66% of Sales, Marketing, and P&L Executives from Large $1B+ Tech Organizations Believe AI Disruption Will Help Nimble Startups and Emerging Competitors Rapidly Evolve Their Product Portfolios
A new independent survey revealed that Generative AI is revolutionizing sales and marketing across technology companies by enabling highly personalized customer interactions, automating complex processes, and providing deep data-driven insights. Furthermore, this AI disruption will enable them to pursue impressive new business models and market growth opportunities that were not available previously.
“Sales and marketing leaders from technology companies of all sizes must embrace AI as a catalyst not just for product innovation but go-to-market innovation as well. The changes already underway to the competitive landscape, commercial workflows, and employee skillsets are substantial and permanent, justifying such transformation”
“The Impact of AI on Go-to-Market Strategies, Programs, and Investments” report from Marketbridge, a strategic marketing consultancy, surveyed C-Suite technology leaders and go-to-market decision makers across sales, marketing, strategy, and customer success functions from major hardware, software, networking, and security organizations in North America. The survey respondents answered several key questions including:
- Where they expect the greatest AI disruptions will occur across sales, marketing, and strategy
- How soon they expect new AI-driven go-to-market models to emerge
- Where AI adoption will open up opportunities to create new value
- Which Sales, Marketing, and Strategy jobs-to-be-done need to be redesigned the most
- How they plan to apply AI to elevate customer experience and optimize pipeline creation
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Key survey findings highlight a new era in AI-driven go-to-market strategies, programs, and investments for technology organizations:
- Greatest AI Disruptions to Sales and Marketing:
- 57% of C-Suite executives believe that AI will disrupt how they structure their organization to capitalize on new opportunities while 53% state it will impact how they innovate their product portfolio mix to meet customer needs and 58% relay it will change how they explore new business model opportunities.
- Large Tech Companies Concerned About AI Startups:
- 66% of respondents from technology companies with over $1B in revenue expressed concerns about threats from nimble startups and emerging leaders planning to unveil new Gen AI solutions.
- AI Delivers Immediate Value in Sales and Marketing:
- 52% will use AI to deploy marketing and sales resources more cost-effectively to capture market opportunities.
- 52% will use AI to position solutions in a more personalized and relevant way at scale to best align with buyer needs.
- 46% see the greatest value creation coming from analyzing vast amounts of data to optimize performance and return on go-to-market investment.
- AI To Transform Customer Experience:
- 60% will use AI to customize customer interactions while 56% will create new marketing content and assets and 54% will develop differentiated messaging.
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“Sales and marketing leaders from technology companies of all sizes must embrace AI as a catalyst not just for product innovation but go-to-market innovation as well. The changes already underway to the competitive landscape, commercial workflows, and employee skillsets are substantial and permanent, justifying such transformation,” said Mike Kelleher, Managing Director, Technology Vertical Lead at Marketbridge. “AI will enable leaders to unleash powerful new business models, boost customer experience, streamline sales and marketing processes, and deliver unparalleled value to their customers. Now is the time for technology leaders to invest in AI-driven go-to-market strategies or risk becoming eclipsed by more aggressive, forward-thinking competitors.”
Why This Matters
In addition to the survey findings, the Marketbridge report also provides six strategic recommendations to help technology leaders capitalize on the AI go-to-market revolution, including:
- Identify Emerging AI Growth Segments
- Every go-to-market leader must identify and prioritize areas that can create the next one billion dollars in growth as they look to unlock new revenue streams.
- Reimagine AI-Enabled Jobs to be Done
- Identify high potential jobs across marketing, sales, and strategy that are primed for AI disruption. From there, redesign new AI-enabled workflows and unlock AI efficiencies to enable greater go-to-market success.
- Recognize Changing Buyer Needs
- AI options are transforming buyer expectations and preferences. Therefore, empirical tracking of shifting wants and needs is essential to guiding adjustments in customer targeting, promotion timing, sales offers, and support tactics.
- Position Next Generation Solutions Uniquely
- Crisp, clear positioning of AI solutions is critical right now. CMOs must craft stronger messaging to outshine nimble competitors while CROs must equip direct sales and partners with impactful AI-infused value propositions.
- Reinvent Routes to Market Where Needed
- Sales leaders must reassess their mix of direct and indirect sales channels to reoptimize customer coverage as customers may have new expectations on how they want to engage with vendors and purchase solutions.
- Activate High Performing Motions
- New AI strategies unlock value only with effective activation. Marketing and sales leaders must co-create and execute unified demand generation campaigns, account-based marketing programs, and tactical sales plays to build and convert new pipelines.