Cutting-Edge Marketing Practices For Spurring International Growth

More businesses are incorporating AI into their marketing strategies to reduce costs and reach potential customers more precisely and efficiently. Below are some of the latest practices that startups and global retailers use to grow their brands and customer base.

Data-Driven Insights

Gathering quality data about existing customers and new visitors is one of the most promising ways to use AI to optimize marketing tactics. This information helps understand the interests and backgrounds of the ideal audience, as the best AI-augmented strategy is unique to each business.

Technology developments make it possible to receive multiple insights to better understand personal preferences and predict trends. However, more data has downsides. Therefore, combining this information with human creativity to connect with buyers is critical.

“Marketing is not about selling; it’s about understanding the human behind the decision,” says Junji Lim, founder of ScaleX Digital.

Pursuing data-backed creativity, Junji Lim is an experienced marketer who has spent eight figures on digital advertising to develop his precision targeting system that helps businesses use their marketing dollars more efficiently by pinpointing the most relevant users.

Some of the data analysis capabilities available include:

• Consumer behavior habits: Learn about visitors’ interests, clicks, and likes to offer personalized product suggestions. These insights make A/B testing easier.
• Predictive analytics: Analyze historical data to forecast future preferences and needs. Thus, maximizing social media ads for a specific intention is possible, such as generating more leads.
• Cookieless targeting: First-party data from lead-gen forms and custom questions provide in-depth details without collecting personally identifiable information (PII). This tactic helps define which lookalike audiences to reach across various channels.
• Competitor analysis: AI-powered software can quickly track what similar businesses are offering and the corresponding consumer sentiment.
• Financial report analysis: Inspect your own balance sheet to look for trends and efficiency recommendations.

In addition to the predictive AI functions mentioned above, marketers are also using generative AI to create content, interact with customers, and roll out campaigns with fewer working hours.

The Salesforce State of Marketing Report states that 63% of marketers use generative AI, and 54% use predictive AI. Both can be used to gather data in various ways and implement strategies.

Hyper-personalization

Being able to easily collect and analyze first-party and third-party data points allows businesses to hyper-personalize the shopping experience for individual customers.

Unique experiences can lead to more conversions and engagements. AI enables businesses to curate offers for numerous customer segments. The software can automatically serve the proper content at the start of a store visit, providing a solution sooner.

Marketers can use historical and real-time data to craft more relatable ads and immediately tap into customers’ desires to provide the most relevant solution for the current environment.

For example, chatbots can quickly respond to basic inquiries, recommend products or services, and gather first-party data to understand the typical customer better and learn how to improve business offerings. They can also integrate with other apps to retarget previous visitors who may not have made a purchase yet.

Many businesses are also seeing more success by sending personalized emails to subscribers based on their shopping and search history instead of a blanket message with general offers.

Junji Lim observes, “True innovation comes when technology serves the people, not the other way around.” Today’s tech makes it easier for consumers to voice their opinions and businesses to provide personable solutions that make individuals feel better understood.

Once again, the use cases multiply as AI becomes more intelligent and faster. According to Hubspot, 71% of marketers credit this emerging technology with making hyper-personalization possible. It also frees up hours of time for professionals to focus more on campaigns and customer interactions instead of finishing administrative tasks.

Prioritize Automation and Systemization

Building scalable systems and automating tasks as soon as possible can prevent wasting time on certain potentially repetitive tasks.

Three areas to consider streamlining first are:

• Lead generation
• Client onboarding
• Marketing execution

Implementing AI bots and outsourcing certain operations through freelancer platforms like Fiverr and Upwork are affordable ways to free up time for strategy and long-term growth. Human and digital assistants have different capabilities for basic and advanced tasks.

Additionally, free marketing tools are an excellent starting point and can accomplish more than meets the eye. For instance, multiple businesses use Typeform for its free online forms to intake customer details and generate basic sales funnels on a small budget.

It’s common for new startups and business owners to invest sweat equity by putting in manual effort to minimize overhead and because an intensive hands-on approach may be necessary at first to earn consistent income.

However, time spent on daily operations takes away energy and focus from making decisions and opportunities to reflect on progress made so far.

Be on Multiple Channels

Establishing a presence on prominent and small online social media helps reach more potential customers and form a responsive community.

Consider starting with Facebook and Instagram which currently have the largest audiences in most countries. Many opportunities exist to target diverse age groups, cultures, and behaviors for more potential interactions.

Thanks to their high usage volumes, Google Search and YouTube ads can also be effective. Further, running ads on smaller platforms like Telegram are enticing for a particular niche where users can be more intentional about trying out new products or services.

Online marketing is a process of trial and error. However, there are many analysis tools to calculate conversion rates between audience segments and determine which ads and posts are the most effective for your campaign goals.

Direct Manufacturer Relationships

Typically, retailers and online sellers work with a middleman sourcing company to acquire inventory from manufacturers to simplify logistics. However, this method lacks flexibility and generally increases merchants’ operating costs.

Partnering directly with factories is more straightforward than before to reduce shipping costs and have more control over the production process. Specifically, direct communication makes modifying designs as needed with quick turnaround times and verifying quality standards more likely.

It can also be easier to scale operations after establishing a partnership. Simultaneously, small production runs can be more cost-effective.

Another incentive of this practice is connecting at a deeper level with the culture of a partner supplier. A particular background can improve the design and production quality.

Finding reputable manufacturers and suppliers overseas can be challenging. However, it’s possible to work with eCommerce brokers who can match businesses with high-quality producers and establish a long-term relationship.

Optimized Supply Chains

Customers expect fast deliveries and competitive prices in today’s marketplace. Engaging with target clients is the initial focal point, and following through on prompt delivery. There are several avenues to improve supply chain optimization:

• Technology adoption: AI, blockchain, and the Internet of Things can use real-time data to satisfy customer needs, predict shopping trends, and perform end-to-end order management.
• Multi-warehousing: Storing ready-to-ship inventory in warehouses in different countries can reduce shipping times and costs for international sellers.
• Negotiation: Initial and recurring conversations with suppliers, manufacturers, and fulfillment services can help keep costs as low as possible without sacrificing speed or quality.
• Plan ahead: Analyzing past and real-time customer data helps plan future product offerings to avoid getting stuck with outdated inventory that consumes valuable warehouse space and financial resources.

Final Thoughts

Digital marketing goes well beyond eye-catching ads and appealing products. Data and AI-powered tools are increasingly functioning as the building blocks of effective marketing campaigns and customer satisfaction. Technology and key relationships can also improve supply chains and clarify business strategies.

Related Articles: