Embracing AI as a Business Necessity.
Business sectors which have faced the most disruption due to COVID-19 have embraced AI in a more definitive manner because it has become a necessity instead of a "good idea" solution.
According to the PWC report, "AI: An Opportunity Amidst a Crisis", the leading industries adopting AI implementation are
"travel and hospitality (89%), technology, media and telecom aka TMT (86%), financial services (82%), and healthcare and pharma (73%)" which has resulted in growth and positive impact their business. Lagging behind is manufacturing and the industrial products and retail and consumer sectors.
Winners: AI Enabled Business Growth during COVID-19
Industries like TMT, healthcare and pharma have adopted AI solutions to seize the emerging opportunities thus far during the pandemic. AI-based solutions are helping them stay informed of data driven trends, and expose through data analysis where it's most feasible to innovate and scale up.
Industries who are continuing to experiencing adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as travel and hospitality and financial services, are increasingly adopting AI to navigate the while business uncertainties and industry disruptions persist.
Losers: Untapped Opportunities to Scale Up AI
Despite the clear advantages AI has proven to have in revealing opportunities in an increasingly disruptive and unpredictable business landscape, and ease of access, many companies are behind in discovering the practical uses of AI and how it can be integrated into their business resulting in transformative growth. The industrial products, retail and consumer sectors have been slowest to adopt, evidenced by the continuing supply chain disruptions and now have the greatest opportunity to catch up on the AI adoption revolution.
Managing the customer journey is not about just marketing the products anymore; it's about selling the end-to-end experience of the purchase.
Relying on AI as Proactive Risk Management
AI has enabled some marketers to take a proactive role of building strategies based on supply chain predictions, while others who have been slow to adopt the new technology are not able to keep up when customer demand changes the supply chain overnight, like during a global event like Covid-19 or the collapse of the power grid.
Ultimately, artificial intelligence makes accurate predictions about the supply chain and serves the goals of marketers because it creates more accurate forecasts of customer behavior.
AI analysis exists for nearly every industry sector making it possible for companies to cater to true sustainability initiatives and providing accurate projections to reduce waste, locate opportunities that exist in a changing business landscape and providing a pro-active marketing focus on areas that will yield the greatest reward.
Sources:
PWC PricewaterhouseCoopers: "AI: An Opportunity Amidst a Crisis", Report, October 12, 2021.
Newsweek: "How AI is Changing Retail Marketing", September 23, 2021.
Mary Ellen Schrock is the Founder and CDO of Floh Creative, who partners with brands and businesses to develop brand strategy, storytelling content and design digital marketing tools that produce growth and build relationships.
Engage: Join featured live discussions with Mary Ellen by following her on Social Media where she regularly speaks about branding, marketing, design, crowd-funding and NFTs.
Twitter: @flohcreative
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