Introduction of information technology has been, by far, one of the most revolutionary incidents in the business landscape. Nearly all the industries and service sectors rely on extensively on information technology today to carry out the regular operations. From manufacturing and machinery to retail and web-based services, all depend on technology that leverages the power information in some or the other way. Since marketing is entirely driven by data and information regarding consumer preferences, market fluctuations, trending incidents, etc., it is more dependent on IT and other modern technologies than many other sectors.
Today, information technology is a significantly broader term that encompasses most of the software technologies. It enables brands to reach out to reach out to a wider audience with their products and services. There are numerous channels through which brands and marketers communicate with their customers and prospects, and collect their direct and indirect responses in order to enhance communication. The information collected through these communications, as well as through observing consumers’ digital and physical footprints, is also a major driver of enhancements to the products and services provided. Such a large scale of optimization has never been possible prior to the advent of information technology.
As discoveries and inventions continue throughout the world, so do the technologies evolve and drive changes in everything that depends on them. The introduction of newer technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and cognitive computing, and the rate at which they are gaining prevalence can be considered implicit indicators of what the future may hold for businesses, especially marketing practices. The rapidly expanding penetration of internet of things (IoT), or internet of everything, has made it imperative for marketers to come to terms with these technological innovations, and be on the top of their game when it comes to leveraging these technologies.
Cognitive computing or machine learning is already making a significant impact on businesses the globe, and is only going become more critical for enterprises towards gaining competitive advantage in their markets. Research predicts that nearly half of all the business analytics software expected to leverage cognitive computing to deliver provide prescriptive analytics by 2020. Undoubtedly, enterprises leveraging AI and IoT technologies will have an edge over their competitors.
The basic concept of cognitive computing is to make all types of computing devices more user friendly. It involves addressing users’ queries with not just the programmed responses, but also adding contextual relevance to the responses based on the learning derived from the surrounding. For instance, user assistance apps based on AI respond to user queries by taking into account the state in which the users are. Therefore, the response is more relevant and contextual than otherwise.
With the already-abundant data expected to double by the end of this decade, there is ample opportunity for marketers to adopt cognitive computing and make the most of all the data to drive marketing success. The number of business organizations reporting data commercialization is increasing at an exponential rate. Brands and marketers therefore cannot afford to go slow on this front.
To understand the impact of machine intelligence on marketing strategy for your business attend the session ‘How Machine Intelligence will really change Marketing’ with David Raab, Owner of Raab & Associates at MarTech ConferenceOpens a new window on Tuesday, March 22.
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MarTech: The Marketing Technology ConferenceOpens a new window  (March 21-22, San Francisco, CA)
Join the largest vendor-agnostic gathering of marketing technologists, data scientists and digital innovators at the intersection of marketing and technology: MarTechOpens a new window . RegisterOpens a new window  for MarTech and adopt proven strategies that provide the ultimate customer experience.
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