What the Internet (and now AI) has brought to marketing: challenges and democratization

The birth of the Internet in 1983 transformed various aspects of daily life worldwide, boosted the global economy and facilitated access to information and education. By the end of 2023, 64% of the world’s population had access to the Internet, which was almost 2% more than the previous year and translates to 5.16 billion users. And that rate of growth in Internet users has been steady, driven by increased access in developing countries.

We recently celebrated World Internet Day, a commemoration of a technology without which, today, most companies worldwide would not be able to operate, especially in the marketing and advertising sector. Those of us who have had the opportunity to work in marketing before and after the emergence of the Internet have been able to analyze its evolution in a privileged way.

The most significant changes that occurred with the birth of the Internet were the added complexity to some of the functions of marketing managers, who initially had difficulty differentiating the useful from the ancillary. In addition, the Internet leveled the playing field for small businesses, allowing them to compete with large corporations and reach a wider audience without the need to invest large budgets. Thus, a Deloitte study revealed that small businesses that use digital media are 50% more likely to expand into new markets.

Many other aspects of marketing were affected and changed over the years, and the industry had to adapt to each of them. The first was personalization and segmentation, which allowed companies to collect detailed information about their users’ preferences and behaviors. This facilitated the creation of more personalized and targeted campaigns, thus increasing the relevance and effectiveness of advertising messages. According to eMarketer, companies that implement personalized marketing strategies see a 20% increase in revenue.

Content marketing, a strategy that uses blogs, videos, infographics and other types of content, also emerged. Thanks to it, companies began to offer value to their customers beyond their products or services, which helped build a relationship of trust with their audiences.

Before the Internet, brand marketing strategies were simpler and focused mainly on traditional media. With the advent of the Internet, there was a gradual shift in the media mix as customer consumption changed. Social media has been one of the media that revolutionized the field, transforming the interaction between brands and consumers and allowing companies to engage their audiences and get instant feedback.

Campaign measurement has also undergone a major transformation with the advent of the Internet. Previously, companies relied heavily on estimates to evaluate the success of their marketing campaigns. This technology enhanced this measurement and analysis capability with tools that provide real-time data on users, enabling rapid adjustments and continuous improvements to marketing strategies. This shift has been one of the biggest challenges, as everything in digital marketing is measured. Data from Hubspots reveals that companies that use data analysis obtain a substantial improvement in the most important measurement index for them: return on investment (ROI). Thus, those that bet on data analysis register an ROI 5 to 8% higher than those that do not.

Finally, the rise of e-commerce has gone hand in hand with the development of digital marketing. Online stores and mobile apps offered new ways to reach more customers and promote products and services. It is undoubtedly going to be a key sector, with global e-commerce sales estimates reaching $6.38 trillion by 2024, according to eMarketer.

It is important to stop and recognize the transformations that have occurred thanks to the Internet, such as equal opportunities for all companies regardless of their size and greater visibility and impact of brands. However, this has not stopped here and we must recognize the degree of automation brought by another technology that is becoming more and more crucial: artificial intelligence.

From my experience, I would venture to say that the biggest changes in the coming years will come from automation and unassisted conversational websites. In the first of these, generative AI has taken a giant leap forward, making it possible to generate high-quality, personalized, on-brand content in record time. Regarding the second point, websites will be very different from the current ones, which will converge with call centers themselves. What difference will there be between a conversational website and a call center, where machines are able to offer an excellent level of information and dialogue with customers without any problems? That is the question.

This new technology is already bringing us new benefits and challenges, which the marketing sector will have to face, but, having experienced a before and after in the industry with the Internet there is no doubt that, as on other occasions, companies will not only adapt to change, but will thrive in an increasingly digital environment.

David Segura Strategy and Innovation Director MIO Group