Marketing automation is more than streamlining processes, automating posting on social media, or scheduling emails. Leading marketers use automation to enhance creativity and engineer more impactful brand experiences.

Up to 67% of marketing leaders use automation platforms in one way or another, and marketing automation spending is set to reach $25 billion this year. So, what does this mean for brands looking to bolster their digital presence? Everything.

But what does using marketing automation to enhance creativity and brand experiences look like in practice? Let’s focus on one important digital marketing element: a company’s website. I asked Steve Ohanians, the CEO of a Silicon Valley B2B digital agency, Clear Digital, for his take on AI as part of the digital brand development process. 

Dig deeper: Why we care about AI in marketing

AI and machine learning make room for more creativity 

From eliminating repetitive and time-consuming tasks to reducing human error, marketing automation can completely revolutionize how we manage digital marketing projects. Among the many benefits of AI and machine learning (ML), as Ohanians points out, is their usefulness in speeding up project progress. 

The challenge is that many AI and ML models are still in the early stages and require a certain degree of human input and editing to be effective. (Think: prompting ChatGPT correctly.) 

This is good news. It reveals another way that AI and machine learning can be used: automation can enhance creativity.

The ideation phase is where Ohanians believe digital marketing will gain the most impact from AI and machine learning. A creative, AI-written idea might spur a designer or developer to think about the project differently.

Another way that automation can enhance creativity is by alleviating the burden of repetitive tasks, like writing code, testing and deploying for digital systems. They take up valuable time and may not require as much creative effort.

By automating these processes — like using AI to test a web application — people in creative roles will be freed up to spend more time on creative tasks and innovation.

Balancing AI and human context to create meaningful digital brand experiences 

Whether using chatbots to improve customer service or leveraging machine learning to optimize website design, AI and ML will play an increasingly important role in the UX/UI space, Ohanians said. Marketers should care because your brand will be judged by the digital experiences consumers expect based on what they are experiencing with other brands. Marketers who fail to seize the opportunity will be quickly left behind by those capitalizing on these technologies to drive innovation.

But Ohanians clarifies that AI is not a magic bullet or perfect solution for digital brand development — not yet, at least. Everything generated through machine learning tools must be filtered through human context. Companies need to implement checks and balances. As teams use AI and ML to create, experts should assess the results.

Dig deeper: AI in marketing: 7 areas where it shines and struggles

Automation is accessible today, so don’t delay its use 

Despite automation’s numerous benefits, many digital marketers have yet to experience the technology’s creativity-enhancing benefits. This needs to change. Integrating automation into your business’s everyday creative practices will keep your team competitive and inspire better ideas.

Ohanians said the key to implementing AI and ML effectively, even at this early stage, is to ensure you’ve hired a great team. No tool or AI system can outweigh the importance of team members’ creativity, individually and collectively. Companies can get the most out of automation and prepare their teams for the future of work by enabling creative people to test and try new technology so they can determine how it will benefit their work.

Don’t feel daunted by the process of implementing AI in your business. Marketers already use it to streamline tedious tasks, enhance creativity and explore new avenues for brand experiences. You can too. AI and ML present countless opportunities for brands to improve marketing outcomes with more creative, innovative brand experiences.

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It’s a strategic process for connecting a target audience to the company’s products and services. There’s no sleight of hand. In other words, the company provides the steak, and marketing offers the sizzle. 

But there’s a disconnect between corporate expectations and real, measurable marketing goals from digital transformation. Across industries, companies must bring business into the modern world by offering their customers positive digital experiences. But many have struggled to accept this, and some are still “making due” with outdated tech to their detriment.

Take, for example, Southwest Airlines and its recent systems failure. The company’s IT breakdown is infamous around the world and affected thousands of customers. The numerous delayed and canceled flights left many people stranded, causing some to miss out on holiday plans. Marketers and PR professionals are still dealing with the airline’s soiled reputation and terrible customer experience fallout. 

So, what should marketers do when the company fails to deliver the service they promised? 

To win customer trust the brand’s offerings must meet consumer expectations. And consumers expect the companies they purchase from to be digitally advanced and relevant. This is why we marketers must be our companies’ advocates for modernization and innovation. 

Tech sets the tone for modern business experiences

Every company is digital, no matter the product or service offered. Marketers should adopt this digital-first identity and tie it to both employee and customer experience. 

Customers expect a frictionless digital experience. They won’t accept that computer problems are reasons for a company’s failure to deliver. Tech stacks comprised of outdated legacy systems cannot deliver the experiences customers expect.

Failure to upgrade digital experiences and sticking with legacy platforms is felt across industries. Breakdowns like Southwest’s systems failure come from a faulty core belief, according to Ramesh Ramani, CEO of digital learning experiences firm ExpertusONE. (Disclosure: ExpertusONE is a client of Zen Media.)

“Corporate leaders continue to operate under the mindset that advanced technology is nice to have — that it’s nonessential — and therefore, an investment in the tech stack can be delayed,” Ramani said. “But tech is not a nice-to-have feature. It’s the only way companies can build relationships with stakeholders and remain competitive in their markets. Neglecting the tech stack is detrimental.”

Satisfying customer experiences are orchestrated with technology. It’s a marketer’s chief concern in these times of Google and Yelp reviews. Business leaders, marketing and otherwise, need to be committed to digital acceleration because shortcomings in the tech stack have a ripple effect. 

Downtime is costly for production and business operations. Poor internal digital experiences reduce employee engagement and negatively affect morale. And the loss of customer trust due to a systems failure, like the one that Southwest experienced, can ruin a brand’s reputation and disperse its customer base. 

If your company cannot meet the standard customers expect when it comes to digital experiences, you risk losing their interest and watching them flee to other, more innovative competitors. 

A strong tech stack is essential to preserve customer trust

A strong tech stack is the first step in preventing a breach of customer trust. This is why marketers must be advocates for a digital-first brand identity. 

Southwest’s failure proves how internal tech problems can significantly damage brand reputation. 

As marketers, we need to see the value of technology from a higher level, beyond marketing-specific technology. We must understand how our organization’s entire tech stack — from operational workflow tools to L&D software to IT management and HR tools — can impact the customer experience.

The digital experience is part of the “steak” companies must provide so that marketing can deliver the sizzle. If your marketing efforts are successful, but your customer experience isn’t, the strategy will be a wash. 

Let’s say you reach your target audience through social media content marketing, but your website is frequently down due to back-end IT issues. The customer will swiftly move on to another brand, likely one of your competitors. After all, if your website isn’t reliable, why should they trust that your brand is? 

It’s non-negotiable. Updated tech is now the expectation. Companies failing to meet this expectation will lose customer trust, which is not quickly recovered. 

Marketers cannot be solely reactive. Brands won’t successfully reach customers if their primary message is damage control. To succeed, you need the support of a tech stack that always delivers on customer expectations. 

Our ability to connect brand identity to customers’ digital experiences when interacting with our company gives us the power to create a compelling case for tech innovation. We must hold our organizations to a higher standard and ensure the products we’re marketing hold up in today’s modern marketplace. 

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