If you watch the news, one of the major topics (especially in the Raleigh Research Triangle) is that AI is poised to eliminate jobs at an increasingly rapid pace.
I have to admit, AI is really good at some things and will be used to replace certain skilled positions. The two main ones, I think, are people who write computer code and people who do research. There is talk about how AI is great for legal research, and I am sure that it can and will expand to many uses in business. I have used AI to write some code, and it is fast and relatively accurate. I am sure it can also be used to debug certain code.
One thing I am sure it can't replace is home repairs—the contractors and customer service people.
Not Cool!
Last year, when we returned from my son's wedding in South Carolina, our AC stopped working. I was able to bring it back to life by resetting the circuit breakers. Over the last week, it was happening again. This time, it would reset but then shut back down.
We had some choices to make. Could we limp it through the weekend to avoid the 2x or 3x off-hours rates? On Monday, we had to leave at 12 and not return til 6 or 7 pm. Our dog would be in the house, but the temperatures were going to be in the 90s, and the humidity was 80%. She had just gone through heartworm treatment, and we did not want to stress her body and her mind.
We went to our homeowners' community group on Facebook and asked for recommendations for repair services. We had two that stood out and one to TOTALLY avoid.
At 8 am on Monday, we called both and said today would be awesome, but tomorrow is acceptable. You can only imagine how busy they are in high heat and humidity times. One texted me back and said they could get a tech out that day before 10 am, leaving us a 2-hour window before we had to leave.
The tech showed up at 9:30 and started his troubleshooting detective work. He checked the coolant and capacitor on the outdoor unit, and all was good. He did, however, find one wire where the connection was less than optimal. He re-stripped and reconnected the wires and then went to the furnace.
Once up in the attic, he noticed a blinking light on the control board. Turns out there was another wire with the same problem. Again, he re-stripped and reconnected the wires and then started the system, and everything was working. He continued to perform wellness checks and tests on all systems, and they were all in spec.
We not only got our AC working again, but also a complete system check.
Now I am sure I could have saved the $150 they charged and gone to AI to help me troubleshoot the system, but the chances of me finding those two wires with loose connections were 10-30%. Chances are, it would have taken me 2 hours, but I really doubt that either of those estimates is accurate based on past experience. (By the way… that is what AI expected it to take!)
AI may have the answers, but the tech's experience and the customer support person's willingness to work with our situation were priceless.
Prompted
As a marketer, I believe that AI can be a real asset to improving our content and the speed at which it can be delivered, but I don't believe it will replace the need for people with experience and customer service skills.
I asked (prompted) Perplexity (my AI of choice), “What does AI not do well with, when it comes to improving my marketing?” and it gave me what I considered to be honest answers.
- Understanding Human Emotion and Nuance
- Originality and Creative Breakthroughs
- Personal Touch and Relationship Building
- Context, Judgment, and Brand Voice
- Data Limitations and Inherent Bias
- Ethical, Legal, and Privacy Concerns
- Strategic Vision and Leadership
- Implementation and Flexibility
That does not mean that you can't use AI to improve each of these, but it suggests that AI alone can't yet beat humans (at this point) in connecting your business with people. I believe that with the right prompting, you can ask questions and gain insight, but the ultimate result takes experience and knowledge that AI lacks.
Question Everything?
I believe you can elevate your marketing to the next level by leveraging AI. It really depends on how you ask your questions or prompt the system.
Almost every system (LinkedIn, Grammarly, and others) will offer to rewrite content for you, but you are under the control of their AI system and algorithms. I think you will be better off by finding your favorite AI tool and plugging your content into that system with the right prompts.
Headlines
Most headline systems will optimize them for what Google will perceive as better for web search (clickbait). Try prompting to ask what would interest the specific audience you are trying to attract the most, not just the widest audience.
Content
Plugging a script or an article into AI will give you a big blog of marketing speak. You may find a few nuggets that you could use to improve what you input, but rarely will you get a truly better version to replace it. Instead, you could ask the AI to create a persona that matches who you want to reach. Then you could ask it to rewrite the content to better reach the persona, using NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) to create a stronger emotional connection with that persona.
Voice
Using that last example, you could also ask the AI to rewrite the original or NLP version with a voice or tone. For example, ask it to rewrite the content with an urgency to act, a more informal tone, or from the perspective of a particular expert. In marketing, I could ask the AI to rewrite the content in the style of Gary Vanerchuk (brash and cursing) or Seth Godin (creatively thought-provoking).
Other
Sometimes it's hard to visualize visuals that would complement your content. You could ask AI to create a visual that would visualize a paragraph or the complete article, and see what it comes up with. It may not be perfect, but it may guide you towards a direction that can be prompted into stock media to find a better match that accentuates your points in a more profound way.
That is just a sample of what you could do, but I think you get the point. AI can enhance or change your perspective on how to create better marketing content and outcomes. Also, think about A-B'ing your own work with the enhanced AI version you create to see which gets better results.
Closing Thought
I learned a lot by shadowing the AC repair guy (Josh). I was wowed by his experience, communication skills, and thoroughness when it came to troubleshooting the problems. That is something that was worth every penny. He solved the problem and gave us a clean bill of health in the end.
I explained to him that although I have a degree in electronics and have wired both video and audio studios, I was not the guy you wanted to be working on your AC. Josh said that he was not the guy you wanted working on your computer or marketing.
I think it's safe to say that we both knew our skills had value to the right audience, and just left it there!
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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?
To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.
