MarTechTalk: Unlocking the power of AI for better partner ROI

On 17 October, MarTech Talk host Kevin Craine was joined by Isabelle Pampelune, SMB Business Development Lead, Xerox – EMEA; Torkel Öhman, CTO, Amanda AI; and
Daan Mannaerts, Director Google Ads, Impartner.

Views on news

At the beginning of October, the Advertising Association – a UK-based trade association – announced the launch of an AI task force aimed at helping the UK’s ad industry to navigate both the promises and perils presented by AI. Problem areas include transparency, accuracy, ownership, employee morale and consent. Use cases of AI include not only AI generating content but also AI that enables predictions, the accuracy of which hinges on the quality of the data that has been fed into it. AI tools are going to change marketing dramatically, but they won’t completely replace humans any time soon. 

The opportunities that genAI presents for marketers

MDF platforms enable vendors to grant a resource to their indirect sales channel partners, where AI can be leveraged to develop and optimise these platforms. They can also be instrumental to scaling up campaigns. There has been a lot of resistance among marketers to tools with AI capabilities, which has been diminishing thanks to ChatGPT’s breakthrough. AI can help with identifying the right keywords for the right audiences, leads can be fed into the system and then shared between partners. But lead data can only release its value if the business capitalises on it. 

A lot of behaviour data comes from Google, but this data is not PII, and its owner is clearly Google. Analytics for measuring success are rather straightforward. Up to 70% of partners follow up on leads that are fed into the system. By evaluating a channel partner’s effectiveness, it becomes easier to tell whether that partner brings value to the business. Dashboards can visualise on everything that happens between the first click and the purchase. There will be profound changes in how marketing is going to operate in the next 5 years or so, and AI will become an increasingly effective tool for identifying high converting audiences and sharing relevant data with channel partners. 

The panel’s advice

Understanding AI capabilities and what they can achieve today will prepare a business for future changes.

Check out some of the available AI tools to see the power behind them.