Precision marketing using AI tools will be the future

Sri City: IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University on Friday hosted its yearly Marketing Conference 2019 with the theme The Changing Face of Marketing Imperatives for Young People. The day-long conference brought together experts from the marketing fraternity who deliberated on the future of marketing. For the students at IFMR, the conference served as a learning platform to understand various new-age marketing methods and discuss the latest trends in marketing technology. Slated to be an annual feature, the Marketing Conference seeks to bring the best minds in the field to share their views and opinions on the latest trends in the industry for the benefit of the students.

Marketing today has evolved into a clever craft of blending strategy with technology. The collaborations and combinations that are conceivable are endless and for this reason there is a significant need for knowledge sharing. The Marketing Conference 2019 was an endeavor towards establishing a greater comprehension of modern methods and mechanics of marketing said Professor Amar Saxena, IFMR in his introductory address.

Murali, Executive VP and Business Head, Vodafone Idea said, "To make the change, one must move from exposure to engagement marketing. There is a huge transition in terms of taking one view of the customer, to what you need to offer to him. In the area of process and execution we are moving from waterfall execution marketing to agile marketing, which is quickly doing things and moving on. From an organisation standpoint we are moving away from a function centric organisation to a customer centric organisation. The entire business model must be reinvented every-time there is a disruption in technology."

Vaibhav Sisinty, Marketing Consultant and Growth Hacker presented an engaging account of growth hacking and gave a glimpse on how out of the box thinking could help achieve objectives which seemed insurmountable at first. He said, "Growth Hacking involves using low-cost, innovative strategies to help companies grow exponentially. A growth hacker should Think out of the box, be data driven, experiment things, be outcome driven, try to understand human psychology and play with it. We have to innovate on how to please and surprise a customer every second time and for a growth hacker your North Star metric must be growth. For us to growth hack and to become better marketers we must understand how the system works, Growth hacking does not mean going crazy with technology rather it is trying to understand and question technology and look at ways to optimize its usage."

Gopalan Uppiliappan, COO, Kals Group said that the transformation that has happened in marketing over the last two decade is phenomenal, from conventional marketing to digital marketing to using AI tools in digital marketing. The market value of a company is no longer decided based on the balance sheet, it is now based on how it has reached its customers, how much data it has collected and how it has used that data to specifically target a customer base. What is important today is how a company customise their products and services based on their customer needs. Today data is everything and the future of marketing is going to be AI based digital marketing.

Binoay B, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Aditya Birla Group said that dynamic pricing is the most productive initiative which has helped all telecom operators in the country. Today marketing is precision marketing, the machines and system knows what a customer's next action is. If a customer's phone's battery has only 10% charge while booking a cab through an app-based taxi service, the fare will automatically shoot up because the system knows the customer does not have a choice but to book the cab. The precision marketing with dynamic pricing is the future for any businesses.

Anirban Mozumdar, CEO, Chlorophyll & Communication Consultancy said that one of the most important things to keep in mind before marketing a product or service is the knowledge that 'you can no longer outspend your way into people's minds'. The total volume of content that is generated today is huge and the ability to tap into that data is making modern marketing technology so powerful. Fundamentally what technology has enabled us to do is to turn values into tangible experiences.

With his inimitable and flamboyant style, Madhavan, EVP and Global Head Sales and Marketing, TVS Tyres enthralled and engaged the audience to drive home his take on the new age marketing : Markets are changing and customer expectations are changing even faster. To have a headsup, one needs to be rooted, accept the dynamics and understand the customer. Do what it takes to woo him or her, using technology as a handle. Generously laced with humour, anecdotes and interspersed with real life stories and experiences, he also gave out a message to the young and vibrant audience : While there's abundance of functional skills and knowledge, there's no substitute for hard work and dedication in the path leading to sustainable success.