What is a marketing consultancy?

Professional services provided by knowledgeable and licensed marketing professionals are referred to as marketing consultancy. While marketing teams and agencies frequently concentrate on implementation and execution, marketing consultants focus on strategy, audits, and analytics.

There are several misconceptions and illusions about marketing consulting services and their actual value to firms. In the US and UK, the term “marketing consulting” is well-established, and it is frequently used to refer to internal team consultations on marketing strategy and market expansions. In other parts of the world, the function of marketing consultancy is still not apparent. The most common misunderstandings about consulting services are that they are very technical or complex.

Businesses may rely on marketing consulting as a service to provide them access to highly specialised marketing knowledge. Companies usually hire marketing consulting specialists to satisfy urgent requests quickly. The long-term commitment differs from looking for an agency or a marketing expert. The sort of commitment with consultants makes the shortlisting and selection process much simpler due to the kind of agreement and results-driven requirements.

Why should we use AI in marketing?

So, let’s move past the conceptual level and into a discussion about AI that is more grounded in reality. After all, there must be a reason why technology is becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the world’s marketing organisations.

They are numerous; there is not just one. Artificial intelligence’s benefits for managing and executing campaigns are revolutionising the way we do marketing. Let’s examine some of the most well-known instances!

1. Utilising data

This is the most apparent advantage that artificial intelligence can offer a company in any field, not just marketing. It is classified as business intelligence (BI). But first, consider our particular situation, which involves trying to raise brand recognition.

The scope is always constrained compared to what is currently possible when old data collection and analysis methods are considered. Considerations include age, wealth, cultural preferences, and introductory routines. What if we could learn more about that information in depth?

Cross-referencing and categorising data in previously unimaginable ways are skills that modern AI is mastering. Because your KPIs are more reliable and comprehensive, you can take more proactive actions and create more accurate buyer profiles. As a result, the audience and the routes you must take to reach them become more predictable.

Think about every little choice you have to make when creating a marketing plan and how you might simplify the process if you had more knowledge about them as well as an analysis of the outcomes of each option. Management in corporations today makes use of AI. It is helpful for decisions involving money and output, especially when dealing with more erratic aspects like client expectations.

2. Combining automation with humanization

Marketers must find a balance between appealing to a larger audience and being distinctive enough to make each customer feel special. It is a challenging task. You must think about the best language, the most alluring CTA, what the lead will do after clicking it, how to boost its visibility, and all other vital decisions that must be anticipated and projected with each new piece of content you create.

Organising content automation to find the prospect at the ideal time and in the most excellent method is a big part of what it means to be a digital marketer today. AI may offer a remedy. Complex patterns may be investigated using machine learning to find novel, compelling, and humane ways to customise information dissemination.

3. Simple interaction

Because they are so easy to watch and understand in action, chatbots are the best examples of how artificial intelligence is used in communications. Thanks to technological advancements, the software can now analyse human interactions, anticipate expectations, and respond appropriately.

AI-powered communication is currently used for straightforward requests and more direct conversations, but it will soon become the norm in marketing. This will make it possible for personalised brands and virtual influencers to connect with their target audiences and build meaningful relationships, all based on decisions made by CMOs. They won’t have to map these conversations manually.

4. Observing patterns

Artificial intelligence is the best tool for utilising the data gathered from these interactions since it is here to help advertisers communicate with their target consumers. As was already said, big data gives businesses a degree of previously unimaginable insight. Not just about what your indicators are showing right now but also about what they indicate will happen in the future.

And let’s face it, if we use outdated strategies, it gets harder and harder to predict what the future of marketing will look like. You can’t wait for an expectation to materialise before jumping on board since they change so rapidly. Potentially, it’s already too late.

AI’s insights can forecast the future since it can spot patterns that our brains cannot. A market, a newly well-liked media outlet, a brand-new way of speaking, or a new generation’s consuming routine. In essence, it is a superpower. With this knowledge, you can start planning a strategy to implement as soon as possible. Innovation requires a leap of faith every time, but you now have confidence and proof to fall back on.

5. Catching the audience off guard

The addition of this to the earlier subject is fascinating. If you can project and anticipate trends, you may be a trailblazer and give the audience what they want before they even realise it. Wants, traditions, and habits all start timidly and become apparent in little ways. Then they lit themselves on fire. That is precisely how it feels when using data-driven marketing. It’s exciting and undeniably satisfying.

6. Evaluating your results

What makes a campaign effective? Why not, exactly? A marketer’s regimen often includes these assessments. Your objective is continuously learning from your experiences and using that knowledge in your plans.

AI will be able to provide you with more specific information about those indications and give a more accurate picture of your performance as a result. Such as which CTA was most effective and why or how a particular message affected lead behaviour. Then you may use that previously undiscovered information to tweak a few aspects of your next campaign.

What is the need for marketing consultancy in a business?

While some organisations might only seek marketing consulting when they have severe problems with their marketing performance, consulting is more beneficial when marketing activity is just starting. Traditionally, consultants have made crucial contributions, including thorough market research and analysis, to help formulate business goals. Furthermore, creating a strategic approach for digital channels and branding is the foundation of a marketing consultant’s high value. These early-stage consulting implementations can help carry out the first business idea. As a result, the company’s foundation includes the marketing consultancy module.

Businesses seem to build their marketing teams from the ground up and rely on hiring a marketing director or a digital agency to perform these tasks. The lack of control over the outcomes is this strategy’s major drawback. Typically, the internal marketing department is integrated within the company, adding layers of bureaucracy and hindering marketing from making significant advances in some situations. The lengthy hiring procedure for full-time staff or growing into new areas and opportunities outside of the firm model is another drawback of this strategy.

Although the digital marketing agency technique seems more adaptive and straightforward to execute, the firm is still seen as focusing more on quantity than quality. The agency model emphasises reporting and execution more than gathering data for the business model. There is always a gap in learning and problem-solving methods because of the conflict of interest. The agency’s business strategies make money primarily on service fees and account size, not on potential new clients. Consequently, most of the technical and marketing expertise will stay with the company, and just a tiny fraction of the strategic knowledge will be given in the monthly meetings and reports.

This takes us full round to the beginning when marketing consulting could assist businesses in developing their marketing plan in addition to acquiring solid facts. Alignment is the key benefit of marketing consulting. Due to their independence, marketing consultants may study extensively and find the most effective strategies for accomplishing organisational goals.

What are the major categories of AI consultancy services?

In general, AI consultants help businesses convert to AI. But consulting may be broadly classified into four categories, and AI consulting is no exception:

1. Developing a plan of action

How should clients use AI to their advantage? Understanding the client’s strategy, the company’s challenges and opportunities, as well as the client’s data and analytics capabilities is crucial. By combining them with an understanding of cutting-edge AI, a consultant may be able to determine the firm’s most vital AI projects.

In light of these actions, businesses must change their whole business approach. For instance, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies profit significantly from processing bills for other firms. These service revenue streams are in danger because AI technology can manage automated invoicing.

2. In business, being diligent.

Although it’s a strategic endeavour, due diligence is a particular endeavour. Since AI success factors differ from those in other industries, reasonable due diligence requires a deep understanding of the AI market. Consulting firms with a demonstrated track record in due diligence, like Solon, are investing in building a presence in this emerging market.

Evaluating the commercial viability of an AI solution is different from assessing the commercial viability of other goods because:

• A deep-learning-based AI system needs more or better-tagged data to be superior to competitors. Any software becomes better as product owners learn from usage patterns. However, with AI, the accuracy of model predictions increases with more data, which is unusual.
• The evaluation of the data science team is different from that of the engineering team. For data science teams compared to traditional software engineering teams, academic credentials, for instance, could be more critical.

As a result, companies are spending money on AI-specific due diligence tools. These include understanding and evaluating the data sources required for AI models, developing rapid methods for comparing the AI vendor solutions, and being familiar with AI’s academic and professional backgrounds.

3. Implementation

The initiative will lead to the development of several projects. The implementation process should consider planning, vendor selection (if required), project management, development, improvement of business processes impacted by the project, change management, and other factors.

