on a company level. A modern SaaS product has the functionalities of traditional messengers but also introduces artificial intelligence features that make teams’ lives much easier.
Among others, this type of software allows sharing of large files via the cloud. Almost every SaaS provider integrates communication tools with other platforms, such as Google Drive, so you can instantly transfer large files to other staff members. B2B SaaS companies even provide customized solutions for their clients, a service that significantly increases customer loyalty and satisfaction.
3. Improve Scheduling
Scheduling and time, in general, is another major issue businesses struggle with. The issue is especially pronounced for large teams and massive marketing campaigns, where staff has to execute email marketing, referral marketing, Google Ad campaigns, and other processes while respecting deadlines.
AI tools can help by storing all the data and processes online. For example, a client’s team can rely on scheduling software to track the progress of different tasks and deliveries. For example, you can be informed as to when other members send marketing materials and when you should post social media content.
3 Biggest Threats
Unfortunately, AI tools can also cause a fair share of issues for professionals when reaching out to a target audience and dealing with clients:
1. Data Issues
The entire SaaS market is predicated on simplicity and accessibility. But what happens when that data fails?
Despite the fact that SaaS tools have access to large databases, errors are still possible. Among others, a SaaS customer might experience issues with duplication, lacking, or incorrect data. Sometimes, despite the fact that a platform is referred to as a “real-team” solution, the information might not be updated.
2. Inappropriate Software
Almost every SaaS business tries to provide something unique to differentiate itself from the other market competitors. Most platforms rely on their own databases and technology to deliver solutions to their clients.
Unfortunately, uniqueness can’t always compensate for the lack of quality. Some platforms we’ve tried have significantly worse performance compared to the top industry solution, which might lead you to the wrong track when doing marketing and improving brand awareness.
3. Loss of Control
Like all other professions and industries, professionals should always be mindful of control issues.
When you start using an AI-driven SaaS platform, you’re at the mercy of a provider. Although this means you don’t have to worry about updates and you don’t need any resources to maintain software, you still don’t have full ownership of a tool. Instead, you’re just a subscriber who utilizes the platform on a month-to-month basis.
So, marketers should be aware of the fact that a product might always go out of function someday. If and when that happens, the entire workflow you’ve made for a company will be removed, and you’ll have to create everything from scratch.
Of course, the use of internet software might also lead to privacy issues, something that most of us are fearful of.
Sergey Solonenko is the founder of Algocentric Digital Consultancy, an active digital strategist and a fractional CMO for many B2B SaaS brands embracing digital transformation. At Algocentric Digital Sergey’s focus is on empowering every B2B SaaS brand who is looking to scale their demand generation program. Sergey’s digital marketing experience over the last 10 years has allowed him to become a digital evangelist focused on improving SaaS demand generation programs and consulting on best practices around account based marketing, sales and marketing team alignment, setting up better lead qualification systems and improving user experience through personalization by aligning martech with key marketing KPIs that ladder up to faster MRR for B2B SaaS brands.
The use of artificial intelligence in business will be discussed at an upcoming GHVA meeting. Bookmark our schedule page for more details when they become available.