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AI and future of sales and marketing
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Sales and Marketing
Jesse Lawrence
Last week Jesse, our Marketing Manager, forwarded me a copy of the report on ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Sales and Marketing’ from the Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. I suspect I received this link because Jesse is looking at how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve his workload and outcomes. It is also because he is aware that AI is a key focus of the organisation going forward, because it is changing the way that we do business.
AI and Digital Transformation
Whilst this particular article focuses on Artificial Intelligence use in Sales and Marketing, it is clear that in order to get the best of AI in this context, you need to be embracing digital transformation and the idea of AI across the organisation, as it is only by having a full 360-degree view will you get true insights from your AI. The report suggests that an AI project of any meaningful magnitude is a tall order for any one department head and that the CEO will need to call on his role as an Integrator to make this a reality across the organisation.
Industry tools embracing Artificial Intelligence
As with any project, having the right tools in place is essential to achieve project success. There are few solutions out there that are embracing Artificial Intelligence to any meaningful degree, and even fewer that operate across all business functions. Microsoft however, with their aim ‘to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more’, have developed a suite of solutions that not only have AI capabilities built-in, but are built on the ‘Dataverse’ (formally the Common Data Service). The Dataverse is one of Microsoft’s AI foundation stones, providing a central repository of data on which the complementary set of AI tools can derive their insights. The Microsoft suite of solutions cover all aspects of the organisation, from finance, operations, sales & marketing, document management and communication.
Business Central and AI
As a Dynamics 365 Business Central specialist, we couldn’t talk about AI without discussing how it is included as part of the standard product. This is the key difference in the approach from Microsoft towards AI – it’s not just about replicating humans in the perfect Turing Test candidate; Microsoft are creating usable tools to help with our everyday jobs. For instance, the level of intelligence with the Outlook Integration with Business Central both saves time and improves customer service as part of the sales process:
What about other areas of the business? There are a number of AI models built into Business Central, for example, with stock forecasting:
Why should businesses embrace AI?
If you are undecided as to whether you should be looking at AI, read my previous article on ‘Why the UK should be first to allow driverless cars’, or contact us to discuss how AI can be used in your business.
Read the Harvard report by requesting it from the Microsoft article:
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