Marketing & Sales:

When there’s nervousness in the economy and marketing takes the inevitable hit through loss of budget and headcount, it’s easy to point the finger at something to make us feel better.

AI isn’t the first shiny thing to appear that might lead business leaders to think they can cut overheads, but it’s a lesson that needs to play out. Some will realise sooner rather than later that the introduction of AI tools is not the be-all and end-all.  Yes it can be a great help in research, ideation, streamlining labour-intensive tasks, but you have to know how to instruct it in the first place.

Just like many untrained Execs discover when they have a hand different aspects of marketing and sales, there is no subsititute for the real thing.  Short-term gains will be short-lived.and the numbers will speak for themselves.

Time will tell how long it will take to have those making purchasing decisions for technology solutions worth hundreds of thousands, are happy to be spoken to by a robot.

In the meantime, the real threat is marketers and sales teams themselves. Failure to acknowledge that shifting platforms, changing buyer behaviour, and the ever-diminishing attention spans of audiences will all contribute to further chaos if left unchecked.

We’ve allowed the fundamentals of marketing and sales to slip while becoming too caught up in chasing the next big thing, and that's the problem.

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The attention economy: Changing and likely to get worse

As technology evolves, so too does our ability to distract buyers above the noise.  Attention spans diminish, no-one wants to spend time, or has the patience to wait for anything.

Marketers and worse, those untrained writers who suddenly think they’re the next William Shakespeare, are producing more content, faster, and across multiple channels. However, this results in drowning audiences in noise rather than delivering the meaningful messages they need. The constant scramble for attention has already led to oversaturation, making it more difficult for brands to break through. This isn’t going to change anytime soon, so expect engagement to get worse before it gets better.

As we continue to build digital-first strategies, platforms will adapt to maximise revenue from advertisers, further fragmenting where and how people consume content. While these shifts in platforms and tools are inevitable, they don’t change the fundamentals of effective marketing or sales.

Platforms have changed, and so have the tools

The platforms that drive modern marketing, such as social media, Google, and email, have changed drastically over the last decade. The focus has shifted from organic reach to paid media, and marketers are spending more on targeting, re-targeting, and automating processes to drive conversions. The tools have evolved, and while they can make us more efficient, they also create a false sense of security.

Sales teams are no strangers to this, especially with the rise of robots doing the first calls and chatbots taking over basic customer queries. These automation tools promise to optimise efforts and make sales processes more efficient, but they can only go so far. The human touch, the connection and relationship-building, is where true sales happen, and no robot can replicate that.

Automation tools, AI-generated content, and endless analytics dashboards may be exciting, but they’re only as good as the strategy behind them. These tools promise efficiencies, but they cannot replace the need for human creativity, strategy, and relationship-building. Marketers and sales teams who place too much trust in the tools alone will find themselves falling short of their goals.

The fundamentals? Still the same

Despite all these changes, the fundamentals of marketing and sales remain unchanged. No matter how many platforms, tools, or strategies emerge, the core principles of effective marketing and sales still apply:

• Know your audience: Understanding the pain points, desires, and behaviours of your target audience has always been key. Marketers and salespeople need to put themselves in the shoes of their customers and craft messages that resonate.
• Create meaningful relationships: Trust-building is a core element of any marketing and sales strategy. While AI tools and automation can scale processes, they can't replace the need for authentic connection and human interaction.
• Measure success beyond metrics: It’s easy to get caught up in vanity metrics—likes, shares, click-through rates. But ultimately, success should be measured by how marketing and sales drive real business outcomes: increased customer loyalty, revenue, and brand equity.
• Adapt with intention: While the platforms and tools evolve, marketers and sales teams need to adapt thoughtfully, ensuring that new technologies align with their overarching strategies and long-term goals.

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The role of Marketers and Sales Teams: Resonate with People, not Algorithms

The real threat to marketing and sales is not the technology itself, but how we, as marketers and salespeople, respond to these changes. Too often, we allow the promise of new tools and platforms to distract us from what truly matters: building authentic, valuable relationships with customers.

Marketers and sales teams must take accountability for their role in this process. It’s easy to point fingers at AI, automation, or executives who underestimate the potential of marketing. But we’re the ones who have the power to shape how these tools are used. We need to stop relying solely on tech and return to the basics—which means strategic, well-thought-out marketing with a big dose of creativity. The stuff that resonates with people, not just algorithms.

We need to embrace the future while respecting the principles that have stood the test of time.