(Enjoy this conversation about data-driven marketing with RK Maniyani — AnteriadCo-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. This interview originally appeared in “The Essentials of AI and B2B Marketing.”)

As co-founder of Anteriad, a category-defining demand generation and martech company, RK Maniyani stays curious about what’s coming next in data-driven marketing. Always looking to better the intent experience, RK guides product and technology roadmaps, research and development, IT infrastructure, even email deliverability. Anteriad’s unique AI-driven approach has been the foundation of success for many B2B brands.

Who better, then, to turn to for this look at what’s ahead for AI-driven B2B marketing? We’ve captured some of his thinking here on many of these artificial intelligence trends. 

RK Maniyani, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Anteriad

What AI applications for B2B marketing interest you?

“I’m excited by a number of promising areas, and if you’re a B2B marketer with an interest in adopting AI power, there are several use cases I would suggest you consider. Some familiar ones are auto-replies and conversational AI like chatbots. Personalization around websites, marketing campaigns, content and channels is also popular, along with sentiment analysis such as on social media or feedback surveys. Scoring leads based on behavior patterns and activities will serve marketers well, too.” 

What tasks is AI best suited for in data-driven marketing and sales?

“AI as well-suited to some of the most challenging puzzles facing B2B brands. For example, extracting insights about prospects from large datasets as we do at Anteriad brings a lot of value to marketers. Natural language processing can identify interest and sentiments. Clustering and finding lookalike targets helps marketers make sense of the vast amount of data available to them. AI is also well-suited to driving automated conversations that engage and nurture prospects when they are in especially close proximity to your business. Clearly, AI can do a lot for marketing and sales.”

What concerns do brands have about adopting AI in B2B marketing? What holds them back?

“A frequent concern I hear about data-driven marketing involves setting up infrastructure with connected data and tools. Also the ability to test and measure effectiveness. I think the reluctance is fear of bringing automation into the art of marketing. This is an area where we at Anteriad deliver significant value for some brands by introducing them to the data-driven mindset.”

When we talk about “adopting artificial intelligence,” what does that really mean for B2B? What’s the typical process for bringing AI into an organization? 

“Adoption to me means thinking through the current situation and choosing a path towards solving a challenge. Then identify the right tools and services for data-driven marketing. As for those tools and services, should brands go with off-the-shelf or custom build? I think most of the common challenges have off-the-shelf solutions, which will be very cost-effective and risk-free. Others will think of custom-built solutions to meet their objectives.”

What’s ahead for AI in B2B and data-driven marketing?

“What I see for AI is more automation to achieve true integrated cross-channel marketing. We want to be merging data and campaign platforms for 360° customer views. There’s so much potential, and I encourage B2B leaders to embrace AI and data.” 

What Data-Driven B2B Marketing Looks Like

With a visionary like RK at the helm, you’ll want to include Anteriad on your data-driven marketing journey. For starters, visit the resources on this page to learn more about bringing the power of artificial intelligence into your B2B marketing.