Artificial Intelligence is becoming an important tool to support sales and marketing strategies, from automating repetitive tasks to writing ad copy and quickly visualizing creative ideas.
During the upcoming SFA In the Know webinar, “Using AI to Benefit Your Sales, Branding, and Marketing,” Felice Thorpe, a consulting sales director with expertise in the food and beverage industry, and Aaron Feiger, a creative director and industry expert, will discuss user-friendly, low-cost ways that AI can step up a brand’s strategy and creativity. They will speak about the benefits of AI, the ethical considerations to keep in mind, and the steps that can be taken to implement these practices.
It takes place this Thursday, May 11 at 1 p.m. EST and is free for members and $19 for non-members. Register now.
SFA News Daily spoke with Thorpe and Feiger about the topic.
What are some of the benefits of using AI in a specialty food business?
Feiger: AI is an amazing tool that can quickly turn a blank page into a page full of ideas and possibilities. From naming, to social post copy, to creating full-fledged commercials, the ways a specialty food brand can leverage AI are growing by the week.
Thorpe: From a sales perspective, I will address how AI can improve efficiency in finding new accounts and sales contacts, building sales presentations and an elevator pitch, tracking in-store sales, merchandising, and promotion modeling. Ideally, salespeople should be selling products and, hopefully, these tools will help them dedicate more time to hitting revenue goals and building relationships.
What are the challenges to integrating AI practices in a business?
Feiger: At first blush, using AI can be intimidating and even threatening. It feels like the Wild West and finding ways to incorporate it into existing workflows requires a fresh approach and an open mind. It requires a desire to experiment and a willingness to fail.
Thorpe: The ability of a business to adapt is always challenging. Is your business willing to self-evaluate and adjust how it works? The willingness to learn new things and be okay with stumbling and fumbling at first is the sign of a healthy business culture.
Are there any mistakes you see businesses make when implementing AI practices?
Feiger: While I think AI can help with a range of creative and marketing tasks, it’s still important for humans to be involved, especially when it comes to consumer-facing marketing or creative. Great brands are incredibly in tune with the ways they use emotion and human nuance to connect with their audience personas and that can be overlooked. The brands that learn to bring AI into their existing workflows, rather than replacing them, will win.
Thorpe: AI is only one opinion, and it is an opinion that is very opaque. No “source” can be referenced, so I think there should be healthy scrutiny when using it. I see AI as a tool that can be incorporated into existing practices, not replace them.
Are there any risks to employing AI as a tool?
Feiger: With the copyright gray areas that exist in this brave new world of AI content, it can feel risky to leverage, especially for larger brands. As laws and regulations are being scrutinized It’s important to understand what risks might need to be considered around what exactly you’re putting out in the world.
Thorpe: There could be a lack of emotion or human experience with AI. A huge part of being a great salesperson is being able to “think outside the box”. It would be risky if companies relied entirely on AI to make sales decisions because, in sales, relationships and trust are earned. That will never go away.
Do you feel that not leveraging AI could put a business at a disadvantage?
Feiger: Brands have the opportunity to use AI to work quicker, smarter, and more creatively. Is AI necessary to succeed as a CPG brand? Absolutely not. But with the increasing amount of content and marketing that brands need to produce to support their goals, AI presents a significant advantage.
Thorpe: AI goes beyond the human capacity for analyzing data. It can identify patterns and anomalies quickly and alert a business to make a fast change. Having more information allows businesses to have a more focused view of their work and make quicker decisions.
What area are you most excited to share during the education session?
Feiger: I’m excited to inspire people to get their feet wet with AI, and I’m thrilled to give attendees and the brands they represent an unfair advantage. From creative output to generating sales leads, this session is only going to scratch the surface of AI, but I hope it sparks enough curiosity that attendees get excited to experiment with it themselves.
Thorpe: The business world needs more positivity and encouragement, and I feel like Aaron and I are coming from a place around this subject with curiosity and problem-solving. We are also small businesses ourselves, so are very mindful of the costs associated with AI tools. We have researched really affordable and free options that we are excited to share!
Related: Surviving a Third-Party Audit: Q&A With Food Safety Specialist; SFA Podcast: 'Send Hot Sauce' With David Schmunk, African Dream Foods