Focus on fit, not functionality

mlns='> Generative AI is only as good as the process it’s intended to standardize and scale [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( Weekly News 6.30.23 Connect With CMI  [Use These 3 Agile Fixes To Keep Your Marketing Operations Humming]( You can’t afford to waste your marketing budget by working the wrong way. Yet, process improvement probably isn’t at the top of your to-do list. Change that today and use these three ideas to make it happen. [Read more]( By Andrea Fryrear More of the week's best stories: - [Don't Let Economic Predictions Stop Your Marketing in the Months Ahead]( Content Marketing Institute Team - [Outsmart the Instagram Algorithm: Proven Strategies for Success [+ B2B Examples]]( Ann Gynn - [Why You Should Hit Pause on Content Tech (Yes, Even AI) Until You Answer This]( Robert Rose - [ICYMI: How To Create Disruptive, Innovative Content That Aligns With Your Brand]( Jodi Harris  Focus on fit, not functionality For as long as I can remember, marketing teams have faced a thorny problem: Technology. In the pre-internet days, I helped marketing teams wrestle their presentations onto CD-ROMs to share with their sales colleagues and manage their outbound customer email campaigns in Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets. If only a few words in that sentence made sense to you, remember I’m a Gen Xer. Rough translation: “In my day we had to walk five miles in the snow to implement a marketing strategy.” Technology makes up a core part of any go-to-market strategy today. But marketing teams haven’t gotten any better at managing the acquisition and implementation of the plethora of tech it takes to power their work. But it’s not for lack of investment. [Gartner’s 2023 CMO spend survey]( found marketing leaders have seen their teams’ productivity fall to new lows, despite increased technology investments in the last few years. As the research points out, 75% of marketers say they’re under pressure to cut martech spending this year. Yet Gartner also found the biggest new investment among CMOs this year is … wait for it ... technology. And the most significant decrease? Labor. Think about that. Marketing teams spend so much time acquiring, implementing, learning, and managing technology that they have little time to work on whatever they bought the technology to help them do. It’s a never-ending hamster wheel. I’ve worked with many brands to help them select content and marketing technologies, from content and digital asset management to marketing automation and customer data platforms. In almost every case, the process begins with understanding how the new or replacement technology will fit into the marketing process. But, in most cases, no defined process exists. It happens with all kinds of marketing and content technologies. But it's particularly apparent in how content and marketing leaders approach adopting new generative AI tools. Instead of starting by focusing on the new, sophisticated capabilities tech products offer, marketers should first figure out which existing (or at least designed) processes the new technology purchase will amplify, standardize, or scale. In consulting with companies selecting generative AI tools, I’ve learned brands aren’t sure how, where, or even why the tool makes sense for their marketing teams. Yet, they know it’s an “important” capability that’s attracted the interest of senior management, which might be looking to supplement (and, in some cases, replace) content creators. Here’s the punchline: Organizations that successfully integrate generative AI into their marketing and content processes aren’t using the tools to create awesome blog posts or the next great e-book. My research suggests their successes come from using generative AI to shift workflow processes. In [Rose-Colored Glasses]( this week, I discuss why your organization should invest in scenario planning before deciding how to implement new content tools – including AI. Doing so can help you make more effective use of the technologies you choose and free up your team’s bandwidth for the creative tasks they excel at. I’d love to hear if your business would benefit from this approach. Send me [an email](mailto:Robert@contentadvisory.net?subject=Scenario%20planning) or leave a comment on [the article page](. Until then, remember: It's your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Would any of your colleagues or friends benefit from Robert's weekly updates? Please invite them to [subscribe]( here.   Sponsored Content Track your licensed digital assets post-distribution to keep your brand in compliance Digital content tracking helps marketers and brand managers maximize performance and mitigate brand compliance risks. Learn why more brands are monitoring images and video on websites and social media after campaigns launch. [Learn to track »](  More From CMI Only two weeks remain to unlock 2023 CMWorld savings! Time is running out! Don't miss your chance to save up to $300 on your pass to Content Marketing World 2023, coming up September 26-28, in Washington, D.C. [Register by July 14]( and get ready for an experience filled with inspiring insights, actionable advice, and new connections.   What can you expect from Content Marketing World sessions? 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