Dive Into the Future of Sales and Marketing With AI Forecasting
It’s an exciting time to be alive, especially in the business world, as we usher in a new era of possibilities driven by AI. What once seemed like science fiction, AI is now seamlessly integrated into our daily lives. Starting as a trend just last year, AI has rapidly gained momentum, with over 100 million people anticipated to incorporate AI features into their professional lives by 2024. HubSpot stands as a proud innovator, actively contributing to this future through features like ChatSpot and, more recently, their advanced forecasting AI tools.
But don’t just take our word for it. We’ve prepared a helpful blog showcasing the kinds of insights you can expect to gain from forecasting. You’ll learn key AI forecasting aspects, including the fundamentals, starting points, and benefits that will make you want to include forecasting AI in all of your marketing strategies.
What is AI Forecasting
Forecasting is a sophisticated marketing practice that has evolved alongside technology. Analysts, more commonly known as “planners,” predict shifts in demand and present management with new supply chain strategies based entirely on customer trends, historical purchase data, social media presence, and other external factors. The traditional method faced challenges, particularly in processing daily amounts consumer data, and unpredictable factors making accurate supply chain predictions a real struggle.
What distinguishes AI forecasting from traditional methods is its utilization of advanced tools, such as Machine Learning (ML), to craft algorithms that streamline the demand forecasting process. Planners input vast quantities of industry data into their ML software and within seconds the algorithms initiate pattern identification and build relationships across datasets through AI trend forecasting.
Where to begin with AI Forecasting
Navigating the multitude of AI software tools available in the market can pose a significant challenge when selecting the one that best suits your needs. Striking the perfect balance between convenience and features that align with your business goals is the key. Look for solutions that effortlessly integrate into your established workflows, ensuring a seamless assimilation into your daily operations. Scalability should be a priority, so opt for tools that flexibly adapt to the growing needs of your business. Consider the financial aspect, including subscription fees and related costs; you want something that will comfortably work within your budget. Prioritize platforms offering robust support and training options to allow your team to learn the skills needed for their new roles effectively.
An excellent example of software that can connect you with features like these and more would be HubSpot’s AI forecaster. This advanced AI tool can organize your deals into forecast categories to fine-tune your sales pipelines and set revenue goals for your team, all while personalizing your experience to meet your specific business goals.
How Your Business Could Benefit from AI Forecasting Tools
There are countless benefits you can tap into with AI forecasting tools. But when it comes to using AI forecasting for your business, the benefits are plain as day—synergy and improvements across the three core pillars of your company: sales, service, and marketing.
Sales
AI forecasting has the potential to completely flip how sale teams monitor outcomes within their sales pipelines. By leveraging predictive algorithms, it gives sales teams the inside scoop into deal stages, forecast categories, and revenue forecasts that can be influe nced by customer trends and external factors. Sales managers specifically benefit from a greater ability to track revenues, plan meetings, and monitor closed deals. As a result, managers gain quick access to the data they need for critical business decisions. Overtime these tools can become an asset, ensuring teams stay on track when working towards their goals without losing time or resources from wasted effort.
Service
Imagine for a moment a world where your service teams didn’t just solve customer problems but could anticipate them before they happened. Thanks to forecasting AI, this is a genuine opportunity for customer service teams to recognize patterns, understand the subtle factors that contribute to a negative customer interaction, manage the staffing resources needed to fix them, and improve the overall customer experience by resolving them quickly. It’s like giving your service team a crystal ball that learns from every closed ticket and develops a proactive strategy, promising a smooth and efficient customer support journey within minutes.
Marketing
In just a few months, AI trend forecasting has begun to establish itself as the new best friend of any successful marketing team. Drawing parallels with its impact on sales, marketers now possess a comprehensive toolkit to navigate their forecasted goals. AI forecasting is a versatile asset, optimizing form submissions, streamlining campaign lifecycle stages, and monitoring network conversions. Beyond these operational enhancements, it fosters collaborative teamwork, emphasizes due diligence when monitoring trends, and enhances your team’s responsiveness to evolving customer trends. In essence, AI forecasting empowers marketing teams for more effective and strategic campaigns.
Why AI Forecasting is the Smart Move for You
Now that we’ve explored the broader benefits of AI forecasting software for businesses let’s shift gears and examine why this would be an excellent investment for you. AI tools help you gain two major advantages: transparency and efficiency. They empower you to set tangible goals, involve your business teams (sales, service, and marketing) in the decision-making for these goals, and provide easily identifiable metrics tracking how likely you are to achieve those goals in the time you set for yourself. AI forecasting keeps you fast, honest, and productive.
The Next Stage of Success Starts Here
As we conclude our exploration of AI forecasting, we hope we’ve been able to help you understand the value of AI forecasting and dispel any stigmas associated with AI in the workplace. AI apprehension, shared by 46% of working adults, revolves around the concern that AI may render certain jobs obsolete.
The reality is that AI and ML aren’t replacing human experiences. AI tools, like forecasting, can save marketers and sales reps a mountain of time and resources which can be reinvested into creating and improving revenue streams, closing more deals, and engaging with more clients to further propel your business.
If you’re interested in how AI can be integrated into your business to improve the performance of your team, contact one our AI specialists and they’d be delighted to offer you a complimentary consultation.
