IBM’s Watson just might replace every marketing department

More than a gimmick

IBM’s Watson is not just gimmick on Jeopardy, not just the world’s smartest computer, not just an artificial intelligence that can recognize and understand the nuance and sheer variety of language, but now, Watson is the world’s savviest marketer.

What can Watson do?

Today businesses can hire Watson Analytics to help them collect and organize consumer data, engage with customers, and predict reactions from their ideal customers.

Does that sound abstract and confusing to you? You’re not alone. How could a powerful robot help sell more products, or even increase loyalty in existing customers?

The answer is two fold – big data and roleplaying.

Marketers are usually not at a loss for data. From click-through information to conversion rates, data for businesses is easy to come by.

The problem is converting that data into meaningful strategies.

“It can be all too easy to get caught up in the minutiae without being able to pick out important relationships and trends that let you respond quickly to changing market dynamics or to the shifting needs of your business.” IBM touts of Watson Analytics on their marketing page.

Social media and influencers

Because Watson can analyze language on social media, it can help companies find powerful influencers on Twitter and Instagram that best align with their avatar. Kia Optima used this service to find an influencer who was more open to change, more artistic, and goal oriented. Watson analyzed an internet full of data to find the influencers who would push their brand the furthest, and get their message to thousands of other like minded individuals.

When North Face needed a better way to interact with customers on their website, they turned to Watson’s natural talent for recognizing language, and let it help their customers find the product they needed. Just by typing in a simple request such as “I need a backpack for an Alaskan adventure”, Watson can guide consumers through the process of finding their perfect pack.

It’s like having a customer service chat bot, but one that sells products and is way way smarter.

Watson can even help you build custom profiles that match your avatar and analyze which marketing strategies positively influenced them. And it can even tell you when and even how consumers want to interact with your brand.

Watson’s goal is not just to imitate human language and interact with us, but actually affect the decisions we make by studying our habits.

Sound familiar, marketing professionals?

Because Watson is an open sourced platform, which means that anyone with the means can build programs that utilize it’s intuitive language comprehension. This means that literally anything is possible with Watson at the helm of marketing, and it means a huge change in the way businesses think about and execute campaigns in the future.

#ElementaryWatson