Introduction to Marketing Leaders and AI
There are three types of marketing leaders right now:
- The one worried about performance and just had enough time in leadership meetings to hear what everyone else’s opinion is on AI.
- The marketing leader who is having to firefight and has spoken to their team about AI and the implications.
- The marketing leader who has played with some AI tools and used a few prompts to see if it’s useful.
However, there should be a fourth type who is planning for the future, trying to work out where AI sits in their organization and how to get ahead, so they do not get lost and can confidently say we have an internal owner. Unfortunately, only a handful of chief marketing officers are taking it seriously enough.
The Challenge: Trust
The challenge for most marketing leaders is finding someone they trust enough to take the department on the AI journey. As someone who has held both CMO and chief growth officer titles, it’s essential to dedicate time to understanding AI and its implications. Over the last six months, AI has transitioned from a set of tools and models to help, to starting to influence the reduction of team headcounts and being responsible for hiring freezes unless you can prove AI cannot do it first.
The Promise of AI
The promise of AI is exactly what everyone is looking for: productivity gains, cost savings, and the ability to leverage competitive advantages. We are seeing some of this play out, and the return on investment of going first and early will mean you are ahead of competitors, you will quickly understand the investment case, and you will be able to calculate ROI early.
The Solution: Two Strategic Approaches
To tackle the AI challenge, there are two strategic approaches:
1. Find Your AI Champion
You must have an owner – someone who will be there with the team and responsible for championing tech and tools and integrating them into their workflow. This owner should be someone who is used to unpicking shifts, can understand technical aspects, and interface with product teams and engineers while teaching their colleagues.
2. Org Design/Org Redesign
This requires a strong and forward-thinking department leader who requires reshaping your teams to adapt to the new technology shift. A proactive and visionary department leader is now essential, and they must restructure teams to embrace and adapt to the significant shift towards new technologies.
The Opportunity and Threat
The opportunity is to assign a natural long-term leader to AI, who will be the driving force in most businesses for the foreseeable future. However, there is also a threat to be ahead of: identifying those who just will not naturally fit in the short to mid-term and reshuffling team members. In this “do more with less” era, you will have to be at the front, leading and potentially losing headcount.
The AI Owner
The AI owner could come from several areas, including social, search, or growth teams. You will know who fits best in your department, but it’s likely to be the search or growth team. The AI leader will have to hold strong, informed opinions based on knowledge of what is happening and how they assign budget and resources across the business.
How to Find Your AI Leader
A core skill to look out for in the right candidate is having the ability to understand the importance of changes for the whole business and be able to hold their own with C-Suite executives. Your AI lead will be a close colleague in many important meetings, so trusting them and being able to learn and gain reverse mentorship will be essential.
The 90-Day Action Plan
To get started, here’s a 90-day action plan:
Immediate: Week 1-2
- Write your AI plan and create a dedicated presentation to guide the team’s success.
- Assign a budget line for AI initiatives.
- Address the department’s AI fears through transparent communication.
- Launch formal AI kickoff workshop.
Short-Term: 30-90 Days
- Department Problem Solve: List out all of your existing problems within your department and work through how you can identify existing tools, leverage, and build internal tools and processes with AI to address these.
- Establish bi-weekly AI progress updates.
- Begin cross-functional AI coordination and start to rebuild roadmaps.
- Implement weekly team training and development sessions.
The Long-Term Plan: 6-18 Months
- Develop an AI-focused hiring strategy and plan a reorg with this in mind.
- Build executive presence for AI champions.
- Create measurable ROI frameworks.
Conclusion
In conclusion, marketing leaders must take AI seriously and plan for the future. By finding an AI champion, redesigning their organization, and assigning a natural long-term leader to AI, they can stay ahead of the competition and leverage the benefits of AI. With a 90-day action plan, marketing leaders can start their AI journey and be well-prepared for the future. Remember, in an ever-evolving AI landscape, being proactive and well-prepared is key to success.