3 AI Tools for Sales & Marketing You Must Know

There’s been a lot of taking sides and fiery debate about AI and its role in marketing (and the world as a whole) in light of the popularity of tools like ChatGPT. What people aren’t saying is that there’s a balance to be found, as with anything. While there are always some efforts that will require the dedicated attention of a human, there are also plenty that could benefit from automation or AI. 

A simple Internet search will reveal lists of dozens of different AI tools for sales and marketing, but you don’t need dozens of them. You just need a few good tools that you can rely on as part of your tech stack. What those are will depend on your marketing goals, sales plans, and other needs. 

Before we dig into the tools that you should be using, let’s talk a little more about what “AI” means in the world of technology tools and how you can harness its power. 

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence, or AI, refers to technology that is designed to replace human talent or intelligence. It’s not the robots and tech that you see in sci-fi movies and shows; that’s always a little exaggerated for the sake of entertainment. According to McKinsey & Company, the oldest and most prestigious consulting firm in the U.S., and a frontrunner in thought leadership and innovation:

“Artificial intelligence is a machine’s ability to perform the cognitive functions we usually associate with human minds.” 

Some examples of AI include:

• Chatbots 
• Customized messaging based on analytics collection
• NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) tools 
• Auto-responses generated from user queries 

For example, Starbucks utilizes its mobile app and loyalty card to collect customer data, creating a totally personalized experience for its users. 

Brands are also using AI to identify opportunities to optimize content, keywords, and other digital marketing assets. This can provide better insights and save a lot of time for the human reps, who can focus their efforts elsewhere. 

Do’s and don’ts of AI in digital marketing 

The best thing that you can do is understand where and how to use AI, as well as where not to use it. For example, AI isn’t going to create all of your online content, but it might help you brush up that content with keywords and language suggestions using an NLP (natural language processing) tool like SurferSEO. 

Here are some important do’s and don’ts to keep in mind. 

Do:

• Create relevant content utilizing AI (as mentioned in the example above).
• Use the right tools.
• Avoid plagiarism and content spinning.
• Check out free AI tools and resources.
• Include AI in your overall sales and marketing strategies so it’s incorporated as part of your daily business.
• Fact-check everything.

Don’t:

• Rely on AI for all of your marketing or outreach efforts. AI supports human effort, rather than replacing it. (Partner with Smith.ai for outsourced outreach campaigns with a team of humans to support your needs)
• Expect perfection from AI, ever. 
• Attempt to use AI on your own.
• Expect AI to deliver more than it can. 

With these things in mind, here are three must-have tools for every sales and marketing team. 

The top 3 AI tools you need 

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#1 – HubSpot Content Assistant 

This is a great tool for those who want a little help creating written content. It’s a free tool that helps you build intelligent outlines and come up with content ideas so that you can deliver better material to your users. The platform includes a host of AI-powered features to help you with content planning and creation. 

You can use these tools for blogs, website content, and other materials, and it even includes conversational intelligence to ensure that you’re writing in the correct voice to reach your audiences most effectively. 

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#2 – 6Sense Revenue AI 

If you’re looking for support with account targeting and analytics, this platform should have what you need. 6Sense is designed to leverage AI to help you prioritize your accounts and resource allocation based on data. This can provide you with valuable insights that make it easier to strategize your sales and marketing efforts. 

The platform includes a wide range of data that you can use to create actionable efforts, and the dashboard even allows you to customize what you see and which metrics come up first so that everyone knows what’s important. This tool belongs to what’s known as the “intent data” family and it provides valuable actionable insights that you can use. 

This platform has free versions available and pricing options can be obtained by submitting an inquiry. 

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#3 – Zapier 

If you haven’t noticed by now, we really like the Zapier platform. It’s one of our most-used integrations and for good reason. Zapier also makes the list of AI tools because it offers plenty of them. It’s free to start and paid plans are available for those who need more features or access. Zapier works by connecting your apps and using automated workflows to save time and effort. 

Using Zapier, you can create your own automated workflows using the hundreds of apps and tools that it connects with. There are pre-configured “zaps” that you can employ, or you can customize them based on your needs. The AI also makes it easy to analyze text and turn that insight into valuable data. It cuts down on manual work significantly and offers valuable AI in several ways. 

For sales, marketing, and overall productivity, Zapier should be on everyone’s list. 

Bonus: A quick list of other AI tools to consider

In addition to the three listed above, you may also find valuable support from AI tools like:

• Jasper.ai - an AI-based writing assistant to help with content creation
• Howler AI - An AI tool that will find the best journalists for your press releases
• Adverity - a multi-channel data analytics tool that centralizes data
• Drift - an AI chatbot that can answer questions and route leads to agents
• Brand24 - a social media sentiment analysis and data aggregation tool
• MarketMuse - a content strategy tool that uses AI to identify opportunities and content gaps
• Semrush - an SEO Writing Assistant (SWA) and content creation tool 
• Crayon - a leading AI-based competitive analysis tool that collects data from millions of sources
• Lavender - an AI tool to help improve email marketing and email content in general
• Braze - a customer intelligence tool that can identify potential risks, upsell opportunities, etc. and then use that data to suggest how to act

AI and outsourcing are the perfect team

Once you’ve got your AI tools in place, don’t stop there. You can also outsource to the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai for support with your outreach campaigns. Our team can act as yours, delivering powerful results for all your needs. Plus, we can provide support for lead intake and appointment scheduling, and even act as your 24/7 answering service so that you never miss a lead. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai. 

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