Adoption of generative AI is in the nascent stages. Sales and marketing leaders who act decisively and strategically will come out on top.
As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) quickly becomes a critical component across multiple industries in everything from content creation and product development to improving employee productivity, its use as a tool in sales and marketing to automate manual processes and personalize customer interactions is beginning to emerge. Which means one thing: It’s time to get moving—now—on using AI to enhance go-to-market (GTM) strategies.
Adoption is in the early stages, but that’s no time to be caught napping, especially considering how AI can make a difference, and how quickly competitors will take advantage of its power. Sales and marketing leaders have seen this pattern before, from the early days of the internet and e-commerce to the introduction of mobile communications, software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications and the use of social media. Organizations that moved quickly to embrace the “next big thing” surged ahead of the pack, finding innovative ways to disrupt the market and turn things to their advantage.
In fact, companies are already embracing GenAI to drive greater productivity and efficiency across key marketing and sales disciplines. According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, 49% of senior managers are using GenAI to complete research and report summaries for important projects while 24% are using it to boost customer support and answer frequently asked questions from prospects and customers.
A new report from Marketbridge, which queried C-Suite leaders and go-to-market decision makers from leading technology organizations (including hardware, software, networking and security organizations) across sales, marketing, strategy and customer success functions revealed that 66% of senior executives from large $1B+ technology organizations believe AI disruption will help nimble startups and emerging competitors rapidly evolve their product portfolios.
“AI is changing the game in how technology leaders bring products to market quickly and decisively,” said Honeywell CMO Ron McMurtrie. “AI has not only impacted product development, but it has evolved our GTM models, which will allow us to release new innovations faster and more meaningfully than ever before.”
As GenAI emerges as a transformational technology for sales and marketing leaders, there are two major changes underway. The first involves how work gets completed within go-to-market teams especially as a significant amount of research and tactical execution can be automated by AI. The second one represents a seismic shift in how these leaders sell technology solutions to brand new buyers as they rethink which markets they pursue and how they best approach them.
GenAI Use Is Accelerating
Transformational technologies enter the market through a series of well-defined phases. GenAI, which has proliferated since OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, is at the tail end of the “initial disruption” phase, when organizations are running pilots and using AI in specific areas. C-Suite leaders from leading technology companies are moving beyond that phase and implementing AI to drive GTM strategies in the following ways based on finding from the Marketbridge study:
- 57% of C-Suite executives believe that AI will disrupt how they structure their organization to capitalize on new opportunities while 53% state it will change how they innovate their product portfolio mix to meet customer needs and 58% relay it will evolve how they explore new business model opportunitie
- 52% will use AI to deploy marketing and sales resources more cost-effectively to align with buyer needs and capture new market opportunities, leveraging AI to position solutions in a personalized, relevant way at scale.
- 46% see the greatest value creation coming from analyzing vast amounts of data to optimize performance and return on GTM investment.
“The broad accessibility of AI means that the time it takes organizations to settle on their AI use plus test and discover which new GTM models will deliver growth will depend upon their size, with smaller more nimble firms likely to experience benefit first,” said Valoir CEO and Principal Analyst Rebecca Wettemann. The Marketbridge study found that large companies (with more than $1 billion in revenue) expect the shakeout to take five to 10 years, while smaller companies (less than $1 billion) expect a more rapid progression, with the market stabilizing in less than two years.
Harnessing the Power of GenAI
Growth leaders can start by planning for differentiation, identifying and investing in solutions that will set their GTM strategies apart. And it’s important to think big: A market shakeout is a land grab in which there is strength in numbers, so find ways to expand your customer base and strengthen your AI differentiation, optimizing support strategies alongside partners with AI insights designed to boost growth and profitability.
Executing clear strategies can put growth leaders and their organizations in a position to leverage GenAI to not only enhance efficiency, but also to create and nurture deeper connections with customers to generate incremental revenue growth. According to Marketbridge, putting GenAI to effective use in your organization involves several key steps:
- Identify Areas of Emerging Growth. The increased demand for AI-enabled solutions creates opportunities for new revenue streams. It’s critical for GTM leaders to identify areas with the most potential for growth and invest accordingly.
- Recognize Changing Buyer Needs. As buyer behavior shifts, closely track changes in that behavior to guide strategies around customer targeting, promotion timing, support tactics and more.
- Reinvent New Routes to Market. Disruptive technology like AI will create new expectations from customers about how they want to engage with vendors. Organizations will need to rethink their strategies to meet those expectations and optimize their distribution channels.
- Reimagine the Jobs AI Won’t Do. With AI handling routine tasks, teams can refocus on higher-value activities that drive growth, encouraging a more strategic use of human resources. Successful companies will identify jobs with the highest potential and redesign AI-enabled workflows to support them.
- Take a Unique Approach to AI Solutions. It’s not enough to offer innovative AI solutions. To stand out in a crowded marketplace, companies must match their unique value propositions with AI, making it clear how they differ from competitors. That enables crisp positioning that makes the value clear to your audiences.
- Activate New High-Performing Sales Motions. Effective activation is the key to driving value from new AI strategies. Marketing and sales leaders will need to work together on creating demand generation campaigns, account-based marketing (ABM) programs and sales motions to build the pipeline.
As the market proceeds through the AI adoption cycle, the integration of GenAI into sales and marketing strategies creates an opportunity for innovation and growth for early adopters – and an existential threat to organizations that lag. GTM leaders should immediately begin working to understand, develop and leverage GenAI strategies. Waiting will only put you behind the curve as early adopters refine and hone their own strategies.
As with disruptive technologies of the past, forward-thinking leaders who act quickly will not only navigate the current disruptions, but they will also position their organizations to thrive in the future. This requires a commitment to understanding new capabilities, an openness to reimagining traditional practices and the flexibility to put changes into play. As the market evolves, those who act decisively and strategically will emerge as leaders in the new era of AI-enabled sales and marketing.