SMBs are a target-rich environment for vendors as only 26% have AI and/or automation technology, according to a new survey.
Artificial intelligence remains a big draw with SMB martech buyers: 70% say they’d pay more for a marketing platform that gave them access to AI or automation tools, according to a new study.
SMBs (defined by the study as orgs with 250 employees or less) are a target-rich environment for vendors as only 26% have AI and/or automation technology, according to a study of nearly 500 SMBs conducted by digital marketing and automation platform Constant Contact and research firm Ascend2.
Big interest. Around three-quarters (74%) of SMBs are interested in using AI or automation, and 55% said their interest has grown over the last six months. Forty-six percent of SMB marketing leaders admit they only have a beginner’s knowledge about the benefits of the technology.
Top use cases. Here is where SMB marketers are using AI:
- Social media (52%)
- Content creation (writing or images) (44%)
- Email campaigns (41%)
- Ad targeting (38%)
- Analytics (35%)
- Website forms (34%)
- CRM (30%)
- SMS/text campaigns (25%)
Worth the investment. Companies using AI/automation are finding it a big time saver.
- 60% of SMBs that currently use AI or automation in their marketing say they have saved time and are working more efficiently.
- 33% of SMBs estimate they have saved more than 40 minutes per week on marketing by using AII or automation.
Some reservations. Top concerns SMBs have about AI and automation are data security, perceived cost and the learning curve in adopting the technology.
Why we care. AI and automation in marketing are implemented in order to save time and improve ROI. Over half (58%) of SMBs in the study said they expect to save over $ 1,000 on their AI investment in the next year; 28% said $ 5,000 or more; and 5% expect to save upwards of $ 25,000.
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About the author
Chris Wood draws on over 15 years of reporting experience as a B2B editor and journalist. At DMN, he served as associate editor, offering original analysis on the evolving marketing tech landscape. He has interviewed leaders in tech and policy, from Canva CEO Melanie Perkins, to former Cisco CEO John Chambers, and Vivek Kundra, appointed by Barack Obama as the country’s first federal CIO. He is especially interested in how new technologies, including voice and blockchain, are disrupting the marketing world as we know it. In 2019, he moderated a panel on “innovation theater” at Fintech Inn, in Vilnius. In addition to his marketing-focused reporting in industry trades like Robotics Trends, Modern Brewery Age and AdNation News, Wood has also written for KIRKUS, and contributes fiction, criticism and poetry to several leading book blogs. He studied English at Fairfield University, and was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He lives in New York.
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