As with any consulting service, consultants can do some or all tasks. Or, in most cases, an implementation may be carried out internally. However, starting with consultants might help the client move more rapidly if they lack the technical expertise to complete critical needs. However, please remember that performing such tasks internally will be less expensive in the long run than relying only on consultants for implementation.

4. Training

Consulting projects should ideally bolster the client’s capabilities and culture. This is particularly crucial in the talent-scarce field of artificial intelligence. Teams from clients must be skilled and knowledgeable about the technology they will use in AI consulting projects. The organisation and recording of the training materials must be adequate, and a knowledge transfer strategy must be in place.

What is the purpose behind hiring AI consultancy services?

We know that AI consultancy services benefit a business a lot, but in what ways can an AI consulting company help you? The following are some services offered by AI consulting companies:

1. Creation of content for SEO

Creating content takes time, but it is crucial to every marketing strategy. If you do not create SEO-friendly content, it could be difficult for your content to rank on search engine results pages (SERPS).

If your content isn’t ranked well, you can lose site traffic, and, more crucially, you might see a decline in leads. When you work with an AI consulting company, they may utilise AI to help you produce content that appeals to both humans and search engines.

A win-win scenario exists!

2. Natural-language comprehension

Natural language processing, or NLP, is another AI consulting company option that can comprehend your website content like never before. Before this, you could easily rank for any term by loading a page with it. These days, NLP makes that nearly impossible. NLP can decipher your intended message since it comprehends the syntax and tone of your pages.

Since NLP analyses your website like a human would, the days of keyword stuffing and black hat SEO are done. Your website may assist you in accomplishing a variety of goals by including NLP, such as –

• Sort information into categories: NLP can help you organise your pages since it can comprehend them like a person. NLP, for instance, can assist you in differentiating between service websites and how-to publications.
• Make content descriptions: NLP may help you by guiding you in creating succinct reports for your information.
• Create alt text for images: NLP can help you create alt text for photos since it understands ideas.

3. Statistical modelling

An AI consulting company can help if you’ve ever wished to know what was going to happen on your website before it did – and let’s be honest, we all have. When you work with an AI consulting company, you may access vital data on how users interact with your website and their potential next steps.

To help you estimate how certain content or designs will perform in the future, an AI consulting company will use big data to aid you in analysing how people interact with your CTA buttons, contact form, and website. By doing this, you can give consumers the exact information they’re looking for right away by taking the doubt out of your site’s parts.

How to choose the best AI consultancy services for you?

There are many factors to take into account when choosing which company to use, but the following three are crucial:

Is it essential? That is the query you ought to start with. Numerous publications discuss the potential advantages of using the remedy, but will there be a positive outcome right away? It would be best to ask your expert for their short-, medium-, and long-term projections. It can be preferable to use another technology in the short term if the firm is still in its earlier phases of development or if there are far more critical possibilities to invest in.

Do you possess the necessary human resources? Choosing whether to carry out the project internally or outside must be done once the solution plan has been provided. It would be best always to make sure that the appropriate people handle the situation so that your staff has a higher opportunity to learn from it and help you in the future. As a result, it will be easier or harder to evaluate the consultant’s performance depending on how competent your team is. The information would be continuously exchanged to ensure that cutting-edge solutions are used.

Does the consultant have enough experience? There are now several small AI consulting companies. You must ensure that you have selected the best service for your industry. Different industries demand various skill sets. The vendor’s previous projects would be the best source of knowledge. The team’s reputation is crucial. Advanced degree holders are more likely to be able to guarantee the highest level of work quality. Different consulting businesses specialise in various fields; one could have the best team for text classification, while another might be the best at object detection.

Final words

AI is only beginning to develop. However, it presents an enormous potential for businesses and marketers to understand consumer purchasing habits and, consequently, create tactics that can, through online segmentation, provide beneficial outcomes.

These days, marketing and marketing consultancy are expected. It would be best to focus on marketing efforts to dominate the e-commerce industry and have a strong presence there.

It is thought that speaking with someone and informing them about a good or service is more effective than just listening to an advertisement or reading a written one. A chatbot is a godsend in today’s e-marketing industry; experts like me who are committed and eager may make the most of it.