When ChatGPT was introduced, I wrote a blog about a conversation I had with the generative AI. But it’s been a few months now and one of my readers asked me this question: How has ChatGPT changed the landscape of Marketing?
I’m sure many business leaders want to know the answer to this question, so I thought one great way to see how ChatGPT is working these days is to show what it is like, as a marketer, to try to use it.
To write this blog post, I queried one of these new generative sources to: write a blog post for me on how ChatGPT has changed the marketing landscape. The rest of this blog post is (a) what I got back and (b) my commentary on those results. Let’s begin.
How has ChatGPT changed marketing?
ChatGPT is a large language model chatbot developed by OpenAI. It is a powerful tool that can be used for a variety of tasks, including generating text, translating languages, writing different kinds of creative content, and answering your questions in an informative way.
ChatGPT has had a significant impact on the marketing landscape. It is being used by marketers to automate tasks, improve customer engagement, and create more effective marketing campaigns.
Here are some of the ways ChatGPT is changing the marketing landscape:
Nice opening but rather dull, don’t you think? These chatbots write the way I was taught to write in the 6th grade: clear, informational, and repetitious.
But if you ask me for an opinion of the writing style, it’s downright boring. And did I say repetitious? This is why marketers should use caution using these tools. Simply cutting-and-pasting answers creates uninspired copy. Let’s continue with the various break-out topics.
1. Content creation
ChatGPT can be used to generate a wide variety of content, including blog posts, social media posts, email newsletters, and even landing pages. This can save marketers a lot of time and effort, and it can also help them to create more personalized and engaging content.
For example, a marketer could use ChatGPT to generate a personalized blog post for each new customer. The blog post could be tailored to the customer’s interests and needs, and it could be sent to the customer automatically. This would help the marketer to build relationships with their customers and to keep them engaged with their brand.
While this is factually correct, and I love the idea of automating personalized messages, would you really want this tool writing your blog posts and social media posts? I wouldn’t.
These tools can get you started with ideas and facts (which you have to check), but I can’t think of anything less interesting than getting one of these plain vanilla blog posts that are supposedly customized for me. (Nothing against vanilla; I love a good vanilla ice cream. But I digress.)
Here’s another way to use ChatGPT for marketing.
2. Customer engagement
ChatGPT can also be used to improve customer engagement. For example, it can be used to create chatbots that can answer customer questions and provide support 24/7. Chatbots can also be used to collect customer feedback and to personalize the customer experience.
For example, a retail company could use a ChatGPT chatbot to answer customer questions about products and services. The chatbot could also be used to recommend products to customers based on their past purchases and browsing behavior. This would help the company to improve the customer experience and to increase sales.
This is actually a good point, but these website chatbots have been around for a while, haven’t they? And, as an end user, I don’t always find them helpful. Typically, the problem that I have is not one of the dozen or so that has been programmed, so when I engage with one, I end up getting frustrated and even angrier than when I started chatting. So, I’m not convinced yet.
3. Marketing campaigns
ChatGPT can also be used to create more effective marketing campaigns. For example, it can be used to generate personalized ad copy and to target ads to specific audiences. ChatGPT can also be used to track the performance of marketing campaigns and to make adjustments as needed.
For example, an e-commerce company could use ChatGPT to generate personalized ad copy for each customer. The ad copy could be tailored to the customer’s interests and past purchase history. This would help the company to create more relevant and effective ads.
Ok, that makes sense. But again, given what you’ve been reading here, do you trust any of these models to write scintillating copy? (Shaking my head. Wouldn’t want this for me, or my clients.)
But if there’s a better way to analyze the performance of campaigns, that would definitely be a plus. I haven’t seen how this would be used with Google Analytics, though. This explanation didn’t make that connection for me.
But wait, there’s more.
4. Market research
ChatGPT can also be used for market research. For example, it can be used to analyze customer feedback and to identify trends. ChatGPT can also be used to generate surveys and to collect data from customers.
For example, a consumer goods company could use ChatGPT to analyze customer feedback on social media. The company could use this information to identify areas where they can improve their products and services.
Ok, this is actually an idea I can get behind: analyzing customer feedback on social channels and identifying trends. If companies were able to do this at scale, and actually change their processes and products/services based on what customers say and really want or need, that would be a huge win!
But this isn’t what I would call Market research; this is Customer Feedback, Product Research, or Usability Research. Market research is something totally different, so the bot got that wrong. I’d retitle that section “Customer Feedback.”
We’re now at the summary.
Overall impact
ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can be used to improve marketing in a variety of ways. It can be used to automate tasks, improve customer engagement, create more effective marketing campaigns, and conduct market research.
ChatGPT is still under development, but it is already having a significant impact on the marketing landscape. As ChatGPT continues to evolve, it is likely to have an even greater impact on the way that marketing is done.
In addition to the specific examples mentioned above, ChatGPT is also changing the marketing landscape in a more general sense. For example, it is helping to make marketing more personalized and data-driven. ChatGPT is also helping to break down the barriers between different marketing channels, such as content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing.
Overall, ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can help marketers to improve their efficiency, effectiveness, and customer engagement.
What I dislike most about these tools are the ways they summarize (repeat) what they’ve already said, so many times, that I can’t stand it.
And the point about “breaking down the barriers between different marketing channels” is weird; I’m not even sure what that means.
Thank you, Denise, for asking the question about how these applications are changing the marketing landscape. My answer is: they’re not, for me or many marketers that I know.
Yet.
They are interesting places to start: to generate ideas, an outline, copy points. But they’re just not smart enough and their sources aren’t good enough. If you’re someone who needs marketing, you’re still better off working with a marketer who knows what they’re doing and has a history of marketing success.
Still interested in what to use them for? Email me and let’s chat.
