I just lately had the pleasure of attending one of many standout periods at this 12 months’s G2 Attain occasion: Tips on how to Combine AI Into Your Stack.
The panel, hosted by Scott Brinker (Editor, Chief Martec & VP Platform Ecosystem, HubSpot), featured a few of the brightest minds within the MarTech world, together with Kelly Hopping (CMO, Demandbase) and Jen Niedel (Director of Advertising Digital Transformation, SAS).
As a B2B marketer making an attempt to know find out how to greatest incorporate AI into the best way my staff and I work, I discovered the dialogue immensely useful – a masterclass in constructing trendy advertising tech stacks and harnessing AI’s potential to supercharge them. Listed below are my key takeaways from the panel that I hope will encourage your MarTech technique in 2025 and past.
Integration: The non-negotiable basis
If there was one theme that resonated all through the session, it was this: integration isn’t elective. Kelly Hopping drove this level residence with readability, noting:
“Nothing is operating in a vacuum. Each device in our stack is linked—whether or not it’s ported into our information programs or built-in into our go-to-market methods. That connection is important.”
Kelly Hopping
CMO, Demandbase
Demandbase’s stack exemplifies this precept, with each element working in concord to ship insights, streamline workflows, and amplify outcomes. It reminds us {that a} siloed device isn’t simply underutilized—it’s a missed alternative.
Supply: Demandbase
The apple orchard method to stack evolution
Jen Niedel’s deep dive into SAS’s inventive metaphor is one that basically resonated with me and our viewers at Attain: the evolution of their tech stack as an apple orchard.
Over three years, their journey has moved by means of distinct phases, every constructing on the final:
- Basis part: Laying the groundwork with core programs and processes.
- Progress part: Utilizing data-driven insights to tell strategic selections. (Or as Jen calls it, the apple-harvesting stage)
- Maturity part: Delivering wealthy, built-in buyer experiences. (Consider this because the apple pie part—the place all the pieces comes collectively.)
One standout innovation of their stack is the combination of Orange Logic DAM, addressing a crucial hole in digital asset administration. SAS’s tech journey underscores {that a} stack isn’t constructed in a single day – it’s cultivated with care, similar to a thriving orchard.
.png?width=960&height=540&name=AI%20GTM%20Stack%20Panel%20-%20Reach%202024%20(1).png)
Supply: SAS
AI: The income driver, not a value cutter
Each SAS and Demandbase are leveraging AI not only for effectivity however for significant impression. As Kelly put it, “AI isn’t about chopping prices – it’s about driving income. If I can release my staff’s strategic brainpower by automating mundane duties, we are able to deal with work that actually strikes the needle.”
Panel host Scott Brinker, who just lately printed the MarTech for 2025 report with Frans Riemersma, highlighted the explosion of AI-native instruments and the maturation of AI capabilities inside main MarTech platforms.
Earlier than diving into the company’ insights, he set the stage by exploring how this evolving panorama is reshaping advertising operations and tech stacks. This context underscored the significance of understanding the place AI matches into each established instruments and rising improvements.
And Demandbase’s outcomes communicate volumes:
- 400% enhance in conversions by means of internet chat automation.
- Boosted SDR effectivity with AI-powered account analysis.
- Streamlined content material creation utilizing brand-aware AI instruments.
In the meantime, SAS showcased their subtle AI framework, which incorporates:
- Predictive analytics for occasion planning.
- AI-driven electronic mail optimization with tailor-made topic traces.
- Enhanced lead scoring and purchaser group identification.
Each organizations demonstrated that AI’s actual energy lies in its potential to amplify human creativity and strategic pondering, not exchange it.
Knowledge high quality: The key sauce for AI success
A recurring focus was additionally the symbiotic relationship between information high quality and AI effectiveness.
“The smarter the info you feed AI, the higher the outcomes. Precision is all the pieces.”
Kelly Hopping
CMO, Demandbase
It is a crucial reminder that earlier than diving headfirst into AI, firms should guarantee their information hygiene practices are as much as par. Rubbish in, rubbish out, as they are saying.
High tech stack takeaways for 2025
One of the memorable moments got here when Jen shared her distinctive perspective on stack administration:
“We consider our applied sciences as workers. They get efficiency evaluations. Are they doing the job they’re imagined to? Are they assembly expectations?”
Jen Niedel
Director of selling digital transformation, SAS
It’s a recent option to method stack optimization – and one I’ll positively be borrowing.
Listed below are a number of further takeaways from the session you may take with you to your subsequent MarTech technique assembly:
- AI is only when focused: Keep away from chasing shiny, general-purpose options. Deal with task-specific AI that addresses actual wants.
- Integration is all the pieces: Guarantee your instruments work collectively seamlessly to keep away from inefficiencies.
- Common assessments are key: Constantly consider and refine your stack to align together with your evolving enterprise targets.
Wanting forward
This explicit session at G2 Attain 2024 was a reminder that constructing a cutting-edge advertising stack isn’t about chasing developments – it’s about considerate integration, strategic AI adoption, and a relentless deal with information high quality.
In the event you missed the occasion, don’t fear – full session recordings and extra sources can be found right here. And if you wish to talk about these insights additional, join with me on LinkedIn. Let’s hold the dialog going!
